Hobby Cheating 04 - Basics of Basing

In this video, we cover all the basics of making bases. The simple tools, techniques and supplies for making your basic bases of muds, grasses, rocks and other "standard" terrain your miniature might be standing on.
Slight warning, the Audio came through a little scratchy in this episode, so I apologize in advance. This will be corrected in all future vids.
The Dice Bag Lady: thedicebaglady....

[@xenoterracide]

would love to see these early video's re-done for better Audio/Video

[@VinceVenturella]

Not sure that will ever happen, but assuming I go long enough, I am sure I will revisit all of them. :)

[@HoovesofDoom]

Nice video Vince. I could definitely learn these tricks for sure. Since I was isolated from the community for so long I had not clue how people were making the rocks. It was only a month or two ago that I realized people were using cork.

[@VinceVenturella]

+Hooves of Doom Hope this helps for sure. We'll get into more detailed and strange bases as we proceed for sure.

[@HoovesofDoom]

+Vince Venturella Loving the series Vince :)

[@cyagen9782]

Very interesting video. I've also found out that my miniatures look a lot better with a decent base. I am far from a talented painter so I use all the tricks to hide the defects. As for the mud effect, I found out that using filler (ready mixed or dry wall powder) with sand, PVA and cheap paint does the job at a fraction of the cost.

[@southpaw2144]

Hi Vince, I started Warhammer (40k) when I was 12 and picked it up again a few months ago (20+ years later) with the goal of being a display painter. Your videos have been a much needed guide and an absolute inspiration. I'm struggling with basing and was wondering if it's easier to have a stock of ready-made bases beforehand, or individualize each base for each miniature and the story you want that piece to portray? I often find myself in the 'over-analysis paralysis' stage and am looking for a way to have complete miniatures without over-thinking it. Thanks for all you do!

[@VinceVenturella]

In general, I make them for the project at hand, so if I'm doing an army, I will make all the bases at once or close to. If it's for a display piece, that's individual and so on.

[@NecroMancer84]

Love this video as I am trying to get into basing. I just have trouble coming up with ideas

[@VinceVenturella]

Basing is a particular passion of mine. There are lots of videos in the playlist on basing so I hope you find more helpful. :)

[@TheVonjunk]

That Bretonian conversion is awesome! Thanks for the helpful video.

[@VinceVenturella]

Excellent, thank you, happy to help as always. :)

[@dfw_sleepypillz1007]

Absolutely awesome content. New to mini's but too old for the party lifestyle of wargaming. I will stick with D&D, but I have been struggling with basing techniques. Great content that stands the test of time for sure. Rock on sir!

[@VinceVenturella]

Thank you, happy to help as always and there are certainly lots more tutorials in the playlist about basing. :)

[@GibloxCrumb]

Great video.. thanks for the help!!

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

I am trying to do "rocky" style basing with small patches of static grass since the tufts don't look right. I have tufts from Army Painter.

[@edgarbaez516]

As always, thank you for sharing your invaluable insight. I just painted a squad of minis and now I need to base them...problem is I already used plastic glue to attach them to their bases. I originally tried using putty/tack to temporarily attach them to the base, but it wasn’t consistent and my minis would fall to the ground at times. How do you recommend keeping a mini stable to a base, while being easily detachable so you can base after?

[@VinceVenturella]

I talk about it in some later videos, but double sided sponge tape can do the job and works well, you can also pin the feet into a cork, that works well.

[@edgarbaez516]

@@VinceVenturella I'll give the sponge tape a shot, thanks!

[@Wijkert]

6:30 Have you ever used a static applicator for grass? Seems like a nice way if you wanna do lush big fields of grass for Brettonian knights for example. Love to see you experiment with such a device.

[@VinceVenturella]

Never found the need, I always apply small amounts and use tweezers and just dab at the glue, it generally stands up.

[@Wijkert]

08:00 have you ever tried making flowers by adding pva mixed with paint to top of tufts? I saw Marco Frisoni do in a recent video and looked liked something you may have tried (or like to try) as well.

[@VinceVenturella]

Never tried it but it's a cool idea.

[@voltron736]

Amateur. Real basers use chia pet seeds and watch them grow. Stay pure and natural. As always great stuff Vince.

[@darthmagnus8855]

So this really has nothing to do with the video, but the mini you showcase made me think of something I struggle with quite a lot. When you are painting a mini, how do you approach the areas that are on the underside of the cloak, or behind the shield? Places that still have lots of detail that can be painted, but unless there's a lot of scrutiny being paid to the mini, will likely never really be seen by anyone. Do you do a rough block of color to give the suggestion of being painted, or just trust the human eye to create information that isn't really there? What's your process for that?

[@VinceVenturella]

Great question. If you truly can't see it, I just leave it primed or shove a very dark color in there at the very start of painting. I just don't worry about it for armies. If I am painting a competition mini, I will do it in sub-assemblies so I can paint all of that out, but that is reserved for only the highest level of work.

[@darthmagnus8855]

@@VinceVenturella Awesome! Thank you. :)

[@orenfox4828]

Really useful video!

[@VinceVenturella]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrRyach]

Why are video on this playlist playing backwards in order

[@VinceVenturella]

So the newest are at the top for easy reference. :)

[@Wijkert]

12:20 you mentioned that the realistic water from Vallejo shrinks too much. Do you have experience with AK's version of the same product?

[@VinceVenturella]

I haven't used it, but I like Woodland Scenics for small jobs, or even UV curing resin, that's my new favorite.

[@Wijkert]

@@VinceVenturella thanks, added uv resin to my wishlist

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

When basing Malifaux 2e crews, which typically have very thin legs and small feet, the tufts, even the small ones don't balance with the models. The tufts are too big. You mentioned you use static grass sparingling. Any tips on how to use it? How do you get it to stand up?

[@VinceVenturella]

So a few thoughts. 1) Trim the tufts. People usually think of using tufts straight, but there is no reason to actually do that. You can take very sharp thin scissors and trim them down (with varying heights) to get them to scale or just more natural. 2) Paint them, I talk about this all the time, but always put a few drop of wash into the base and drybrush the tops to match your general basing scheme. 3) As to static grass, you lay down some glue/water mixture, get a clump in some tweezers and then "dab" at the glue mixture but keep the pressure on tweezers. You have to dab a lot, but you have only the standing items remaining.

[@KerfluffinMcWooly]

@@VinceVenturella Thanks. That was helpful.

[@omidtutakhil9252]

Does anyone know a good place online to by the Vallejo texture stuff? I saw some on Amazon but the prices seem super inflated, and they only have a small selection. My local hobby store was a bust.

[@VinceVenturella]

I just get mine from Amazon, but not sure where you are in the world or availability.

[@Cael551]

Hey Vince can you please put the link to the shrub lady please :) Thanks for the vid mate

[@VinceVenturella]

+Cael551 Yep, sorry, I uploaded late and forgot because I was tired, my apologies. Here is the link and added above (thedicebaglady.net/)

[@douglastodd9958]

where is link to dice bag lady site ?

[@VinceVenturella]

badsquiddogames.com/

[@amBasteir]

What's your view on base thicknesses? I'm thinking of replacing square bases with round washers that have no real edge. Do you think it important to have a neutral space between the board and the model?

[@VinceVenturella]

+amBasteir I think that negative space is valuable, but I haven't really thought about it too much (or seen it without admittedly). I would probably need to see it to form a solid opinion - but my guess - it would look weird solely because we all expect the negative space to be there, and when what we see doesn't match our expectations, our brains get angry. ;)

[@sasserine]

I'd say it depends on several factors; The specific game you're using them in, what bases the manufacturer includes as standard in the kit, and the habits of your local gaming community. Most Warhammer players would expect to see a 3-4 mm bevelled edged base, because all the kits come with them. That expectation may not apply, if you're using that same figure for a player character with your rpg group. Historical gamers of my acquaintance seem to prefer shallow bases made from washers or coins, where the basing material looks to merge with the table surface. Sometimes you may want to use a figure in more than one way, e.g. an rpg hero with underground rubble base gets drafted to lead a tabletop unit with grass bases. Or my Citadel/Foundry Norse (acting as Chaos Marauders) on slottabases get used for a Saga warband, when everyone else at the club uses flat bases. In which case, you just have to pick one basing method and accept it may sometimes not match the unit they're with, or the common practice at your club.

[@theredwizard9634]

Newb question: I did a snow base with army painter snow grit but it keeps flaking off everytime the fig is moved. Is there something I should spray on or put over the snow? thanks!

[@VinceVenturella]

Snow can always flake a little. I haven't used that specific product, but it sounds like you might want to add some more PVA (white) glue to solidify everything up. Generally, you want to be careful with varnish over snow, as it can yellow it. Testor's Dull Cote should be fine, but I am not sure beyond that.

[@benhadaway3322]

This is old comment, but yes, spray matte varnish over them. (clear matte spraypaint). Army painter makes it, Testors dull coat, you can even get matte varnish automotive primer (cheapest) at home depot.

[@marcyablon628]

I would like to know can the Vallejo products be used for 1/35 scale figures at all?

[@VinceVenturella]

Sure, shouldn't be a problem, it will still be in scale.

[@jamessmithiii4129]

Hey Vince, I have been making some bases with sand mixed with some larger grit. I used wood glue mixed approx. 50-50 with water to glue it to the base. I was under the impression that to secure the sand to the base more I should go back over it with the same mix but it seems to me like it just wipes the existing sand/grit off the base. Or the brush just picks up what was not glued firmly. Any advice?

[@VinceVenturella]

Sure, I have a couple of thoughts. In general, foe fine grit, I actually prefer to use a vallejo style basing paste and mix a little larger grit in. They are nice and you get a large amount for about $10, I have a review on my channel, it ignores the issue you are discussing with needing to secure it, as it dries with a nice texture. Now, that being said, to truly answer your question, sure, what you want to do is truly let everything dry completely (like you have to let the glue set for like 8 hours), then make a slightly thinner mix of white glue to water. One of the issues is you are using wood glue which is thicker than standard PVA white glue. So take your 2-1 of white glue to water and just run it over the top of the mix lightly and let that set for another several hours and everything should be locked in place pretty securely. Now, even here, you will always get a little bit of pieces flaking off that weren't secured and that's okay, I like to actually give the base a light brush with a soft bristled dry brush in between the steps I describe above to get rid of the loose detritus. Hope that all helps.

[@jamessmithiii4129]

That helps a lot. Thanks for being accessible. So, to recap: 2 parts water to 1 part of PVA lightly over the top will hold everything more securely. Secondly, will check your video on the Vallejo basing paste... seems like the way to go for next time!

[@VinceVenturella]

Happy to help anytime and yes, the basing paste is a dream, you get tons cheap and it's just fantastic for bases and you can even mix grit into it when you put it down for variance without glue.

[@RedeyeX23]

Good vid Vince and nice minis, stop giving the secrets away :)

[@VinceVenturella]

+Jon Simpson Thank you sir, sorry, the series is all about the beans getting spilt ;)

[@themanabroad7800]

Do you have a Facebook page where we can share our painting with you as well and get some advice?

[@VinceVenturella]

I do not right now, I mean I have my personal facebook under my name and feel free to reach out there. But joining the PmP community (see any of my videos on that) is the way to go if you are looking for painting advice.

[@themanabroad7800]

Vince Venturella PmP community?

[@scottrickwilksick1678]

Great ideas, terrible audio

[@VinceVenturella]

The audio improves in the later videos. :)