Making textured bases

Working on the Duke Gerard figure has inspired me to refurbish my small Space Marine force.

Most of the figures are plastic multi-part figures, and came with bases with no slots. I have previously just glued the figures onto black-primed bases. To match the slate base on the Duke Gerard figure, I tried to make similarly textured bases cheaply.

I used a tub of household putty filler I had around the house. Using the applicator that came with the tub, I applied a layer about 1 to 2 mm thick across the top of the slotless round bases. Using two or three applications at slightly different angle and force, I tried to create the 'layered' look of slate.

 
After leaving the bases a couple of hours to dry, I applied watered-down white glue to seal the surface. You can see the detail more clearly in this close-up picture.

Once that has dried, I spray it with black primer, and then it's just a quick dry-brush job with medium grey paint and a highlight with light grey. You can see the similarity between the resin base and the DIY base.


Posed with the standard bearer.