How I base miniatures - products & techniques

Hello everyone and welcome back to the channel and a video that I have wanted to make for quite a while now, all about one of my favourite parts of the hobby....basing miniatures! I am often asked in comments on videos or other social media posts about my basing, what products I have used, techniques, how I have acheived a specfic effect and many more questions besides.
So in this video, I'm going to show you the products that I use, the different ways that these are used or combined with other products and how these bases look on a wide variety of miniatures and scales.
In the video, I'll outline my basic basing, what I used for most of the miniatures that I paint as well as specific basing like snow, desert, jungle and also how I use cork board to achieve really striking and unique looking bases.
There will also be some based tanks too......apologies in advance!
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May your dice roll well and happy gaming!

[@PhilipSale-hn8lz]

Loved the Army painter Battlfield Snow. Thanks.

[@PhilipSale-hn8lz]

I agree, the Army Painter ‘Battlefield Snow’ gives A great granular appearance. Thanks for the ‘Heads up’. Already using it on terrain in preparation of receiving Bolt Action 3 starter set. I think you are right that two coats applied with some thought gives an even better result. I will be buying some Vallejo mud. Great stuff.

[@PhilipSale-hn8lz]

I used the Army Painter Battlefield Snow on some terrain. Like you said 2 thin overcoats of this product makes for a great finish.

[@lesliebeilby-tipping6854]

Thanks Ste. Cat litter, cork tiles and dancing fingers what more could we want of an evening!!!

[@OnPointHQ]

Cork bases and kitty litter, the cornerstone of any hobby session 😀

[@oldschoolfrp2326]

Great overview! I agree that bases completely covered with grass don’t need any prior texture. I just paint those bases mottled green and brown then glue down the grass/flock/tufts. For Frostgrave terrain when I needed a lot of snow I mixed baking soda with PVA and thick white craft glue. It looks a bit more like a wet snow slush but is less likely to turn yellow.

[@OnPointHQ]

That's awesome, thank you! I may have to experiment with the craft glue as I don't think that I've tried that before. I'm always on the look out for new techniques so I'm going to give that a try 😀👍

[@oldschoolfrp2326]

@@OnPointHQ Ack - I meant to type “thick white craft paint” - white paint in the glue mix helps keep baking soda looking white

[@roguetrooper5401]

Some nice ideas all hail the great cork God and herbs great for jungle basing and pretty good in a spag bol some great looking minis in there to Ste

[@OnPointHQ]

Ahh the versatility of mixed herbs. Ms Ste often complains when various herbs go missing, it's the hobbyist way 😀👍

[@robandrosehobden3344]

Great video love what you can do with different things should have some dried herbs from when my daughter got her first home I can use it when I can do my Pacific troops 🤠🤠🤠

[@OnPointHQ]

Thank you! The dried herbs are absolutely ideal for jungle based armies from the Pacific. I've based my Australian and USMC projects with mixed herbs and really enjoy the end result 😀👍

[@basicminiaturepainting]

Great tutorial ste,my one thing that's lacking in my hobby is my basing so this was perfect

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Justin, I'm glad you liked the video! With mine I always try and keep the basing as simple as I can and that's why I like combining different products, seeing what can be achieved 😀👍

[@darrinstanaway8943]

Excellent run through of your different techniques and how you achieve an awesome finish to bases must try some at some stage and enjoyed seeing your excellent looking figures you have painted

[@OnPointHQ]

Thanks Darrin, much appreciated! I would definitely recommend trying out some new basing products and techniques. I'vw always found that experimenting with different materials etc is a great way of coming up with some unique and often surprising looking bases 😀👍

[@patneale8837]

Good video Ste. Agree that Vallejo products are excellent for our hobby. I have never used the water effect stuff though so it will be something for me to try going forwards; it looks good. you have also proved that you can use almost anything when basing. Thanks mate. 😀

[@OnPointHQ]

Thanks Pat, much appreciated! The water effect is an excellent product and works really well with the mud, definitely recommended. Finding new materials to make bases with is always interesting 😀👍

[@andydrb9673]

Great video Ste, thanks for putting this together. I'll be adding some of products and hints to my own methods. Lovely selection of miniatures as well! Vallejo Earth Textures work well for 6mm too 👍

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Andy, much appreciated! Hopefully you'll be able to make use of some if the techniques I've used. I'm always interested in knowing what other people do with their own basing 😀👍

[@historyboy32]

dried herbs - inspired!!

[@OnPointHQ]

It's a really effective jungle basing and oy also smells pretty good too 😀👍

[@Harry-ck5rw]

❤❤❤ Wauw , top basing . Great video , thanks.

[@OnPointHQ]

Thanks Harry, much appreciated, glad you liked the video! 😀👍

[@samsolopeeps]

Bases and Faces.... Vallejo Sand is really good to use on FDM 3d terrain, grey cork with a Vallejo ice yellow dry brush is my concrete look, Fantasy I quite like cobblestone wall paper and for my latest bolt action Soviets I mixed coffee grounds sand and some flocks to make a big pot I can just dunk em in. Oh and last one for Heresy I made a big gunky paste with bits box stuff in and mixed orange paint and dry brushed it for a mars type planet

[@OnPointHQ]

I think bases and faces definitely sums it up! Some really good ideas here thank you, the Mars/alien world sounds like a top idea and one that I'll be checking out! I've used tea in the past as a basing material but never coffee, this is going on the list too 😀👍

[@samsolopeeps]

@@OnPointHQ Bill Making Stuff YT has good videos on the rusty junk. The coffee is the stuff after grinding it quite a few basing videos on it as well

[@sachiel4736]

Great video Ste. I've used the mixed herbs in the past, but need to get some more ready for a Nam'68 project. Cork really is the basing material of the gods isn't it.

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers buddy! I think I'll be joining you with some Nam68 when it's out. This is precisely the reason my Rubicon USMC are back on the painting desk again. Cork really is the GOAT of basing materials in my humble opinion 😀👍

[@sachiel4736]

@@OnPointHQwhen you mentioned Nam'68 on the PCP I've been interested and been looking at some 3D printed US and VC. This video for basing brought it back into focus and has encouraged me to pull the trigger on the project going forward.

[@ianwilborn8239]

Cool video. I was just getting into basing for my models. Great timing on this!

[@OnPointHQ]

Thanks Ian, glad you liked the video and I hope it gave you some starters and ideas for your own basing! As I said in the video, I always try and keep my basing simple as much as I can but it's always good to try new products and ways of working with them. Good luck with the basing! 😀👍

[@bickercity6392]

Thank you, Ste. This is going to be a massive boost to my hobbying.

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Don, hope that you find the video helpful! It's amazing what a splash of mud and some clump foliage can do to a miniature. And cork. Definitely the cork 😀👍

[@jimbomacroth3400]

Quick and effective bases. Love it! Question about weathering pigments. Do you use anything to stop them rubbing off? Like varnish or fixer?

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Jimbo, glad you liked the video! With the cork bases, when I add the weathering pigment, I don't use any fixing medium and rely on the pigments 'staining' the paint. It also leaves the dusty effect that I like. The same applies to vehicles where I just want that dusty look. Where I want the pigments to apply a more dried mud look, I use airbrush thinner as a fixing medium. Varying the amount of thinner produces a thinner or thicker mud effect. I usually use this when I'm weathering tanks or vehicles and it works well on tracks etc. Hope that helps dude 😀👍

[@jimbomacroth3400]

@@OnPointHQ I've been using streaking grime to muddy up my figures, but it always dries a bit too dark for my taste. This seems like a perfect solution . Can't wait to try it out, thanks Ste👍

[@rich_john]

Great video. Effective techniques 👍

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Rich! Effective is what I always aim for, especially over the course of an entire project, a Bolt Action army for example. Simple but effective always works for me 😀👍

[@richardhawes2205]

Inspired me to try something different - thankyou. Would you say yours is quite a 'moist' battlefield? 😊

[@OnPointHQ]

Cheers Rich, I think when it comes to basing miniatures, I always enjoy finding new bits and pieces to use. You'd need to ask Dom about the moistness, he's the expert 😅

[@xSnakeByte]

Great video! With the cork, do you have to pin the models to it, or just glue 'em down?

[@OnPointHQ]

Thank you! I've never pinned them no, a small dab of superglue to the feet creates a really strong bond between the plastic and the cork. I can't remember a single miniature ever snapping off a cork base 😀👍

[@connorfinch1787]

17:41 😂

[@OnPointHQ]

I think that's commonly known as being over enthusiastic about cork board 😅