Nowadays wargame miniatures are mounted on more and more elaborate bases. And one of the more popular types are the dynamic rock bases, where a commanding figure can look even more impressive mounted on top of a rocky boulder. Today, I’ll show you how this is done.

Here’s what you’ll need: The miniature to be based (of course), craft size wire snips, copper wire (thin) - or a paper clip will do in a pinch, super glue, razor, pin vice, and craft corks.

STEP ONE: Keep the base you’re going to use close at hand and start tearing the cork down to size using needle nose pliers or just your finger nails. Keep in the mind the basic shape you’re shooting for, and keep the miniature at hand to make sure it’ll stand on the base correctly. You’re basically wanting a nice and rocky edge with a flat top and bottom. After you get the rock base shaped the way you want it, cut it from the rest of the cork.

STEP TWO: Mount the rock you just cut onto the base using a generous amount of super glue, and set it aside to dry. Next, take your snips, and cut off the slotta-tab of the miniature. File it down flat if you wish.

STEP THREE: Using your pin vice, drill into one of the legs (or any part that contacts the base) from underneath. This will be where a wire will be mounted that will connect the miniature to the rock and base.

STEP FOUR: Cut the wire so that once placed, the wire will extend clear down though the rock and break the surface of the plastic base.

STEP FIVE: Find out where the wire will go into the rock, and using the pin vice, drill through the rock and plastic base.

STEP SIX: Coat the wire with super glue and any surface of the miniature that will contact the rock. Insert this into the hole you just drilled.

STEP SEVEN: Secure the miniature to the base with a rubber band and let it sit for a few hours while the glue cures. Once dry, the combination of super glue and wire rod will make for a sturdy miniature, even on a flexible cork.

FINAL WORD: There you have it! A dynamic base for a dynamic miniature. To strengthen the base even more, use green stuff to surround the area where the wire breaks the surface of the plastic base from underneath. If the rock isn’t completely flush with the surface of the plastic base, use green stuff to fill in the gaps. You can also use green stuff around the areas on the miniature that connect to the rock to strengthen the joint. When you’re ready, just paint the cork rock like you would any other base, and you’re all set!

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DEACON

Filed under: Games - Game Craft, Modeling Rock Bases by DEACON
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Making durable and convincing snow coverage for simple displays and wargaming miniature bases has been a long-standing difficulty for many modelers. This how-to article outlines the way I make mine. Certainly there are better methods to achieve a higher level of realism but I have gotten many compliments on the appearance of my snow bases and have yet to have any “yellow” with age, or degrade in effect with handling.

MATERIALS:

Above are the materials I will use to illustrate my methods:

-white glue

-blue ink

-baking soda

-liquitex texture medium

One could omit the texture medium if it is too expensive or hard to come by in your area. This will make your snow covering more smooth but still convincing. One can also substitute blue acrylic paint for the ink, but as the ink is a more concentrated pigment and has some nice qualities to it, I would not recommend the switch unless you have no other option.

STEP 1: Mixing the Ingredients

While I don’t follow any hard and fast measurements for this mixture, I do roughly recommend equal portions of white glue and texture medium, with an amount of baking soda equal to both glue and medium combined. This can be a rough “to the eye” assessment as you can always add a little water or baking soda if the mix is too thick or thin.

Slowly start to mix all the ingredients together with a stirring stick or a small bit of plastic. An old brush will work well in a pinch if you have nothing else suitable. When the parts are thoroughly mixed you should have a bubbly, thick goo the consistency of toothpaste. It is at this point that I add a tiny amount of blue ink. I cannot stress enough that a little ink goes a long way. Wet a brush completely in water then dip the tip into your ink bottle. Let any excess drip off. Then very lightly touch the tip of the brush in the center of your snow mixture. A small amount of dilute ink should be left over. Mix the color into the snow and judge if it is too dark or too light. If too light, repeat the step above for adding the ink. If too dark add a bit more glue and a bit of clean water. It is far better to be too light than too dark as the color will become more apparent as the mixture dries. Below is an example of the snow mixture with blue ink added.

STEP 2: Applying the Snow

Now that our mix is complete we need to apply it to our base. When applying a lot of snow I use the spatula I mixed with, but if the mixture is just for a miniature base, an old brush will do just fine. Very carefully pile on the mixture in your base making sure to keep it off the sides and off any models. Apply it thickly and in mounds to provide a little variation in coverage. The mixture reduces in size quite a bit when it is fully dried and thin areas of coverage will appear slightly translucent. This can work to your advantage, or disadvantage depending on the effect you are after.

As you can see above, the mixture is applied smoothly in slight humps to provide a bit more visual interest than a plain even surface.

When this is done take a small handful of baking soda and sprinkle it liberally over anywhere coated with the mixture. This will add a needed level of surface texture as well as a slight bit of sparkle on the finished product.

Allow the whole pile to dry 24 hours before removing the baking soda. Do not rush this step as I have ruined many bases by being impatient. The baking soda on top of the mixture creates a crust on the mixture that may lend the appearance of hardness, but when manipulated, or dry-brushed, crumbles apart.

STEP 3: Finishing the Base

When 24 hours have passed, remove all the baking soda with a soft brush. What you are left with should resemble the base below:

As you can see there is a slight blue cast and sparkle to the snow. You can leave the snow as is at this point if you are satisfied with the results, but I prefer to give it a quick dry-brushing with some pure white paint to bring out the texture and small mounds a bit more.

Simply clean up any of the base edges that got hit with the dry-brushing with a little black paint and there you have your finished icy, snowy gaming base.

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Number 9

Filed under: Games - Game Craft, Modeling Snow by DEACON
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A little known trick of skilled model converters and sculptors is to take an aspect of a model, say a shield or shoulder plate decoration, copy it, and transfer it to other parts of the model or use it on an entirely different model. This process goes by many names, but I’m going to call it Green Stuff Casting, or GSC. GSC is a great technique, but it can be a bit on the fiddly side, so don’t get frustrated if it takes you a few tries to get right. You’ll get better the more you try. Today I’m going to show you how I used GSC to copy a Khador icon from a Juggernaut model for use on the models fists - I thought they looked a bit plain

Here’s what you’ll need. The model detail to copy, green stuff, vaseline, and a exacto knife with a few brand new blades. You’ll also want a desk lamp with a high watt bulb to aid in the curing process.

STEP 1: Spread a small amount of vaseline on the area to be copied. Keep in mind to use just enough to slick up the surface. If you use too much to where gobs form in corners and details of the area to be copied, use an exacto knife to scrape out the excess - it will show up in the mold you make. Be careful to get any surface that will be touched by the green stuff, if you don’t, it will bond to the surface of the model.

STEP 2: Mix equal parts of blue and yellow stuff into a glob of green just big enough to cover the area to be copied. Make sure it’s thick enough to be easily pulled off when the time comes. Once mixed, rub in a little vaseline and mix again - this will make the green stuff very slick, and will keep it from bonding to any unlubricated surfaces of the model in case you missed any

STEP 3: Press the mixed putty firmly over the area. You’ll want to leave plenty of space on the sides of whatever you’re duplicating for ease of removal later. Make sure you apply enough pressure to capture all the detail, but not so much as to run the element straight through the putty. Let this sit until it cures fully, usually 24 hours.

NOTE: You can speed up the curing process by placing wet putty in front of a high watt bulb for about 20-30 minutes. Don’t place it right next to the bulb, because if the temp is too high, it will cause the putty to swell. After the heat soaks in, the putty will begin to look glossy - remove it and allow it to cool. Test the hardness of the putty by lightly poking it with your knife. It may take a few tries to get fully cured.  WARNING!  Dont heat if you are copying plastic parts.  Plastic + heat = BAD.

STEP 4: Slowly remove the cured putty with your knife. If it bends at all, it’s not ready - allow it to cure more before removing. You should get a perfect copy of the detail - this is the “mold” that you can use over and over. This is the hardest thing to get right - it may take a few tries to get all the detail. The biggest cause of ruined molds is excess vaseline in corners and such that much up the detail.

STEP 5: Mix some green stuff with vaseline like you did to make the mold, and make as many blobs as you need copies. Press them firmly into the mold and remove. Set these aside on a lubricated surface to prevent bonding, and allow them to cure. You may want to make a few extras in case you make a mistake in the next step.

STEP 6: Once cured, use a brand new blade and carefully remove the copy. Just take your time and do it right the first time. You may need to trim up the edges after you’ve removed it.

Now place wherever you want! Just use super glue to affix it in place. Whats cool about the green stuff is that even cured, it’s flexable, allowing you to glue it to surfaces that are unlike the original location. Once in place, you can use your knife to fix up any imperfections.
Using the GSC method, you can do all sorts of conversions from the simple to the complex.

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DEACON

Filed under: Games - Game Craft, Green Stuff Casting by DEACON
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Once you get your table built, you gottah have something to put in it right!? Well this article goes over how to build 2 table tops, a playing area and a record keeping area - these will most likely be the tops you use most.

What you need:

- 6 2×2″x8′ boards (8 to be safe)

- 2 sheets of lauan underlayment. Have the guy at the lumber yard cut it to 2 2×4′ pieces and 2 6×4′ pieces.

- a bunch of small flat head wood nails.

- 24 1″ 90* metal corner brackets

- 48 1″ wood screws up to 96 can be used, the more the better

After you get the lumber home, cut the 2×2s with a miter or circular saw into the following:

- 4 4′ boards

- 3 1′9″ boards

- 3 3′9″ boards

- 2 5′9″ boards

After cutting, you should have something like this sitting on your work-area floor:

 Set the 3′9″ pieces to the side and assemble two frames using 2 4′ pieces with 2 1′9″ pieces, and 2 4′ pieces the 5′9″ pieces. To connect the boards, use the corner brackets and 1″ wood screws. You should get something like this:

 Next, insert the three 3′9″ pieces evenly into the larger frame, attaching them with the corner brackets on each side of the supports. Insert the last 1′9″ piece into the middle of the smaller frame in the opposite direction the same way. You should get something like this:

Lastly, using the smaller wood nails, tack on the pieces of lauan underlayment to the respective frames. This will give you a solid surface on both sides of the table top, allowing you if you wish to put a different surface on each side. ie : grass on one side, space-scape on the other.

Once completed, and surfaced, these table tops will slip right into the table you just built. Whats so cool about this system is that you can have mounds of table tops and modular terrain, but you’ll only ever have to build the one table.

Our main toppers are a 6×4 playing area with a classic green gamescape and a record keeping area topped with easy-stick floor tiles. You can get them at home depot, they come in a wide variety of colors and styles in 1×1′ sheets. And they only cost about a buck each. They make a great writing surface and the area is great for keeping books, lists, and casualties off the battlefield.

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DEACON

Filed under: Game Table Tops, Games - Game Craft by DEACON
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Ah, the table top war games table. A must for any serious gamer who doesn’t want to put up with the plethora of crap you may encounter at the local hobby store, be it the stink of the unwashed masses that insist on picking up and dropping your models, or the scream and whine of the sore loser 10 year old. If you want to game on your terms, you need a table of your own.

Now sure, you can always settle for some green felt on the dining room table, but if you want to make a bitching table for your games that’s not only durable, but functional - here’s all you’ll need to know. This plan along with making a few table tops to fit into it will cost you less than a hundred bucks, not bad at all.

Now as tools go, make sure you have at least the following : electric drill with screw and wood bits, a level, a circular saw, measuring tape, and a pencil. We recommend that you have a miter saw instead of a circular saw, and an electric sander will also help.

Now we’ve built quite a few gaming tables in our day, and after trial and error we’ve decided that this design is not only the most affordable, but most versatile. On top of that, this plan has 2 big advantages.

- It’s able to be disassembled and reassembled in under 20 minutes, yet sturdy as a tank when it’s together. Making it perfect for conventions and people who may be moving at some point.

- Able to take on simple table tops OR modular terrain sections. Nothing is fixed. And because of the open underside, you can rig your scenery up with electricity and other effects.

Note: this table was built to fit both a 4×6′ gaming area, and a 2×4′ record keeping area, for a grand total of 4×8′ of table area. If you go any larger or smaller, you will have to adjust the measurements accordingly. First stop - HOME DEPOT!

 Now here’s what you’ll need:

We measured 14″ to the tops of our bottom support boards in order to make a sort of “bar pole” on which to rest our feet during a long game.

Now go through and screw the 2×4 supports into the upper frame, level with the tops of the posts. If you want a tad more support for your table tops, cut a length of 2×2 and fit it onto the short supports as shown:

AND THERE YAH HAVE IT! All in all, it took us about a day to complete, and less than 100 bucks with a table top. Whats cool about this plan is the versatility, it will take all manner of table tops, even modular 2×2′ chunks, and can be completely taken apart and reassembled time and time again.

 

Finished table with a 6x4' playing area and a 2x4' record keeping area. We've placed green turf on the underside of the record keeping section so if needed, the table can offer a 4x8' playing surface!

Filed under: Games - Game Craft, Ultimate Game Table by DEACON
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