~ BASING ~
Greek mercenary peltasts
These are figures from Hat "Alexander's light infantry" set (8044), I just finish to paint them.
They are going to be based for DBA/DBM as reg Ax, here they are just been fixed with PVA to the actual element base, which was previously fitted with a piece of adhesive magnetic sheet underneath.
All is left to do now is disguise the base with some appropriately looking terrain.
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First I level the base using some sort of filler, the best I've found so far for this job is bathroom tile grout: it's though, water based and very cheap! I mix it with a little bit of PVA and some acrylic color, this makes it more fluid and easy to spread around in the confined space between the figures. In this way it would look ok even if it should ever chip (though that has never happened to me so far). You can use it as it is of course, but since it's usually bright white it's better paint it anyway before flocking, so in this way you'll skip one process...
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Once the filler is well dry (leave it alone overnight), it's time to flock. I use a very old brush to spread a coat of PVA evenly, being careful not to splash over the figures. Keep well clear from the feet or they'll disappear! The PVA need to be fairly thick for this job, if it's too liquid take some out in a suitable container (like the lid of a used jar) and leave it to rest for a few minutes. Once the base is well covered with glue I dip it into a small bowl full of flocks, you can use pretty much whatever you prefer: static grass, sand, any of the several specific products on sale or even some dirt from the garden. In this case I've used some sand collected from a dry river bed during an holiday some year ago...
Depending of the type of flock you use you may need to seal it. I never do that for static grass or fine sand, as sealing it would spoil the effect. In this case though a very diluited wash of PVA does wonders in keeping the sand stuck to the base without compromising the look of it. After the sealing I've given the sand a very light wash of a dark bluish grey to bring out the detail, and when that was completely dry a little drybrushing with a pale grey for the higlights. Last I've painted the thickness of the base with a suitable color.
I wanted a proper Mediterranean feel for my greek's bases, and the bare ground looked too dry, almost desert, so as a final touch I've added a few patches of grass: just a few drops of PVA and a dip in the static grass bowl... Here they are, ready to join the rest of the army on the table!
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