I recently attended a Siege Studios basing course and I want to go through the key steps we took to create and paint a number of bases using different materials, set in different environments and weather conditions.
Building
The first step was to create a number of different environments. There was a wide range of materials to choose from and we were given the task to create:
- A forest setting with more natural materials
- A concrete industrial setting with space for freehand
- An urban setting with rubble and concrete
- A sci-fi setting built from mostly plasticard
Forest Base
For the forest base I started by cutting a piece from a pack of of Wills Materials stone wall into the shape of a path and glued that down, then glued down some Siege Scenics basing material to bury th edges of the path so it looks set into the ground. Then I added a few small pieces of bark that look like small rocks, and finally sealed it down with thinned PVA glue.
I also created a second base with a similar method, but this time only used a few small pieces of broken plaster of paris to resemble broken stone.
Industrial Base
James had used a chocolate mould to create some slabs resembling concrete using plaster of paris. I broke a bit down into a few pieces, then glued these to the base. I drilled some holes and cut small pieces of paperclip to put into the holes to resemble rebar sticking out of broken concrete.
Once again I added some Siege Scenics basing material and sealed it.
Urban Base
I wasn't sure what to create for the urban base, so I ended up just sticking some random pieces together so I had a few different materials to work with later on.
I started with a couple of bigger pieces of bark to create some rocks, giving me some height to add some plasticard resembling steel sheets on top. I then stuck a small plastic pipe underneath, and a plastic pillar from a Games Workshop ruin sprue using a bit of filler to fill some gaps. Finally I added some Siege Scenics basing material and sealed it.
I did make another using some plaster of paris pieces as rocks, and some various plasticard pie pieces to resemble a structure but ended up not progressing further with it.
Sci-Fi Base
For the sci-fi base I started with varying sized pipework underneath to support multiple levels, as well as some wooden coffee stirrers to create some height. I then added some plasticard resembling metal sheets on top, and a couple of spare Games Workshop terrain pieces at the back to create some height. Finally I found a small sleeping bag just to add a bit of story to the piece.
Painting & Flocking
All the bases were primed black, other than the Sci-Fi base that was primed silver.
Forest Base
The first focus was the ground, leaving the stone for after. We started with a dark brown, then stippled varying lighter browns to create both varying tones and textures. It was left darker around the rocks to simulate shadow.
When then stippled greys onto the stone, starting dark and moving lighter and lighter moving in different directions to create a more natural effect.
The same process was followed again but this time much more gently with some varying greens. This helped to blend the stone into the ground and gave it a more natural forest tone. I then went back over some areas with brown, and edge highlighted the path with a light grey to give it a much more 3D look.
To finish it off I added varying height tufts and moss pads from Siege Scenics to the greenest areas and cracks in the path where they would naturally grow. Painting the area where a tuft will go green first helps it to blend in more naturally and look less stark. I also added some ground bark to look like leaf litter, as well as some larger yellow leaves to add some color.
Industrial Base
Starting off the concrete was painted a mid grey, and I decided to go for a nice Mars red base using various reds and oranges using the same stippling technique as before. The next step was to paint some freehand onto the concrete to add some unique interest, so I decided to paint some hazard stripes using yellow and black as well as a Genestealer Cults logo as graffiti onto the side in purple. Some chipping was added to the freehand to make it look worn.
At this point it was time to add some weathering, using brown glazes to add grime to the recesses and random patches, followed by some green to simulate algae growth. I also added some reds to the bottom of the concrete to help blend it into the ground better. Some lighter greys when then stippled onto the concrete to both highlight it and give it some natural texture.
The rebar was painted silver, then glazed with red below to reflect the ground, and some blue on top to reflect the sky. Rust effects were then added at the connection points using the techniques learnt in previous classes. Finally the tufts were added, once again in the greenest areas and cracks in the concrete so they blended in naturally.
Urban Base
For the urban base the task was to make it look like its set in winter. Starting with a grey base, various blues and purples were stippled and washed around the recesses. Grey was stippled back into the flatter areas and it left a really cool almost cold glowing effect as you rotate the base in the light. The rocks were then highlighted up as in previous steps.
For the metal we mixed silver with blue to create a colder metal tone. I actually applied a blue base to the metal first so create a more intense effect. To add some interest, I mixed the silver with some brown to create a rusty metal tone for the other platform and to create a bronze for the pipe.
As before I then added some rust effects and finally some Games Workshop snow texture to the base for the final winter look.
Sci-Fi Base
The plan was to paint the Urban and the Sci-Fi bases together, using similar techniques but to have different pieces to help reduce eye strain on the same piece and to let each dry between coats rather than using the hairdryer all the time.
I slightly tweaked this and decided so go with a much hotter look instead, using reds and browns with the silver and washing reds and oranges into the dirt and recesses. I also painted the wall red to give the overall piece a strong red tone.
Beyond that there was a stronger emphasis on the rust effects to make it look more worn down, and I added bullet holes with the drill with extra rust effects and even added some blood splatter to ground for some extra story.
Roundup
It was an intense course over the two days, but I felt like the quality of the pieces that I created really lined up with the quality I had learnt from the previous Siege Studios courses I had attended. I really love how the Industrial base came out with the freehand and weathering effects. I showed some friends some photos and they thought they were 3D renders!
I've always really enjoyed basing, and I feel like I've really leveled up my skills with the techniques learnt over the weekend. I think the most important takeaway for me was to treat the base like a miniature and really put the effort into painting it in a realistic way, rather than just coming up with a good concept and rushing the paint job and cover as much as possible with tufts or flock.
Having these complete is really making me want to start on a competition level piece and really push my skills on both the miniature and the base and see what my best looks like.
