At the con one class used cork to make the base better.
Does anyone know about what cork that would be?
Alternatively, what materials would you recommend I should be looking at to start creating or adding to bases?
#Making bases better
loud pawn
untold glacier
Really, you can use just about anything for the cork, but if you've got a crafty-type store around, you can buy it in rolled sheets for cheap. Some folks use wine corks, I've heard. Hobby companies will mark it up and sell it to you as rocks, etc.
wooden spear
Any cork. I know some people use Ikea cork from various pot holders and coasters
untold glacier
I'd recommend starting with something thin, as you can double up easier than evenly cutting it down. Modgepodge or something similar for sealing it for painting. You can make your own flock with sawdust or othersuch, or just buy some to start playing with; it should last a long time.
Toothpicks is another cheap and easy cheat, you can use it for wood planking, etc. Putties or clays for etching out bases. You can buy massive tubs of acrylic paste that will last a lifetime, and then grit and paint it yourself, or buy gritted colored versions from hobby companies.
loud pawn
Oh, my that's a bunch to take in at once. I like the toothpick idea.
I may be over my head!
I have toothpicks and glue. Found some cork.
fallow swan
Just cork board you can find at most hobby shops, i prefer custom mixing sand and rock though
The combination of the two can be quite nice
Usually i glue the cork down and hack it up a bit with a knife
dense crescent
I 100% love Vallejo FX basing materials. the mud, the ground effects, they are amazing. They dry hard, can be primered, or washed without dissolving. Thin with water, super nice to work with.
crystal trellis
Monument Hobbies basing pastes are nice. I don't base gaming pieces, but I've started basing my display models/gifts with MH basing pastes.
frank trail
I got the @true whale a collection of geek gaming (Base Ready) mixes and now we both use them all of the time, especially for tabletop gaming.
Just cover the base with a white glue, dip into the mix, then tap off the excess.
loud pawn
Ooh, I like that. That's organized and distinct!
dense crescent
I've found recently that thick liquitex matte medium works better than white glue.
doesn't have the white glue issues of dissilving when you paint it
fallow swan
You have that? I never had. We used to take school glue(diluted pva) and pour that on then apply play sand.worked like a charm even on little magnet square at hobby lobby
dense crescent
when i use a heavy wash it does. also, no gloss like pva does.
loud pawn
Huh. I'll have to look into that. Had not even considered it
nova river
Just chiming in, I like cork sheets, glued down, then I paint glue on top and let it dry. Afterward, covering w/ Liquitex Coarse Texture Medium. This stuff is amazing, pretty identical to the Vallejo product, but twice as cheap and comes in a tube instead of a jar, so less gets dried! If you're in the US, Michael's stores carry this and they're always running some kinda discount!
dense crescent
Small trick I figured out last night. I was playing with vallejo mud, and WAY over-thinned it, and my application had like a zillion bubbles, which was fine in the end, because it just looked kinda like pockmark earth, so whatever, but I find it near impossible to paint into tiny holes. I thinned ink with airbrush flow improver, and it broke all the surface tension and dropped right into the micro-holes.
nova river
Thanks! I've never tried thinning the stuff, but can see why you'd wanna. Guessing you thinned w/ water? Or PVA?
Funny how we use so much Elmer's glue in this hobby vs as kids!
dense crescent
Yeah, all the vallejo groundfx stuff can be thinned in the same ways any of their paints can. water, thinner, wash, etc. You can add paint to them, etc.