Here's how you can make great Shattered Cityscape bases. The two most expensive items in this tutorial are the cork sheets and GW skulls - the latter being an optional addition that could easily be left off.
As always, practice responsible shop safety.
Materials Needed
- A selection of bases
- Thin cork sheeting (I used IKEA placemats)
- Paperclips or copper wire
- Sand/gravel/grit of appropriate size
- 1/48 or 1/56 scale bricks (optional)
- GW skulls (optional)
- Other bitz (I-beams, plasticard, scale sandbags, etc.)
- Propaganda posters/signs (optional)
- Wire cutters
- Needle-nose pliers
- White and super glues
- Gesso
- Acrylic paints and washes (see below for appropriate colors)
- Brushes
- Flat clear spray sealant
- Black spray primer
1. If you're using plastic bases, be sure to wash them in warm water with some dish detergent. Bases are produced in huge batches, which causes the producers to use a lot of mold release agent. If you don't wash it off, that agent prevents glue and paint adhering properly. Rinse and dry them thoroughly.
2. Rip off chunks of the cork sheeting. This will be used to mimic cracked concrete, so it's good to rip them into larger chunks first and then split those into smaller and smaller pieces that can be placed close together (leaving a gap of some sort) to resemble the irregular cracking of concrete under stress. Place portions onto bases and arrange them before gluing the pieces down with super glue.
It's a good idea to leave "open" spaces on some of the bases large enough to fit any sand/grit, bricks, skulls, or other bits. On every third base or so, I leave enough room to place one or two skulls. If you'd like, you can layer the cork to resemble thicker pieces of concrete or to provide a taller base for character figures.
3. Apply two coats of gesso over the top of the cork. Do not apply it to the ripped sides. This does two things - it seals the top of the cork making it more durable and provides a dried concrete texture to the undamaged top portions.
2. Rip off chunks of the cork sheeting. This will be used to mimic cracked concrete, so it's good to rip them into larger chunks first and then split those into smaller and smaller pieces that can be placed close together (leaving a gap of some sort) to resemble the irregular cracking of concrete under stress. Place portions onto bases and arrange them before gluing the pieces down with super glue.
It's a good idea to leave "open" spaces on some of the bases large enough to fit any sand/grit, bricks, skulls, or other bits. On every third base or so, I leave enough room to place one or two skulls. If you'd like, you can layer the cork to resemble thicker pieces of concrete or to provide a taller base for character figures.
3. Apply two coats of gesso over the top of the cork. Do not apply it to the ripped sides. This does two things - it seals the top of the cork making it more durable and provides a dried concrete texture to the undamaged top portions.
4. Glue any large bitz into the open spaces using super glue
5. Spread a 75/25 mix of white glue and water over the open portions of the base that remain and sprinkle some sand/grit over the mixture. Don't worry about covering these portions completely, you'll be doing a second coat. Let the glue dry for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
5. Spread a 75/25 mix of white glue and water over the open portions of the base that remain and sprinkle some sand/grit over the mixture. Don't worry about covering these portions completely, you'll be doing a second coat. Let the glue dry for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
6. Once dry, gently blow any excess sand away, then again using the 75/25 mix of white glue and water, cover the grit areas again, as well as some portions of the undamaged "concrete". It's a good idea to add in any bricks or smaller bits at this point as well. Let the glue dry for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
7. Once dry, gently blow any excess sand away. Roughly bend your paperclips or copper wire using the needle-nose pliers and cut off small 3-6mm portions with a wire cutter. Realistically, even though the reinforcing metal rods called rebar are buried a bit deeper than what would be exposed on a 2mm high base, we add these for artistic effect (The Rule of Cool). Put a dab of super glue on the end of one of the pieces and stick it horizontally into the side of the cork, then mentally draw a straight line from one end of the base to the opposite and do the same there. It doesn't have to be exact. You should space the rows about 10mm apart.
Rebar is (generally) laid in perpendicular rows at right angles, so do another row or two on the other sides. If you miss a few, don't worry - not all the rebar will be exposed, On a 25mm base, I do about 1-3 rows total, so anywhere from 1 to 6 exposed ends. Larger bases get more rows and more exposed ends.
8. Prime with black spray primer. This may require several coats to get into the crevices between the concrete. I suggest doing a couple coats of spray primer and then finishing up with an airbrush loaded with black acrylic paint running at 15-20psi, if you have one. If you don't have an airbrush and can't get into the cracks, once the primer is dry, dilute black acrylic paint with water and flow improver and apply that as a wash into the deeper cracks.Let the primer dry for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
9. Paint with acrylic paints, starting with the darkest color and working up to lighter colors. Here, I started with a Dark Gray color called (appropriately) Pavement and applied this to the entire base. I then added subsequent layers using a a mix of a custom "concrete" color (itself a mixture of light grey, beige and brown tones) in increasingly higher ratios (i.e. first 75/25 Pavement/Concrete, then 50/50 Pavement/Concrete, and so forth) until the last highlight, which was a pure Conrete color. I used semi-dry brush technique where I loaded the brush with paint and then wiped off the excess - not to the point where the brush was truly "dry", but to where the outside of the brush was slightly damp with paint.
7. Once dry, gently blow any excess sand away. Roughly bend your paperclips or copper wire using the needle-nose pliers and cut off small 3-6mm portions with a wire cutter. Realistically, even though the reinforcing metal rods called rebar are buried a bit deeper than what would be exposed on a 2mm high base, we add these for artistic effect (The Rule of Cool). Put a dab of super glue on the end of one of the pieces and stick it horizontally into the side of the cork, then mentally draw a straight line from one end of the base to the opposite and do the same there. It doesn't have to be exact. You should space the rows about 10mm apart.
Rebar is (generally) laid in perpendicular rows at right angles, so do another row or two on the other sides. If you miss a few, don't worry - not all the rebar will be exposed, On a 25mm base, I do about 1-3 rows total, so anywhere from 1 to 6 exposed ends. Larger bases get more rows and more exposed ends.
8. Prime with black spray primer. This may require several coats to get into the crevices between the concrete. I suggest doing a couple coats of spray primer and then finishing up with an airbrush loaded with black acrylic paint running at 15-20psi, if you have one. If you don't have an airbrush and can't get into the cracks, once the primer is dry, dilute black acrylic paint with water and flow improver and apply that as a wash into the deeper cracks.Let the primer dry for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).
9. Paint with acrylic paints, starting with the darkest color and working up to lighter colors. Here, I started with a Dark Gray color called (appropriately) Pavement and applied this to the entire base. I then added subsequent layers using a a mix of a custom "concrete" color (itself a mixture of light grey, beige and brown tones) in increasingly higher ratios (i.e. first 75/25 Pavement/Concrete, then 50/50 Pavement/Concrete, and so forth) until the last highlight, which was a pure Conrete color. I used semi-dry brush technique where I loaded the brush with paint and then wiped off the excess - not to the point where the brush was truly "dry", but to where the outside of the brush was slightly damp with paint.
10. Paint any details. Rebar has a dark brown to rust color and bricks come in a variety of reds, brown, yellows, and grey. I basecoat my skulls with a tan color called Golden Brown, then do successive semi-dry brush layers of Ivory. If you'd like, repaint the black ring around the lower base.
At this point, I also come through with a variety of washes; loading the brush up with a diluted mix of wash and water and just dabbing the brush randomly on each base. This adds a subtle variety of colors to mimic the effects of crumbling concrete, masonry, and other debris mixing together.
11. Once dry, seal with spray sealant. Allow to dry 6-12 hours.
12. If you'd like, find and print 28mm propaganda posters and cut out. Burnt posters can be replicated by using a lighter (after you've cut them out and before you glue them down!). Glue them down with white glue.
Obviously, you'll need to paint (or at least prime) your miniatures separately for this tutorial but it's easy enough to temporarily attach them to a figure holder, scrap wood, or spare base while doing so and then adding them later.
3 comments:
Thanks for posting this tutorial! I like how it all comes together when painted correctly.
have you ever tried the plaster method of making scale concrete? Might not be durable enough for smaller bases, but it should work on larger ones...
Great tutorial, & excellent looking results! Thanks for the tips.
I have. It doesn't work as well, being both fragile and much heavier when produced in large quantities.
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