Basing Recipe: Martian Highlands

Above is my latest project, a couple of "Gorgon" terminators (ok not really, but that's what they will be on the table top until I can afford FW resin again). I wanted to tone down the red hues of the Martian Ironcrust basing material (shown on the left), and here is how I did it:

1.) Using a small trowel-like object, I scooped some Martian Ironcrust onto the base
2.) Taking an old brush, I stippled the material to give it some texture and push it up around their feet
3.) After considerable drying time (several hours, at least), I applied Agrax Earthshade to the base
4.) Again after giving it plenty of time to dry, I dry brushed Squig Orange onto the base.
5.) Finally, I used Eldar Flesh dry to accentuate the high points.
6.) Optionally, I cleaned up the base bevel with black

Sicilian Bases Part 2: The Execution

(Images can be clicked to view full-size)

Armed with my research from This Article, I went about my basing project.

First off, I start by making sure my miniatures are mounted on the base, and then I apply a coat of PVA glue to it. (I use Mod Podge gloss for this part.) I then dip the base in model railroading ballast, such as what is pictured here:


After the base material is on, I follow that up with another coat of the mod-podge gloss. I find the gloss adheres slightly better than the matte, so I use that first. Really, I should have done a second coat of ballast and glue, but for the expediency of this tutorial I decided to double-up on foliage later.

Then, I go ahead and paint my miniatures. Many people choose to paint them BEFORE mounting them to the base, but I like to have playable teams first, artistic pieces second. Your mileage may vary though, so do that in whatever order pleases you.

Once this has been done, I start with a reddish-brown color. Most any kind of paint will do, as long as it is able to be thinned down with water. I make sure to get a good thick coat over the base:


Once that has dried, I go on to the drybrushing. Starting with the Apple Barrel color Desert Tan (though other desert colors like Khaki could be used, but I find Apple Barrel's colors easy on my wallet), I dip a old crummy brush in the paint. I then find a piece of paper or cardboard, then rub my brush on it to remove excess paint, like so:



To get the drybrush effect, I use a horizontal motion to drag the bristles across only the raised edges of the base, like so:



When you are finished, the base should look like this:



The next step is to apply a dark "wash" to the base. Either black or brown washes are suitable, but I use a home-made brew of acrylic paints and water for terrain pieces. To make a home-made brew, you need to experiment. It is something like 1 part paint (I usually use brown and black combined) to 3 or 4 parts water, but I have not narrowed it down to an exact science. When finished, the base should look like this:


This part takes a while to dry. I usually finish this part on the unit I am working on, and either call it a night or come back in an hour or two. Of course, heat and relative humidity will have an effect on drying times (I imagine someone living in Arizona might not require as much drying time).

When you decide to come back, make a mixture of your tan color and pure white. Mix roughly 50-50 of the two. Use the resulting mix to drybrush on a new layer onto the base, and that is it for painting! You should have something like this:


While browsing my local art supplier (Michael's, for USA residents), I stumbled across a wonderful package product:


For 12 USD I got a kit that has a little bit of several different kinds of turf, good for creating many types of foliage and ground cover. After looking at my research materials, I decided that Sicilian grasslands would be lighter in color than European fronts. So, I mixed up a portion of the Yellow Flowers turf and the Green Fine turf into the provided shaker. I didn't measure out ratios exactly, but it was roughly 1 part yellow to 3 parts green. This yielded a turf solution that was yellowish-green in color.


Using Mod-Podge Matte, I then brushed on a random pattern onto the base of the model (I got ahead of myself on the model used in the above tutorial, so I had to take a picture of a model I hadn't done yet). Make sure to get the hard edges of the miniatures' bases still visible above the ballast.


Place the miniature in a plastic tub to catch the excess. Using the shaker, evenly coat the entire base.



Shake the base clean. Shake from side to side inside the tub first, then hold the base between your thumb and middle finger. Using your index finger, tap the back. Or use both hands, if you want to be lazy...




Now you have a finished base... or do you?


For extra credit, attach some foliage clumps. Using the scenic project glue bottle, squeeze out some small dabs of glue onto the base, then firmly press the provided foliage clumps into the glue. To go even farther, brush on some glue onto the foliage clump and sprinkle on some green and yellow fine turf:


Ta-da! You now have Sicilian themed bases. They also work for any sparsely-grassed areas. Extra tip: adding large rocks helps to break up the bases as well. Try to use slate, or other rocks of similar shape, as it looks similar to limestone when painted.


When in Sicily...

TAKE THE HIGH GROUND!

Thanks for reading!
--FP135

Sicilian Bases Part 1: The Research

First, Do Your Research


(Click to Enlarge)

"The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.

Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. The Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island; the Mediterranean's sea lanes were opened and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was toppled from power. It opened the way to the Allied invasion of Italy."
- Wikipedia

Below is a picture of the Sicilian countryside around Caltanissetta, in central Sicily:



Finally, I found a topographical map of Sicily:




From what I can make out by the troop movement map above, is that my model Infantry Division (The 9th ID) entered the south-eastern tip of the island (south-west of Syracuse) with what looks like the 45th Infantry. According to http://bio.sicilian.net/ :


"The Southeast corner comprises a series of high plateaus made up of lava, tuff and above all limestone, and features a number of impressive gorges carved out by water erosion through the centuries.The innermost part of the island is predominantly hilly, consisting mainly of the so called A1topiano Solfifero (literally the sulphur uplands'), with altitudes ranging from 500-700 m. Its summit, however, with the snow, rises to almost 1,OOOm."

Limestone. That was what stuck out to me the most. I could do that! Also, beaches are of a similar color. So, I started my basing project, intending to make a multipurpose Sicilian base theme for my US infantry.

Part Two of this guide will show step-by-step how I went about achieving the desired affect.