Basing a Minas Tirith army, need options!

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:38 am

I have an army of MT and it is themed like the osgiliath fighting host. So after painting, I d like to find a cheap and satisfying basing material. I don't want grass or ground, I would like something like ruins, broken stones, old town's tiles etc.

The fast method is base stampedes, but I believe for what you buy is expensive and you must use a large amount of green stuff also (milliput should work here ?)

The only idea I have atm is using Army painter's Black Battleground and highlight it to grey.

But I need your opinions

Dorthonion · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:52 am

Plain plastic card/sheet can be cut into small tiles and glued to the base, or you could look at some of the many textured sheets. For rubble and variation, add a few bits of cork or talus and coarse grit/fine talus.
For examples of the embossed stuff look here:
http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/warg ... ?limit=all

Sticky Fingersss · **Joined:** Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:20 am **Posts:** 1776

This is how I based my Minas Tirith guys, I just cut out bits of thin cardboard:

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:47 pm

I would not like to cut so many bits and glue em etc etc cause my army is pretty big.. But the plastic sheets seem a nice solution. The only problem is that I must cut off every miniature from its base and re-glue it after placing the plastic sheet.

Thank you very much for your answers! I will update the topic when I complete the work ^^

TheBlondeRider · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:30 pm

Hey mate,

I've used this stuff on my Dwarves (some who attended the GBHL tournament in Stockport UK can verify)

http://m.conrad.nl/ce/nl/product/244711 ... n?ref=list

Its available in all sorts of styles, cobbles, big and ancient like, minas tirithy, or even marble. Find the one that you fancy, cut to size and give it a paintjob with a Drybrush.

Bob yer uncle, hope this helped!

Dezartfox · **Posted:** Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:50 pm

Yeah if you don't mind cutting the models off the bases, textured plastic card and get a compass cutter to cut neat circles

Otherwise maybe create yourself a partial press mold of some cobbles and just press it on parts of the bases. Then use rubble and sand on the remainder to cover the edges of the greenstuff. Less greenstuff used overall and makes for a ruined base style

TheBlondeRider · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:56 am

Dezartfox wrote:

Yeah if you don't mind cutting the models off the bases, textured plastic card and get a compass cutter to cut neat circles

Otherwise maybe create yourself a partial press mold of some cobbles and just press it on parts of the bases. Then use rubble and sand on the remainder to cover the edges of the greenstuff. Less greenstuff used overall and makes for a ruined base style

Nope, not that hard! Cut squares of the base size, so making strips of 25mm from the length of the plastic sheet, then squares of 25mm out of that strip. Plastic cutters to clip to size, add a little rubble on top of that and you are done.

The fact that you cut off the models from the base isnt that much of a hassle compared to working around the legs. And weaker poses that had to be reinforced anyway, like horses, are accessed as well.

Dezartfox · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 11:55 am

Depends how neat you want it really, I use a compass cutter to get a perfect circle. Though I've only used it for one project since I got it haha

Gene Parmesan · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:21 pm

Check out some DIY/Home improvement shops. I use a fresco wallpaper that is embossed into tiny rectangles. They are the perfect size for cobblestones on 28mm models. And the beauty is you can usually get a sample of the roll for free.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:51 pm

Nice answers. But my problem is that I have troubles finding local stores with this stuff...
If anyone could refer to an online shop for embossed plastic sheet in 28mm scale would be perfect.
@Dorthonion
This site has some cheap stuff but I cant find the dimensions of the products. Is it trustworthy, has anyone bought from there?

Pindergorn · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 5:06 pm

This is the method that D.M.S and I use for cobblestone/flagstone. (DMS came up with it, and does it much better than me).

1.Mix up some milliput (I used standard yellow-grey), and stick it onto a base and press it down until its the desired thickness.
2. Crumple up some metal kitchen foil, then flatten it out.
3. Press the foil into the putty to leave a rough, irregular imprint. This creates a nice realistic looking texture for stone.
4.Trim and tidy up the sides with a knife.
5.Allow the milliput to cure until its rock hard.
6. When its cured, take a sharp pointed round file and scratch out the outlines of the cobble/flag stones. When you're satisfied, begin carving deep recesses along the lines. Wrap something around your fingers, like sellotape, because this will cause blisters.

Then when you're satisfied, clip the tab off your model, drill the feet and pin it to the base.

Pros:
-Looks great

Cons:
-very labour intensive
-gives you blisters

Valadorn · **Posted:** Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:09 pm

King Ondoher wrote:

This is the method that D.M.S and I use for cobblestone/flagstone. (DMS came up with it, and does it much better than me).

1.Mix up some milliput (I used standard yellow-grey), and stick it onto a base and press it down until its the desired thickness.
2. Crumple up some metal kitchen foil, then flatten it out.
3. Press the foil into the putty to leave a rough, irregular imprint. This creates a nice realistic looking texture for stone.
4.Trim and tidy up the sides with a knife.
5.Allow the milliput to cure until its rock hard.
6. When its cured, take a sharp pointed round file and scratch out the outlines of the cobble/flag stones. When you're satisfied, begin carving deep recesses along the lines. Wrap something around your fingers, like sellotape, because this will cause blisters.

Then when you're satisfied, clip the tab off your model, drill the feet and pin it to the base.

Pros:
-Looks great

Cons:
-very labour intensive
-gives you blisters

This is a very accurate and nice guide! The best looking cobble stone basing, but when you have to base around 100+ models this isn't possible for the time i have...
Maybe I will do it for some elites but,
what about the rest of the army? :sad:

Pindergorn · **Posted:** Tue Jun 10, 2014 1:13 am

Make one base, then use a reusable epoxy instant mould to cast more bases from greenstuff or milliput.

I got some instant mould recently and I'm playing about with it, making shields etc from greenstuff. I'll try it out on a cobble stone base and post some pictures.

daersalon · **Joined:** Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:34 am **Posts:** 265

For my Numenoreans I wanted a 'fishscale' cobble effect on all the bases (and ultimately the trays).

I made 3 or 4 masters, by putting green stuff on a 25 and 40mm base. Then using a tool to shape the cobblestones.

Using some insta mould around these masters I created plenty of bases using casting resin.

Often though a mix between rubble and cobbles looks good, so for my Ruffians I would use some air-drying clay on a plain base. Make the clay nice and damp and make 'score marks' on the plastic base as a 'key' for the clay to attach better to and apply the clay to the base ina few places (or all over..). Smooth down the edges and it won't easily flake away in use (a problem I had initially when I had used clay wasn't damp enough). let it dry just a little and trace out a simple cobble pattern on part (or all if you feel adeventurous) of the base. Add some sand and it makes a nice contrasting effect.

It is also quite quick to cover just one or two areas on a base this way and trace the stones in a small pattern. You don't have to match up the whole base exactly either, again making it faster to do many models.

Valadorn · **Posted:** Tue Jun 10, 2014 10:03 pm

King Ondoher way + instant molding seems fast and impressive. I will go with that.

I already cast with IM so it will be easy job for me. I will use milliput, not resins cause i am not familiar with them.. But milliput gives a nice looking texture for the stone. Also it's very cheap

Basing a Minas Tirith army, need options!

Who is online