Necromunda Bases

I'm starting to build a Goliath gang from Necromunda. The industrial bases that come with the kit are really nice. I decided to magnetize these bases in case I'd like to store/display them in a special manner down the road.

I chose a subdued color palette. Here I airbrushed a light grey over black, painted small scratches and rust marks with German camo black/brown, then stippled with a very watered-down mixture of turquoise, and later purple. Once dry, I used enamel washes to create the rust and the darker shadows.

Fun one-day project.

Cork Bases

I really do love making bases. It’s a fun little vignette for your figures and you can choose to take as much artistic license as you’d like. You can do so much more than just applying globs of glue and sand.

Here is one of my favorite techniques that looks great yet is easy enough for army building. I start with a ⅛-inch thick sheet of cork from a craft store. Next, I simply tear off bits with my fingers or a tweezer and then attach them to my base. I personally like to use several small pieces for each base and then fill the cracks and crevices with sand and small stones. The end result is a base reminiscent of a scarred landscape like the desert. The best part is that the base is entirely level on top making attachment of the figure absolutely trivial. I tend to pin the model to the base but a dollop of a strong adhesive like epoxy will work, too.

Shown above are a set of bases for my Ork army. I chose muted colors to ensure the model on top will be the central focus. I painted the entire surface Olive Skin from Reaper, followed by Blacked-Brown along on the sides of the cork. I later applied a brown ink wash and drybrushed with Terran Khaki and Yellowed Bone. I stippled a bit of Palomino Gold in there, too, but the effect is somewhat lost under the drybrushing. The edge of the base is Olive Drab.

My first attempt at painting a mini

I was digging through my old photos and came across the one posted above. I forgot all about this little guy! It's a Chaos Iron Warrior Space Marine from Games Workshop. Now that's a mouthful.

I painted this model way back in 2002 (was it really that long ago?) following my first visit to a local game store. I had just built a plastic model tank and I was looking for some paint. Before long, the hobby supplies were an afterthought as I was now browsing a wall of detailed miniatures. Although I had painted a few Ral Partha minis in high school, I had no idea people still made these things nor that they had become so intricate.

This little guy was repainted about a dozen times until I thought he looked "just right." He's the model that ultimately inspired me to search countless web sites and forums where I learned about tricks & techniques for painting. Lost years ago after we moved, it's fun to see him one more time.

Back to painting

After a long hiatus, I decided to pick up the brush and try my hand at painting once again. Here are a few pictures. Maybe it's not my best work, but I'm happy with the results considering the rusty skills.

The first miniature is a Blood Angels space marine from Games Workshop. To accelerate the process, I base coated the model by airbrushing Tamiya gloss red over white primer. I don't know how much good that did since it still took me a full day to finish the rest of the mini!


Unfortunately, I coated him with a sealer from DecoArt called Triple Thick Gloss Glaze. I thought this might be a fast way to apply a bullet-proof protective coat on a gaming miniature. Although it did the trick, the heavy sealer obscured all the details. Oh well, live and learn.

The marine fired up my inspiration so I decided to paint another model. This time I chose a simple sturm zombie from the game Incursion and primed with a grey automotive spray. I limited my palette to muted colors and tried to focus my efforts on applying a lot of contrast. Here's a shot the paint palette.


Considering the troubles I had encountered with the marine, I fell back to my 'tried and true' approach for sealing: airbrushed coats of Model Master gloss and flat lacquer. Much better!


I have a couple zombies on hand and will probably tackle more of the undead in the future.