1:300 FIGURE BASING TECHNIQUES - Part 2

So here are the bases as unearthed from beneath the Dunes.

This is my cheap plastic palette bought at an art store for less than €1 (or less than USD1.35448 or less than GBP0.89789 or less than CAD1.38316 or...). Some of the bases are painted already. Note that the paint is highly thinned with water and Windex, what I really want is to tint the sand, not paint it out entirely.

So here is the difference between a painted (left) and a painted and drybrushed (right) base. For drybrushing I use a somewhat old brush that had already lost its tip, so I cut most of the hair off square. It became of course much stiffer, which is what I wanted. Remember that dry brushing means dry. After you dip your brush in the paint you have to wear most of the paint off elsewhere in a scrap of paper before using it on your model. Always, always bear in mind: better two gentle coats than one thick one.

You'll see there are some spots where the sand did not stick. That's not critical, you can always flock those bald spots over later

Leaving the bases alone for the time being, it's time to look at the vehicles. I had purchased this lot a couple of years ago already painted, but with basic colours only, so in order to make them a bit more presentable I wanted to add some shades and highlights. I was thinking of using my trusted Vallejo acrylics, but the shade colour I was thinking of when I thinned it with water proved to be too grainy for my taste, the pigment could be ground finer. So setting it aside I took this Miguel Jimenez ready (or almost) wash I had once bought on a whim.

Humbrol pigments are guaranteedly fine but I had stopped using them for acrylics a few years ago already. Anyway, this MIG ( http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/www.migproductions.com ) product it was, and I needed a can of synthetic paint thinner, as even if this is theoretically ready to be used straight from the flask I wanted to thin it rather more.

To continue...