I went in with a friend on the Basius Kickstarter a while back. I initially tried using Milliput with it, with very poor results. The Milliput was too flaky, and pulled apart when I pulled the pad off. It also got stuck in the crevasses, ripping out detail in the base I was making and obscuring detail for future bases.
I spoke with a bunch of my wargaming buddies, in particular one who has been championing the Basius all along, about what they were doing. First they recommended a product called Fixit which was said to be a superior sculpting medium. You can’t get it in Canada, so I had to get in with another friend who was doing an order, having it shipped to a post box in Blaine, then going down to pick it up. It worked out pretty good, but it’s an annoying set of steps in this “global” world.
The easier step was to pick up talcum powder to keep the bases from sticking.
I think it worked out pretty good. The detail is excellent on the rough dirt. The railroad tracks are a little soft though, especially since I’ve been using actual model railroad to build bases previously, with great success.
You have to put a good amount of clay on the base to make an imprint, and then you have to carve away the excess as it “squirts” out the sides. Have a lot of bases just hanging around, as you’ll be able to do more than you think you can.
One thing I’m not super happy about, and it could just be my choice in Basius — there’s very little thematic cohesion between the bases I’ve done. From the same pad I’ve made railroad, dirt, muck, tiled streets and combinations of the bunch. I just finished attaching them to some Beast Handlers, and while I’m sure it’ll look fine in the end after some painting that brings them together, right now I’m wondering why half the squad is standing in the muck and the other half is standing on tiled street!
I usually cut into my bases and then slot the models “tab” into the hole to provide extra strength. The Fixit once dried is really hard and I chipped it in some places while trying to do this. For the Beast Handlers, I ended up cutting them off their tabs and gluing them directly on top of the bases. Only time will tell if this was a good idea or not, after they’re transported from place to place for a while.
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