A painted platoon can look unfinished on plain black or brown bases. The figures may be done, but the bases still show glue marks, slots, and bare edges on the gaming table.
For 15mm figures, basing gives the whole force one ground color. The exact ground type matters less than consistency. Pick a base recipe before starting the army, write it down, and use it on every stand unless a unit needs a specific terrain cue.
Gluing, Texturing, Painting, and Finishing 15mm Bases
- Clean the base before gluing. Remove plastic dust, sanding grit, and loose primer. If the figures have tabs or cast-on bases, test the fit before adding glue. A figure that rocks on the base will break loose later.
- Glue the figures in place. Use the adhesive that suits the materials in front of you, and follow the directions on the bottle. Keep glue away from boots, weapons, and base edges. On infantry stands, place the figures first and leave room for texture between them. On weapons teams, check the gun, crew, and base front before the glue sets.
- Add ground texture. Brush on glue where the bare base shows, then apply sand, fine gravel, or texture paste. Fine material works better at 15mm than coarse rock. It reads as earth at gaming distance and does not bury ankles. Tap off loose grains before painting. If using a prepared basing set such as GaleForce nine Basing Kit: Summer Pasture or GaleForce nine Basing Kit: Urban Rubble, keep the same materials for the whole force.
- Paint the base dark earth. A dark brown or dark earth color covers the texture and hides small gaps around the feet. Thin paint enough to flow into the sand, but not so much that it runs up the figures. Paint the base edge at the same stage if you want a clean border.
- Dry brush with a lighter earth color. Use a flat brush with most of the paint wiped off. Pull the brush across the raised texture, not into it. The lighter pass should catch sand grains, stones, and paste ridges. If the color covers everything, reload less paint and go back with a darker wash or base color where needed.
- Add grass, tufts, or both. Static grass and tufts should be the last basing material, after the paint is dry. Place them in small patches rather than over the whole stand. Leave some painted earth showing around boots and tracks.
Keeping an Army from Looking Patchy
The common mistake is changing recipes halfway through a project. One unit gets tan earth, the next gets reddish brown, and the third gets a different grass mix. On the table, the army looks like it came from three collections.
Make one sample base before doing a battalion. Note the dark earth paint, the dry-brush color, and the final grass or tuft choice. If the force fights in a different setting, change only one part of the recipe.
Do not overload 15mm bases with large stones, tall tufts, or thick paste. Anything taller than a boot changes the scale fast. The base should frame the figures, not compete with them.
