The Commander Series Forum

Hi guys,

what kind of base colours are suited best for the 10mm range? As a dark colour tends to "absorb" the miniatures on a base, bright colours would be best, I suppose. Any ideas (if possible in the Vallejo range)?

Greetings, Patrik

Interesting thoughts - I have actually gone darker with my base colours lately.

My current bases are probably just a shade or two down from GW scorched earth http://www.kerynne.com/games/USParas.html

Older bases were more of a chocolate brown - http://www.kerynne.com/games/BritishInfantry.ht...

I've pretty much settled on a basing [for whatever climate] that I'll probably follow until I shuffle off this mortal coil...

So for temperate - from black undercoat:

Wetbrush: Scorched Brown [whish is the overbrush for figures anyway]
Wetbrush: Bestial Brown
Drybrush: Snakebite Leather
Drybrush: Plague Brown
Then add static grass etc as needed
Final drybrush: Bleached Bone

It's different for deserts - again from black undercoat:

Version 1:
As above - but miss Bestial Brown & Plague Brown

Version 2:
From black undercoat:
Paint thinned Snakebite Leather
Drybrush: Desert Yellow
Then static grass etc
Drybrush: Bleached Bone

There you go - plenty of pics on my wikis if you want to see them:

http://nikharwood.pbworks.com/
http://nikharwood28mm.pbworks.com/

You can also use railway modelling flock. Use fine stuff for 6mm, thicker and then static grass for 10mm and above. G(/FoW do some great new flocks now; Hobbycraft Cribbs Causeway sell 'em.

Thanx for your thoughts, guys. The problem was that I painted an 8.8 with crew putting them on a base, doing the "white glue plus birdcage thing" and then "wetting" the sand with a thinned down enamel dark green (simulating grass). Well, the effect was that the crew looks pretty camouflaged (which should be so in reality) but it gives away a lot in 10mm.

atFred and Nik: The colours you mention are GW colours, aren't they?

Yes the names are the GW ones, but I think we both use the Vallejo equivalents.

I would avoid using model paint for bases as it is expensive - either use craft paint (big tube for £1-2), or even household paint. At the end of the day dark brown is dark brown!

"Yes the names are the GW ones, but I think we both use the Vallejo equivalents"

Yep - Vallejo all the way for me, much better [not to mention cheaper] - GW colours are easy to reference though for everyone

Forbes is spot-on with the "use-the-cheapest" advice too - another option is to take your expensive-wargamer paint to your friendly-local paint / hardware chain & get them to mix you up a load in the "paint-match-mix" clever section