A new Realm of Basing

The other day I finally got a chance to work with some of the other sheets of sculpey that I had pressed with the Green Stuff World Texture rollers.  I have already done a few articles on these, but this time I have the new Mosaic tile texture!!

To keep things relatively simple, I am staying with the tried and true cork and sculpey sheet combo.  I begin with breaking up a typical sheet of thin cork, which will support the sculpey.  

As you can see, there are only overhangs in certain spots.  This is done for aesthetic purposes, but also practical gaming concerns.  When I only have a few areas that stick out, it means that figures can still get into base to base contact if necessary.

That extra bit of cork also means that I can show off a little more texture from the sculpey sheets too... not to mention any figure that also has a wider footprint.

The sheets are broken up into smaller pieces, roughly the shape of the cork.  From there, I take a clippers to it and snip off some of the overhang.  An exacto knife can be used to make some broken texture to the edges.

While I love the Celtic texture... I was itching to try the mosaic tile!  I have my own technique for painting these, but having the texture sheets like these will make multibasing armies a lot easier.

Look at the edges of these two bases.  You can see how a little bit of broken texture was carved from the edges with that exacto knife.

The pieces of sculpey are glued in place, and now they are ready for the final stage, which is adding the gravel and sand.

I never toss any of my smaller chunks, as they can be used to fill in splits in the sheets like the base on the left.  They can also be set off to the side of the main piece, to look like a section has broken off, etc.

A collection of mosaic bases ready for sand and gravel too!

If you don't want to have the layer of cork underneath, you can simply make the sculpey sheet thicker.  The one on the right is about twice as thick as the sheet I rolled on the left.

In addition, adding pieces of statuary is one more wonderful element that can be added to these mosaic style bases.

The entire batch has set up, and now the big finish...

A bit of elmer's glue will be used to secure the sand and gravel to the edges.  I have heavy gravel, light, and sand.

The heaviest gravel is placed first, followed by the medium, and then finally the sand.  Not only does this add a touch of realism to these floors, but it strengthens them as well.

 I make sure to glue the gravel and sand to the underside of any 'overhangs', where the sculpey sheet is not directly supported by the cork.

The extra firm grey sculpey is a lot stronger than the regular white sculpey, but it is always best to provide that extra bit of strength.

A new set of bases complete, and ready for painting!!!!

Stay tuned for more on the painting... and then maybe we will put minis on them!!