Desert Basing Materials?

[SparrowMarie]

I am looking for something to put on Grimtalon's base that will look like desert sand. I have found a few things but I am not sure how well they will work. I don't really want to spend 10$ for Citadel technical paints if at all possible. I thought Army Painter might have some but alas they do not.

 

I did find some Vallejo desert sand gel. Has anyone worked with this before? If so, how did it come out?

 

Are there other options I have not considered that might work? I'm still fairly new to basing so I want to put a little more effort than "winging it" for this.

[Glitterwolf]

33 minutes ago, SparrowMarie said:

I am looking for something to put on Grimtalon's base that will look like desert sand. I have found a few things but I am not sure how well they will work. I don't really want to spend 10$ for Citadel technical paints if at all possible. I thought Army Painter might have some but alas they do not.

 

I did find some Vallejo desert sand gel. Has anyone worked with this before? If so, how did it come out?

 

Are there other options I have not considered that might work? I'm still fairly new to basing so I want to put a little more effort than "winging it" for this.

 

I use this:

 

 

Examples of minis where I applied this ( I use a wooden cocktailstick or a small wooden skewer.

I even let it dry and painted it as rocks for the Kung Fu Fighter in the last pic.

Wonderful stuff.

Apply, let dry and add some tufts or other stuff. While wet press a rock or twig in there and it will stick.

It can be painted afterwards but for desert I don't.

You can seal it also.

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2021 by Glitterwolf

[BLZeebub]

Just glue and sand work wonderfully.  You can apply glue, then sprinkle sand (or dip the base in it), or you can mix the sand and glue and apply that for more volume.

Wood filler (not putty) works great too if you have some around.  It's basically sawdust in a glue-like material.

Edited June 7, 2021 by BLZeebub

[Hibou]

Actual sand always looks too big to me when on a model.  It comes off more like gravel.  I use Cyanoarcrylate glue and baking soda.  This cures very quickly.   Tabletop minions YouTube channel did a video on this a few years ago.  I’ve used it to base a few armies for bolt action.  

 

https://youtu.be/XL_xRxbxnbE

[Inarah]

6 minutes ago, Hibou said:

Actual sand always looks too big to me when on a model.  It comes off more like gravel.

 

I use extra fine sand, the kind they sell for "sand art", not the stuff you get for the yard or for the kids to play in. 

 

[Hibou]

I have not tried it myself but I have seen people use grout though mostly on terrain.  

 

 

[Brianuk]

I use acrylic modelling paste from the art store, and when dry I paint it dark tan and dry brush cream or beige. 

[SparrowMarie]

Thanks, y'all! I ordered some of the stuff @Glitterwolf suggested. It should be here tomorrow and I should get to start playing with it next week.

[Glitterwolf]

Just now, SparrowMarie said:

Thanks, y'all! I ordered some of the stuff @Glitterwolf suggested. It should be here tomorrow and I should get to start playing with it next week.

 

Have fun, I just used it again

https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/95906-guarding-the-temple-by-glitterwolf/

[mikem91]

Vallejo texture paste is really cool - better than the citadel technical paints in many ways.  The Vallejo is basically paint and texture together and is like a thin peanut butter.

Huge Miniatures makes a product similar to the vallejo texture paste, but in smaller jars.  I've not tried that yet, but it looks pretty similar.

 

If you're really on a budget (have lots of minis....), wood filler isn't a bad route either.  Doctor Faust did a video on that and a couple of other techniques.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijED-Sh0ThQ

 

Actual sand can be used, but the scale doesn't look quite right to me.  I'll keep the baking soda/CA technique in mind.  I've not tried that yet.

[Glitterwolf]

4 hours ago, mikem91 said:

Vallejo texture paste is really cool - better than the citadel technical paints in many ways.  The Vallejo is basically paint and texture together and is like a thin peanut butter.

Huge Miniatures makes a product similar to the vallejo texture paste, but in smaller jars.  I've not tried that yet, but it looks pretty similar.

 

If you're really on a budget (have lots of minis....), wood filler isn't a bad route either.  Doctor Faust did a video on that and a couple of other techniques.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijED-Sh0ThQ

 

Actual sand can be used, but the scale doesn't look quite right to me.  I'll keep the baking soda/CA technique in mind.  I've not tried that yet.

You could use the fine sand used for bird cages. Apply with pva let dry, paint.

[MoonglowMinis]

I'm a little late here, but wanted to throw out some suggestions for future projects, or others who may stumble on here.

My go-to basing material is superglue and baking soda.  Specifically applying a thin layer of glue and then sprinkling baking soda.  It works for almost any scenario, and is my favorite method of blending an integrated base into the round base.  You can add some sand if you want some larger grit.



Here's the baking soda trick with just a basecoat, wash, drybrush to act as sand.  The grain is small enough to look appropriate at scale.  But this doesn't cover large surfaces well.  It also dries instantaneously so it's wonderful if you want to get painting.

For larger areas I'd recommend pre-mixed grout.  It's actually a bit of a nuisance to use on small minis.  It sticks and clumps has a habit of clinging to things you don't want, and not to the things you do.  However, it's got a great texture that's decently fine maybe between baking soda and play sand.  I haven't had the chance to test it, but I think this would behave a lot nicer with large surfaces.  It does take a bit of time to cure however.  Bonus: if you're lazy, you can purchase it in different colors and save yourself a step painting.

[Pacarat]

I use Liquitex Ceramic Stucco...

[SotF]

While not the same sort of basing material being discussed, Pegasus Hobbies has a great set of plastic cacti that work rather well for basing material.

 

You also want to look at more reference materials for your desert and try to pick one general region and you can get some great color schemes out of it for the basing part.

 

If you want an extremely fine sand look, I've found that superglue and baking soda works the best, then let it dry before hitting it with a darker yellow acrylic ink that's been watered down about 50/50, then a heavy drybrush of an ivory/parchment/vanilla or similar off white, then a light one that's a mix of that and white. For a red desert, a darker red ink followed by a dulled down red and a light of a brighter red.

 

The inks settle in well and cover quite well on their own while letting some of the natural variation in the sand give a bit of a shift. The drybrushes enhance the effect.