I am going to be playing on many different surfaces, so I don't think it would look good to do just one terrain type on my minis. What should I do?
Little bit of a basing problem here...
On 4/19/2019 at 5:30 PM, Alphabonnie101/TheHeroking said:I am going to be playing on many different surfaces, so I don't think it would look good to do just one terrain type on my minis. What should I do?
I had the same qualms, so I simply did no basing at all, they are color coded bases by side anyway.
Also, most basing just ends up looking downright ugly, worse than if they’d done nothing to it at all.
Edited by DerraultA properly-based model elevates the paint scheme immeasurably and is just as important as the painting of the miniature itself in my opinion. Temperate or arid basing rarely looks out of place but, in truth, the basing scheme of a model not matching the terrain or mat is negligible. Watch a bunch of battle reports and you'll note this pretty quickly. To me, an unbased miniature looks incomplete and, for display purposes, not nearly as interesting.
You should feel free to do whatever you want. I’ve seen some truly excellent minis with plain bases or mono color painted bases. There was one guy one here making bases that matched the theme colors of the different animated shows that looked great too. Having said that, I enjoy experimenting with different types of scenic bases and I have done a huge variety of bases for my forces and they don’t really look that odd in game. It really is just your preference. They are your minis after all. If anyone tells you you’ve done it wrong they can f*** off.
I just did a generic grey 'stone' base using astrogranite, nuln oil and a little highlighting. It matches my mat at home but it's bland enough to not clash with any other mats I play on. I also put snow on my snowtrooper bases and some of my commanders are on premium bases so they don't all have to match or anything.
Krennic and Death Troopers https://imgur.com/gallery/9w0eO5Y
you can go either premium bases or clear bases.
If this is a concern for you (which it isn't to everyone):
Your bases won't match your opponents bases anyways, or all the buildings your minis will clamber across. This is one of those cases where it's better to try and look like a nice gaming miniature than look real . I would reccomend painting your bases in grey, yellow, or brown. Glue sand to the top, let it dry overnight, then paint the sand to match the rest of the base and drybrush it a lighter version of the main color.
Thus you will have sandy or rocky bases. Sand, dirt, and/or rocks look way better on snow or indoors than grass does. Rocky/earthy/sandy bases look way better on grassy terrain than snow or interior flooring bases do.
I find clear bases, and unpainted bases, to be the most visually arresting of all though. Clear bases look like everyone is hovering, and usually show less-clear globs around everyone's feet which is weird looking to me. Unpainted bases look like 1:1 scale real-world-colored plastic bases juxtaposed jarringly against 1:47 scale painted-colored people and buildings. This is why unpainted sand/gravel looks weird on bases too: the eye interprets it as 1:1 scale sand next to 1:47 scale people. If you want plain bases in my opinion, it is far more effective to paint them with a couple coats of a similar shade of red or grey. It gets the same overall "this is a SW:L game" effect of the unpainted base, without the unfinished visually intrusive surface of real-world plastic. Plus it gives you a chance to hide any glue that accidentally seeped out around any of the figures feet.
Or you can steer into the skid and say "yeah these clash so what?" and use sandy bases, grassy bases, premium bases, etc. to differentiate your 6 squads of identical corps, 3 identical squads of special forces, etc. One squad of each troop type on green grass, one of each on yellow painted sand, one of each on brown painted sand, etc. Pick your favorite and use it on all your commanders and on the first of each squad type you paint, and maybe on all vehicles/artillery since they don't come in squads anyways. This can be handy when close combat ensues in a crowded corner of the table and it becomes very important to know which models are in which squad.
Edited by TauntaunScoutI've mostly gone with a muddy looking base for my minis. Nearly all of my units are "themed" around being on Jabiim or Mimban, so a muddy look fits that theme perfectly. Mud is relatively universal, so it doesn't stand out when on grassy, urban, or even desert mats. Premium bases also look great when painted well, but don't fit hardly any mats or terrain pieces.
Sand or gravel could also work as more or less universal bases. Depends on your personal preference, and what, if any, theme you'd like your troops to have.
I find that basing to suit your color scheme works well and you can execute consistently.
basic
ruke of thumb: darker minis, lighter base scheme so it shows off the colors better. Lighter color minis, like stormtroopers, benefit from a darker basing scheme to make the minis pop.
As others stated, your gaming surface won’t be universally one type from game to game, so don’t fret if you have Endor bases on a Tattoine map!
Vallejo and Citadel make a lot of great pre-colored basing ‘pastes’. Basically they’re paint with sand grit in them that applies like a paint. Generally a coat of that, a wash and dry brush to bring out the texture and you’re sorted. From there, you can explore different textures via static grass, scrub, snow etc.
a good example of a simple contrast scheme would be what they did for the clone wars set; both armies are lighter color schemes, with a dark Martian soil base, making it thematic to Geonosis while not overpowering the minis.
hope that helps!
11 minutes ago, joewrightgm said:I find that basing to suit your color scheme works well and you can execute consistently.
basic
ruke of thumb : darker minis, lighter base scheme so it shows off the colors better. Lighter color minis, like stormtroopers, benefit from a darker basing scheme to make the minis pop.
As others stated, your gaming surface won’t be universally one type from game to game, so don’t fret if you have Endor bases on a Tattoine map!
Vallejo and Citadel make a lot of great pre-colored basing ‘pastes’. Basically they’re paint with sand grit in them that applies like a paint. Generally a coat of that, a wash and dry brush to bring out the texture and you’re sorted. From there, you can explore different textures via static grass, scrub, snow etc.
a good example of a simple contrast scheme would be what they did for the clone wars set; both armies are lighter color schemes, with a dark Martian soil base, making it thematic to Geonosis while not overpowering the minis.
hope that helps!
Whoah, nice obscure EU reference!