Basing wargaming figures (hiding plastic bases)

Recently, in a conversation about Clash of Spears, a player asked about hiding the "puddle" bases that are prevalent on historical wargaming figures.

Since I am in the middle of trying to get a Celt-Iberian warband finished in time for a tournament, and I am currently doing the bases on 34 figures, I felt it would be a good time to share my method.

Keep in mind, there are many, many other ways to do this. Some people cut off the puddles and glue the figures directly to the gaming base. Others use putty to build up the area around the puddle. And others may not be bothered by the appearance of the puddle at all.

This is the method that works for me and gives me results I am happy with.

The first step is to glue the figure to the final base. In the case of my example, I am using a square base, but the technique works for any shape base.

The "puddle" base can be clearly seen when glued to a regular base.

The first step is to cover the entire base with glue. I use carpenter's glue because I like the thicker consistency. But regular PVA (Elmer's white glue) works also.

Cover the entire base, including the puddle, in glue.

Step two is to dip your figure in sand and shake off the excess. I use sand that I got from the beach, sifted to get rid of the coarser grains. Beach sand is cheap (free!) and last time I went to the beach several years ago I brought back enough to last me for years. Sifting is a bit of a pain, but necessary to get rid of shell fragments and to get a more consistent size of sand for basing.

Dip the figure's base in sand.

As you can see, the puddle base is still clearly evident.

After the first dip in sand, the puddle can still be seen.

The next step then is to equalize the level of sand around the base. For this I use a scenic cement, applied with a needle applicator.

I make my own scenic cement (4.5 parts water, 4.5 parts PVA, 1 part isopropyl alcohol) and it works well for me. Woodland Scenics makes a similar product if you want to buy it ready to go.

Scenic cement in a needle applicator bottle.

The next step is to apply the cement only to the lower areas of the base. That is why I use a needle applicator in order to get the cement exactly where I want it.

The scenic cement is applied around the puddle base.

Finally, dip the model in the sand once again, knocking off the excess. This should level out the sand on the base, minimizing the appearance of the puddle base. In the case of some puddle bases that may be quite a bit taller, you may need to repeat this step.

The puddle base is no longer so apparent.

After this I paint my bases, add a little grass for visual interest, and voila! A completed, based figure.

A completed base.

I hope you found this brief tutorial helpful/educational. Please let me know what you think in the comments, and share your preferred method for basing. One of the great aspects of this hobby is learning from and encouraging each other.

'Til next time!