Ground Cover

Some of you have seen my initial posts on the winter American army for Bastonge... and the basing articles on how they were created.  I just discovered these work in progress images showing the method I used to get some leaves, dirt and dust onto the bases, along with some minor applications of snow.

I wanted to have a "little bit of each", with a few scattered leaves, some dirt and a touch of snow.  The previous basing article is here:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/02/urban-warfare.html

Using the Green Stuff World leaf punches (and some previously pressed and dried leaves), I made a selection of different colors and shapes.

I have discovered that the Mig AMMO Sand and Gravel glue is amazing!  It has incredible hold, and dries with a matt finish.  This is designed to hold actual dirt and dust to vehicles, so why not weathering powders and snow?!

In this case, I used Secret Weapon weathering powders.  Image 1 shows the glue and leaves added to the base... all I need to do is scatter the powders gently over the top, which you can see in image 2.

Scattering the powders over the top of the leaves makes them seem like part of the base, as opposed to something that was just tacked on!  The dust also sinks down into the cracks, and generally adds a little more texture to the base.

This set of images shows the process again... place some glue where you want the leaves and dirt, then add your leaves, followed by the weathering powders.

At this stage, you could even scatter a few small piles of snow flock into the glue, which will resemble a dusting of snow.  If you combine that with some of the dirt colored weathering powder, it will look like muddy snow in the streets.

Here are some examples prior to the application of that snow... with only the leaves and dirt.

This one includes the machine gun team... finished images of that are here:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/04/making-nest.html

The inset shows what a difference in texture this can make, especially in "rubble strewn" areas like blasted structures.  For those looking to base your troops in those ruined urban landscapes, this additional texture can be a nice touch.

And now for a sneak peek at the finished figures!  I also used the crushed glass method to create slightly bigger piles on some figures, and get some scattered snow onto the figures too.  Stay tuned for more completed images of the army!