Basing Figures

Over the years I must have based thousands of figures. It is the part of the painting process I like least because it is tedious and repetitive.

However a good paint job can be ruined by poor basing, so it is worth some effort to get things to look right. This is a very subjective subject of course.

I have tried many techniques in my quest to find a fast and effective solution but I have yet to find a method I am completely happy with.

What follows is a brief description of my current method of basing.

If you want to try this for yourself you will need the following:

Materials needed

• PVA glue. (I got a big bottle in WHSmith's - in the children's crafts section - it was a lot cheaper than buying from a proper craft store.)
• 3 grades of scatter material - fine sand and grey stone gravel (fine and medium).
• Acrylic/emulsion paint in the base colour of choice. I mix my own from octagon yellow, raw umber and white. I am looking for a dry, light earth tone.
• And the final ingrediant is plain flour.

You will also need:

• An old paint brush.
• Static grass.

Getting Started

Mix the paint and PVA glue together in a 6 to 4 ratio (6 parts of paint to 4 parts of glue). Then add the flour - this is a bit trial and error but the mixture is very forgiving more paint or water can be added at any time. You are looking to get a slightly sticky consistency that will still paint onto the figure base - try it out a couple of times on an old bit of card.

Once base paint mixture is ready, paint it onto your figure bases. Be generous and get it to fill in around the metal bases to disguise the edge. NB: Your figures should already have their bases painted in the base colour.

Basing - Stage 1 Apply the Base Paint Mixture and Scatter Material



While the base paint is still wet add the scatter material. Start with the coarsest grade and on two or three places on the base drop a small amount of this material. Next repeat with the next coarsest gravel. Scatter this over the places where the first gravel is located and maybe one other places on the base. Use a bit more of this second gravel than the first. Finally use the sand. Again go over the areas already scattered (these areas now have all three types of scatter material - the effect should be of big stones surrounded by medium and small stones). Please note: you are not trying to get the scatter material all over the base.

Once the base paint is completely dry this will fix the scatter material in place and we can start the next stage. The bases should be left to dry overnight, but it is possible to work on them after two or three hours but you will not get as good results.

Basing - Stage 2 First Dry Brushing

Dry brush the whole base with a highlight colour. I use Americana Desert Sand - this looks a dry and dusty colour which is exactly what I want. This lighter coat starts to give depth to the base with the original, darker shade showing through in the dips and crevasses around the scatter material.

Basing - Stage 3 Highlight Drybrushing

The next step is to mix 1 part of Desert Sand with 1 part White and when the first dry brush coat is dry, repeat the dry brushing process. This time focus on the areas where the scatter material is locateded. (An occasional use of this colour elsewhere on the base is ok but do it sparingly. )The rocks and broken ground will begin to stand out.

Finally mix 4 parts White with 1 part Desert Sand and with very little paint on the brush quickly brush over the very top edges of the rocky bits. This has to be done carefully. If you can see what you have done it probably means your dry brushing was too heavy handed and the effect will not be as good as it could be.

Basing - Stage 4 Highlighting the Highlights and Static Grass

Now when this has all dried, put three or four small dabs of PVA on the base. Not on the rocky areas but on the flat areas around the rocks and scatter the base with static grass.

One last job, using you original base colour paint round the base edges.

Remember less is more, I have often spoilt a good effect by not stopping at the right time.

And why did I use flour - because it gives the mixture body and when the mixture dries the flour gives it a fine texture that careful dry brushing can bring out nicely.

Foundry Ancient British Chariots 28mm

I have had these on the shelf gathering dust for several years now. It's not that they are bad figures - far from it. It's because I have no use for them.

As with almost every other war gamer I know, I get enthusiasms, buy figures and before I get round to painting them the enthusiasm wanes and I am on to the next big thing. I have got better but my head can still be turned by an nice new range and well sculpted figures.

These figures date from my Ancient British army project, which would have given me an opponent for my Early Imperial Romans. However I lost motivation way before I finished. These chariots were amongst the first I completed and they are among my favourite Foundry figures.



Above is an Ancient British Queen leading her troops into battle. What would an Ancient British army be without a woman warrior!



Two styles of chariot were available at the time. The difference was in the side panels. The picture above shows one design and the next two pictures illustrate the other.






I believe there were 2 drivers and 4 crew figures available, so you could get a lot of movement in the chariot cab, however the range of horses was limited and this was a disappointment (The Queen came with her own driver - naked apart from his looted Roman helmet and horses with braided manes).

They were also quite expensive, fiddly to put together (especially the reins) and very time consuming to paint.

The combination of checks, lines, stripes worn by the fashion conscious British really can give an excellent impression but plays havoc with your patience and eyesight.

Last Bunny Rating: 8.5 out of 10. (It would have been 9.5 but I deducted them a point because of the expense.)

I should say here that I don't buy from Foundry any more so I can't say if they are still available.

Xyston Miniatures Figure Review - Part 2

More Persians and a few Macedonians

Another group of very fine figures - all on the big side but that is an advantage some of the time!

ANC20109 - Mounted Macedonian Generals and ANC20070 Macedonian Companions



In the above picture the central figure comes from the generals pack and the outer figures from the companions pack. The generals are all nicely modelled with presence and character. This noble is waving his sword, encouraging his troops on. One criticism of this figure is the position of the sword arm - it seems a little unnatural.



The 'General' here comes from the 'Persian' Xystophoroi pack ANC20125 with two more companions in support. The Xystophoroi are really quite big figures. Notice how splayed the legs are on both the companions and the general.



These three figures all come from the generals pack. The central figure is depicted as Pyrrhus. The other figures from the genreals pack provide his bodyguard. I have provided his bodyguard with shields and light spears - these are not supplied in the pack. Pyrrhus is said to have adopted the shield for his mounted troops after his time in Italy.

Last Bunny Rating: - Generals 8 out of 10
Last Bunny Rating: - Companions 8 out of 10
Last Bunny Rating: - Xystophoroi 7 out of 10


ANC20033 Paphlagonian Infantry



A set of nice figures with crescent shields which paint up well... but they remind me of the gorillas in Planet of the Apes. I think it is to do with the shape of the hat and the beards! Spoils it for me a little!

Last bunny Rating: - 7 out of 10

ANC20123 - Elymaian Archers



This is a much nicer pack of light archers than the persian archers mention in part 1. THese have a bit more body and the poses are more interesting.

Last Bunny Rating 7.5 out of 10

ANC20094 Indian Cavalry Command and ANC20095 Indian Cavalry



The central figure is from the cavalry command pack flanked by two figures from the indian cavalry pack. These are again very pleasing. The drawback here is that they seem to be a little smaller than the Greeks.

Last Bunny Rating: - 7 out of 10

Comments:

Another good group of figures. I have two main problems with these figures. The first is the variation in size. The difference between the Xystophoroi and the indians is quite marked. And secondly, and this a problem with all the mounted figures - the legs are too far apart. There is a great gap between the riders legs and the sides of the horse which no amount of leg bending or filling can get rid of satisfactorially.

Never the less still some of the best looking figures around.

Xyston Miniatures Figure Review

Late Achaemenid Persian 420BC - 329BC and Ariarathid Kappadokian

Xyston is currently my favourite Ancient historical figure manufacturer.

When they get it right the figures are well sculpted, with a lot of character and are relatively straightforward to paint. Generally, up until the latest couple of batches, the figures have been flash free and I have only had the odd mould line that has needed to be removed.

This review will look at figures from the Late Achaemenid Persian range and some from the linked Ariarathid Kappadokian range. These are my personal opinions so feel free to disagree.

ANC20063 - Persian Mounted Generals





















This pack comes with 4 figures - 2 generals and 2 standard bearers. In the above pictures the central and lefthand figures come from this pack. The right hand figures come from ANC20068 - Persian Satrapal Guard - with a variety of helmets, cuirasses and leg protection. I like the general figures - they are distinct and have an air of command about them - its a shame there are only 2 designs - I like at least 3 commanders and sometimes 4.

Last Bunny Rating: 8 out of 10

ANC20069 - Persian Colonist Cavalry

4 figures wearing conical bronze helmets - they all have bows and shields slung on their backs. 2 figures are in the process of shooting while the other 2 are brandishing their spears. These are very nicely executed and together look impressive.

Last Bunny Rating: 9 out of 10

ANC20077 - Babylonian Colonist Cavalry

These figures are all wearing the 'Babylonian' cap (NB: the figure on the left in the second picture is from ANC20086 - Persian Colonist Cavalry with Fillets).

I think these are particularly nice figures and some of the best in the range. Personally I would have liked another bow shooting figure in both this and the Persian Colonist packs - preferably shooting to the front although I know this is difficult to achieve in production terms - however a two piece casting or a separate arm might have worked.

Last Bunny Rating: 9.5 out of 10

ANC20061 - Kappadokian Hillmen Infantry

4 different designs all wearing cloaks and holding small round shields. They are a little static but the scuplting is well done.

Last Bunny Rating: 7 out of 10

ANC20050 - Persian Archers

I find these rather disappointing. The figures seem much slighter than the others in the range and the facial features are not as well defined and the poses lack originality.

Last Bunny Rating: 5 out of 10

ANC20105 - Kappadokian Noble Cavalry

This stand has 2 Kappadokian Nobles flanking a figure from the Satrapal Guard pack. These are on partially armoured horses. The figures from the Kaddadokian pack are well proportioned with good realistic positions. They really look like elite troops. The Satrapal Guard aren't quite of the same quality in my opinion, the head position sometimes seems a bit awkward and ungainly.

Last Bunny Rating: 8 out of 10 for the Kappadokians, 7 out of 10 for the Satrapal Guard

ANC20127 - Kappadokian Cavalry

The figures in this pack are all wearing the 'Kappadokian' cap with its characteristic bumps and ties, light body protection and cloaks. They ride unarmoured horses. I like these figures and they make a good show en masse.

Last Bunny Rating: 8 out of 10

ANC20128 - Kappadokian Light Cavalry

No cloaks or body armour this time as befitting their light cavalry roll. Once again they paint up well and give a good impression on the war games table.

Last Bunny Rating: 8 out of 10

ANC20087 - Persian Scythed Chariot

This is a splendid model. There are 2 driver model avaiable to give variety to the unit. The horses are well designed. I would have preferred 4 individual designs but there are only 2. Put together the whole just about fits on a 40mm by 40mm base. Positioning one next to another requires a bit of pre planning as the wheel hub scythes can clash. I solved this by bending the scythes on one chariot up and those on its neighbour down. It doesn't require much to enable them to sit comfortably side by side and isn't noticeable. It would be possible to drill out the driver's hands and insert reins for added realism.

Last Bunny Rating: 9 out of 10

General Comments

With all Xyston figures, if they are carrying a standard or a spear you will need to drill out the hand and supply your own spear. I use a minicraft drill and a 1mm drill bit. For the spears I use 7 inch stubb wire - which fits perfectly into the 1 mm wide holes. When you are doing the drilling you will need to hold the figure securely but not so tightly you damage the detail. I use an ordinary pair of pliers with kitchen towel in the jaws to protect the figure. (Don't hold the figure with your fingers, quite apart from the danger of drilling into yourself, the metal can get quite hot.) To get the point on the spears, I use the drill again with a grinding bit - it takes a couple of seconds for each spear point. All this drilling together with the gluing into the hand is a bit tedious but the results are worth the effort.

I believe there are 4 unarmoured horse poses - and Xyston provide a random selection. This is enough to provide variety, but I would have like one or two more poses.

Recently there seems to have been a change in the metal Xyston use to cast their figures. This is a harder alloy, which make drilling for the spears a bit more difficult and if the flash I observed on the figures in the last but one batch continues it will be more difficult to remove with this new alloy.

Xyston figures seem to be on the big side of the 15mm spectrum and some ranges appear to be bigger than others.

As you can see you can get 3 cavalry onto a 40mm wide base - but I do wonder how you would ever get 4 cataphracts side by side should Xyston get round to making them.

Currently a pack of 4 cavalry or 8 infantry comes in at £2.75 plus postage and handling. The scythed chariots are £5.00 each.

Here are a few pictures from my current project, a Flames of War MW British force based around a rifle company.

The unit I have chosen to model comes from the 19 Bde of the 8th Indian Division in Italy during the latter part of 1943.

The first picture is on a Quad Tractor from the A/Tk platoon. I am not sure if these will make it into the final force but I like the clean lines and the A/Tk guns are very nice.

















Here is a battery of Priest SP artillery followed by a close up.
























The next picture is of a carrier platoon from the attached Recce Btn. This is an indian unit, however I have chosen to give them universal carriers instead of the indian pattern carriers in the rules. There is plenty of photographic evidence to support the use of UCs so I feel quite justified in this decision.










And here is a White Scout Car again from the Artillery battery. I didn't like this model much to be honest. The crew did not fit the seats they seemed a bit out of scale when compared to the model.