KoW Elves are coming (finally)
The Basing approach - Part 1
As I previously mentioned, I’ll be trying to make some “scenic” style bases for the units as I’m not a fan of true rank & file for fantasy although I love it in other periods.
So the base for the units will be Mantic’s own plastic bases, which are obviously already the exact size/footprint and these will be the foundation of the entire army.
The scenic “material” I’ll use will be DAS air drying clay which is available in different colours. I have a small amount left in white/grey, but will look to replace this with the terra-cotta color as soon as I can.
The approach is described in the few pictures that follow, but essentially the bases are given a thin coat of PvA glue and the DAS is speed on top, and while still flexible, I use another Mantic model to depress slightly the surface of the DAS so that the eventual figures will sit “in” the earth, rather than sitting on top.
Later stages will include coloring, flocking etc. – more later once the DAS is completely dry.
Mantic Base kits. The bases are set at "Horde" size, but can easily be broken down to Regiment / Troop sizes
The materials. The sprue is there to make a small barrier to hold the damage dice on the bases. Adding them to the base makes sense to me and keeps the table uncluttered
A sprue on the rear of the base and the right hand side. The rest of the dice container will be made up of the DAS clay later
I start with a think layer of PvA glue. I'm not 100% certain it's necessary, but I think it does help to secure the DAS better on the base.
Building up the texture. The depressions were made with another Mantic model to make a space for the eventual figures to "rest" in the ground
The "toothpicks" are there to indicate where a more substantial tree/shrub will be placed once everything is dried off.So far so good (Fingers crossed). Once the base is completely dry – I’ll give it 24 hours – I’ll be giving it a base coat of acrylic greens/yellows, and then making up a few more dramatic bushes.
Now that I have had time to think about it, I’ll make up a number of scenic bases now, rather than wait until all the figures are painted.
Until next time – Happy Gaming!
Oh gawds stamping the bases with a same-sized mini. My Turnip 28 project is my first go at multi basing and I’ll totally be stealing that idea. Thank you!
If you use something like DAS, wait for it to “go off” a little before pressing in the “stamp model” otherwise, if it’s still quite soft it will “in fill” a bit as it dries and this makes the depression misshaped when you come to fix the actual models later.