Basing Part I: Adding Gravel, Rock, and Sand

This is part I of a series on basing your models. Make sure you check out Basing Part 0 first since your bases should be properly prepped.

Basing is one of those things that can be a big deal or a little deal. Whether you go bananas or not, basing makes a model looked finish. It can be a personal thing, making a theme for your entire army or making an epicly unique base for an epic model. Or, you could just want to make the models look finished.

This tutorial will be for adding sand, gravel, or rocks to your base.

Supplies
For this tutorial you'll need the following:

Some Supplies

• Water
• Elmer's white glue(don't buy this at your FLGS. Sorry but 9 dollars a bottle is retarded)
• Rocks, sand, ballast, etc. I recommend you go to Michael's and find the  bags of sand for like 1.99. Beats the hell out of buying a small tin for $5
• A Paintbrush you don't care about (small enough to get hard to reach areas)
• A small container
• Models to base

Alright, so let's get started. The firs thing you should do is pour some glue into your empty blister/palette/whatever you're using. Start adding water to it a little at a time. You don't want it to be watery, just loose. The regular glue is too thick and unwieldy for proper use, so thin it out a bit. Use your crappy brush to mix. You don't have to make as much as I did, but I was doing about 14 models and wanted to make enough to be visible in the pictures!

Step 1: Mix Glue & Water

Now that you've got your glue ready, add it to the base of your model with a dabbing motion. If you try to brush it it might be too thin, dabbing helps it pool a bit. When you're done it should look something like this.

Step 2: Apply Glue

Now we're ready to dip. My girlfriend made me get all of my wargaming things organized and it was one of the best things I ever did. I got some stacking containers at walmart and they work wonders. My favorite is the small 3 door one that holds my brushes in the top drawer, tools and greystuff in the second, and the third is filled with basing sand. It's small enough that I can put it on my table when I'm working and store it away after. Take your model and dip it into the basing sand. Pull it out, give it a good shake/tap, and re-dip from a different angle. This assures that all crevices are properly covered. Make sure to tap off the excess.

Step 3: Go for a dip in the sand

Now, step 4. This is very important. Just walk away. WALK AWAY. Alton Brown style. You don't actually have to walk away, now is a great time to repeat the process with another model. Rinse and repeat till they're all at this stage. The point is, leave them alone. Give the glue time to dry. Very very important.

Step 4: Wait, or Repeat with New Models

The next step is also pretty important. Instead of forging ahead with your basing plans, you should do the following. Take your dried models and your crappy brush, apply another layer of glue over the sand with a very light dabbing motion. Try to spread out any large drops that might form, but don't brush. If you use a brushing motion there's a good chance you'll brush off your sand with it. The water in the glue you're adding will loosen everything up again and it'll be susceptible to disturbance. Apply a layer of glue all around the base, and then set aside and repeat step 4.

Step 5: Apply another layer of glue!

You're done now! Unless you'd like to add a little variation. After the base is dry again, you can add a dab of glue to a spot and dip it in the sand. You can build up little mounds of dirt, rock cairns, make a "path", etc. This is completely optional though and something you need to come up with yourself.

Finished models

So there you have it. Next up is Basing Part II: Painting the Gravel