Basing Materials - Comparing Common DIY Products 

+bobon123 Thanks bud, I know what you mean but it's the results that matter to me, not how amazing something is I've found along the way. I set out to checkout some suggestions, some myths and some ideas, I walked away with a few new ideas and the knowledge that I am using the best stuff for the job from my experience. That's what counts! :-D

+ta24u I'd say it was more needed than awesome but thanks anyway bud :-)

+Stay Dread I'll have a play with that the next time the kids are crafting mate, thanks :-)

+Andy Buckland that's worthy of further experimentation, thanks for the heads up mate

+TheTerrainTutor I'll dig out some photos if you want , what I do is mix up about half a tube with about 1/3 of sand then add water/paint untill its the thickness I want and base up a load of bases at the same time , however if you mix it up in a sealed air tight tub it will last for up to a month depending on how wet the mix is

Thanks very much matey

+The Green Salami II Crowdstorming in action bud!

+Elric Kinslayer Who's Magnus Pike? ;-)

+TheTerrainTutor Oops, Showing my age there. Magnus Pyke (spelling ...my bad)was a presenter on kids TV from 1974 to 1979, he hosted a program called "Don't ask me." on Yorkshire television. One of his claims to fame was that he epitomised the "mad scientist" image as he used to wave his arms around while he was explaining things.That,however, is not the connection I have made to you.He was also a very knowledgeable man who had the ability to explain quite complex scientific principals in a way that everyone could understand. Now that is a talent that you have, my friend. As an aside fact he also appeared as a sample on a Thomas Dolby record from 1982 Called "She blinded me with science", he appears in the video too. Lord, I feel so old sometimes. hahaha

+Elric Kinslayer I'll have to check him out mate :-)

+PIRATER0B0TNINJA I'll add that to the list for next time mate. I've not had any problems with chipping but then it's painted, flocked, sealed as part of the normal process, so well protected anyway.

+TheTerrainTutor I was using it bare (no flock) to make "sand dune" bases for my Tomb Kings. Applied it normally, then carved dunes into it with a sculpting tool once it had hardened. I started by just undercoating and painting it as usual, but found it chipped like MAD. Then I started sealing it with Vallejo liquid plastic, which helped but there is still some slight chipping. Gesso was recommended to me as a product to give a better seal (it's used to prepare canvases for oil painting, and can be bought at any artist supply store). Another issue I had with spackle is that it torqueing the base they're on at all will make it crumble and flake off. Haven't found a good solution for this other than putting it on a base that's rigid enough not to torque/flex/bend at all. Unfortunately the death of Warhammer put a pin in that project before I could troubleshoot a better solution. Would likely have required a material change, or just reinforcing the base with something more rigid. EDIT: to clarify, it tends to flake off in large chunks, like you'd get from trying to bend a cracker or something. I've even had chunks come right off the base in a solid piece. Also found that it doesn't bond well to itself if you apply in layers or stages. Gotta apply it all at once.

+TheTerrainTutor Actually, one more point for the masses out there looking to use the spackle. WEAR A MASK IF YOU ARE SANDING/CARVING IT. It contains silica dust, which is super, super bad for your lungs. You probably don't need a full-on rebreather, but you can get cheap little surgical-style masks from the hardware store that ought to keep the dust out of your lungs.

+IDICBeer Cheers buddy

Matt varnish it bud!

+War Forge Yeah, I'm looking forward to playing with that more!

+DerMartexus It's the foundations of what we do :-D

Setting everything onto a good foundation. ;)

+Nick Chenery Cheers buddy, I'll keep going as long as I can ;-)

+Legion of One From experience, I prefer the cheaper brands mate

TheTerrainTutor is that just the price? are are they better?

Legion of One They're actually better. Branded products are sold on their 'brand', unbranded are sold on their ability to do the job. When do you ever see any builder/plaster/fitter using branded products mate? ;-)

+Terranscapes Cheers bud

+icewolffinc Not too professional I hope!

+TheTerrainTutor There where enough "what je gone call it" and "lets crack on" to make it a real Mel terraintutor video. I am Glad to be a patron, You made a real nice collection of videos, i learned much and always with a smile on my face.

icewolffinc It's becoming a tradition bud, and thank you, glad this stuff makes us both smile bud

Glad it was helpful!

+Mooncabbage I'll add it to the list bud

+Hashishi I'll put it on the list bud

+brainspider Submit to the craving!

+Euan Smith I do like Coco Pops ;-) Cheers bud!

+Spencer Whipple I know .... not surprised if it bored you stiff ... ;-) My next challenge is to see if I can get artisan approved as a trade that can get a b&q trade card :-D

+Bill D. in Iowa It's nice to have my suspicions confirmed bud. I tend to avoid pricing unless it's drastically different as it tends to cause a 'I can get it for XXX' splunge of comments and I've come to realise that value based on pricing is very subjective mate

+TheTerrainTutor Regarding pricing, I wonder if a top dollar £3.99 tube is any better than Poundstretcher stuff? For me, Humbrol modelling filler is ok for my tiny 6mm tiddlywink bases.

Les Hammond I always prefer unbranded mate, they're sold on their performance rather than a 'fancy' name ;-)

+chuckweb66 What's captain crunch?

+seandavidr That's a whole different terrain lab ;-)

+Steve Dix Nice spot mate!

+Kevin Gallagher what's that?

+Vikki Wilson Thanks for the heads up on that, I'll check it out. And thanks :-D

+dragon gaming Milliput or green stuff mate ;-)

got any tips on that becouse I already tried it and it loked like shit(sorry for bad spelling)

dragon gaming What effect are you trying to achieve?

I made a pit out of polystiren and want it to look like the tentacles where emerging out of it but I can't seem to make propper tentacles

dragon gaming use wire or pipecleaners are the armature and build up your clay/putty around it mate ;-)

+james and his stuff cheers bud

Everyday is terrain day