Like Tog, I recently completed my army display base for the Necronomicon this week. Unlike Tog, I had the constraint that it had to fit in my luggage. Therefore, mine is smaller, less elaborate and includes no free space for decorative terrain or structures. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the results. Below is a quick look at the progress through the major stages:
Step 1. Map out the proposed placement for the models. I was going for a simple stair-step piece so it just made sense to put the tall models in the back and the harlequins up front. Fortunately, the squad size and structure of my army made for a very balanced look with two tanks and two jet bike squads on either side and the littler squads spread evenly out front. The Farseer would fall in the center of it all but needed some sort of raised platform to give him the attention he required.
Step 2. Cutting the cork. I used cork to represent layered rock on several of my character pieces in the army so I found it only fitting to use it for the overall base. I like how the torn edges of cork create a very natural looking rocky edge effect and this step did not take a great deal of time.
Step 3. Adding the sandy ballast, small boulders, and the rocky outcrop for the Farseer to stand on. The sand was added to create additional texture to the piece. I imagined the eroding of the rock edges to create small pepples and sand so that dictated its placement. Small boulders were also added from cork "crumbles" left over during the tearing of the large cork sheets. The stand for the Farseer is simply several layers of cork stacked on top of each other.
>Step 4. Coloring. The bases on all of my Eldar resemble sandy or rocky ground covered in snow. The display base was painted to exactly match that. It started with a heafty base coat of black (I used spray paint to save time and get a nice flat coat that didn't cover any of the cork's texture). Next, I dry brushed it with a pewter gray followed by two more layers of progressively lighter shades of gray. I was careful to catch the sharp, torn edges of the cork with the paintbrush to ensure the rocky-look was accentuated. I think it worked.
Step 5. Let it snow. I used the same snow technique I've been using on all of my models' bases. Its simply watered-down and spread-out whipped spackle. The actual name of the product is
Foam Putty but I have a small bucket of whipped spackle that looks, feels, and smells just like it. In any case, I throw a glob on the base in various places and smooth it out by watering it down and spreading it with a wet knife. When it dries, it looks like a snow drift.
Viola! The base is complete and the models don't fall over. I saved the neatest part for last. The foundation for this base is actually a breakfast in bed tray that can be purchased fairly cheaply ($13) from
Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It has fold-out legs that (a) allow it to fit neatly in my suitcase, (b) bring the models closer to eye level for viewing, and (c) can be positiong over the terrain on the game table so you don't need to move the terrain out of the way to lay it down between games. Unfortunately, I cannot claim credit for this idea. A couple of players shared this solution with me at last year's Baltimore GT when they saw that i was moving my army around on an old, burnt cookie sheet.
Step 1. Map out the proposed placement for the models. I was going for a simple stair-step piece so it just made sense to put the tall models in the back and the harlequins up front. Fortunately, the squad size and structure of my army made for a very balanced look with two tanks and two jet bike squads on either side and the littler squads spread evenly out front. The Farseer would fall in the center of it all but needed some sort of raised platform to give him the attention he required.
Step 2. Cutting the cork. I used cork to represent layered rock on several of my character pieces in the army so I found it only fitting to use it for the overall base. I like how the torn edges of cork create a very natural looking rocky edge effect and this step did not take a great deal of time.
Step 3. Adding the sandy ballast, small boulders, and the rocky outcrop for the Farseer to stand on. The sand was added to create additional texture to the piece. I imagined the eroding of the rock edges to create small pepples and sand so that dictated its placement. Small boulders were also added from cork "crumbles" left over during the tearing of the large cork sheets. The stand for the Farseer is simply several layers of cork stacked on top of each other.
>Step 4. Coloring. The bases on all of my Eldar resemble sandy or rocky ground covered in snow. The display base was painted to exactly match that. It started with a heafty base coat of black (I used spray paint to save time and get a nice flat coat that didn't cover any of the cork's texture). Next, I dry brushed it with a pewter gray followed by two more layers of progressively lighter shades of gray. I was careful to catch the sharp, torn edges of the cork with the paintbrush to ensure the rocky-look was accentuated. I think it worked.
Step 5. Let it snow. I used the same snow technique I've been using on all of my models' bases. Its simply watered-down and spread-out whipped spackle. The actual name of the product is Foam Putty but I have a small bucket of whipped spackle that looks, feels, and smells just like it. In any case, I throw a glob on the base in various places and smooth it out by watering it down and spreading it with a wet knife. When it dries, it looks like a snow drift.
Viola! The base is complete and the models don't fall over. I saved the neatest part for last. The foundation for this base is actually a breakfast in bed tray that can be purchased fairly cheaply ($13) from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. It has fold-out legs that (a) allow it to fit neatly in my suitcase, (b) bring the models closer to eye level for viewing, and (c) can be positiong over the terrain on the game table so you don't need to move the terrain out of the way to lay it down between games. Unfortunately, I cannot claim credit for this idea. A couple of players shared this solution with me at last year's Baltimore GT when they saw that i was moving my army around on an old, burnt cookie sheet.
Great post, thanks
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