Basing Your Miniatures

The foundational recipe has not changed in decades because it works. Spread PVA glue thinly across the base top, dip or sprinkle sand and fine grit over it, and let it dry fully. Paint the texture a dark earth tone, drybrush a mid brown, then drybrush a lighter bone or tan on the peaks. That three-step paint job takes minutes across a whole unit and produces convincing terrain. Texture pastes shortcut the glue-and-sand stage: spread them straight from the pot, and some even crackle as they dry into parched-earth effects.

Variety comes from scatter materials layered after painting. Static grass, flock, small stones, tufts, and leaf litter each add a different note, and restraint reads better than abundance: two or three materials in uneven patches beat a uniform lawn. Glue larger stones before painting so they take the same drybrush and look native to the scene. Slate chips set at angles give cheap drama. A single tuft placed off-center does more aesthetic work than ten placed evenly, because nature does not distribute things in grids.

Match the base to the army's story and the display environment. Desert bases in warm tans flatter cool-colored armies through contrast; dark cork rubble suits industrial schemes; snow paste and white flock transform winter forces. Whatever you choose, repeat the same recipe across the entire army, because consistent basing visually unifies even models painted years apart with drifting skills. Write the recipe down, including paint names and materials, in the same place you record your color schemes.

The rim deserves a decision, not an accident. A cleanly painted rim in a single dark, neutral color, black, dark brown, or dark grey, frames the scene like a picture frame and hides slops from the texturing stage. Repaint it as the true final step of every model, after varnishing if needed, because a crisp rim signals finished in a way nothing else does. Some competitive painters use the rim color as a faction marker, which is practical, but muted colors almost always photograph better than bright ones.

Advanced basing opens up once the basics are habit. Cork sheet stacks into rocky outcrops, wire and greenstuff become roots and vines, water effects pour into sculpted pools, and clear resin ices over winter streams. A model raised on a small rock immediately gains presence and a better eyeline. But none of this is required. The humble sand-paint-drybrush-tuft sequence, executed consistently, will carry an entire collection, and it is precisely the kind of low-stakes work that fits into the tired end of a hobby evening.