The Green Tide

Here is a quick and easy way to base your models. This tutorial shows you how to make the most basic level of bases. You can dress up the bases by adding larger rocks, shrubs, plants, etc. You can also scale the technique up for small dioramas. The bigger the base, the more you will want to add. This method relies on citadel washes to give you highlights and low lights without added several layers of paint, wash, and drybrushing.

You will need the following supplies:

An old paint brush you don’t care about ruining. Drybrushes are too big, use a medium detail brush.
PVA glue (aka Elmers)
Modeling sand or small rocks; preferably some meant for hobby bases. Normal sand is too small and doesn’t give a good textured look.
Static grass. I use Games Workshop brand but any will work. Flock won’t work so don’t even try it.
Brown wash. I use citadel’s Devlan Mud
Brown paint. I buy a bottle of cheap stuff from the craft store for $1.19

I started with an ork boy that has been completely painted but is still unassembled. I paint my miniatures without their heads and arms so that I can reach all of the crevices that would otherwise be impossible to reach. It’s a good idea to wait to glue these parts on because grass and sand will work their way into these crevices and you will have to spend time to clean it out.

You want the legs of the model to be attached to the base before starting because glueing the feet down afterwards will make the feet look like they are hovering above the ground. The same goes for any sort of terrain like rocks and plants.

First, paint the entire base brown. It may take a few coats, especially if you are using cheap paints. Any medium brown will work. I like to leave the edges of my bases black.

After the paint dries, spread a coat of watered down pva glue onto the base. I mix about 1/3 water to 2/3 glue. I save the glue in a paint pot for future use. The pva glue will want to shrink into a pool in the center of the base so you should move quickly to the next step and touch up the areas close to the edge of the base if you need to.

Heavily sprinkle the modeling sand onto the base. Turn the model upside down and gently shake off the extra sand. Repeat a few times to ensure that all of the sand has worked its way into all of the glue. Do not use more glue unless there are empty spots on the base without any sand. Adding more glue on top of the sand will create a mess. Touching the sand glued to the base at this point will a ruin the sand.

Leave the base to dry. This will take a few hours.

Heavily wash the base using your brown wash. Use large drops to cover the sand. You want the sand to be completely covered and the wash to be heavily pooling in all of the crevices. This may take a few tries to get right. It works best to use only one coat of wash. Two coats will darken the sand too much. On the other hand, too little will leave the sand too light and appear unfinished. If the sand starts becoming loose, don’t worry. The glue will harden again when the wash dries.

Leave the base to dry overnight. Sprinkling grass onto anything that is remotely damp will completely ruin the base.

Paint PVA glue onto areas of the base where you want to put your static grass. You don’t have to move as fast this time.

Sprinkle the static grass onto the whole base. Tap the base a couple times to make sure the grass settles into the glue. Tap the excess static grass off of the base. Repeat several times.

If you want the static grass to stand up like real grass, blow across the grass really hard around the edge of the base and it will pop up.