Getting down to the nitty gritty

Not a huge update today, I spent most of the evening watching Paranormal Activity 3 (research for custom spirit hosts ;) ).  I did get a chance to apply some sand to the bases of the skeleton warriors.  I like getting this texture down before priming, as the primer will hold the sand in place, and this will allow me to use the texture with whatever color I choose. It's not really a complicated process.

         Things you'll need:
             PVA (School) Glue
             An old paintbrush
             Some textured material. (sand, ballast, etc.)         

1. Water down some PVA (school) glue to a consistency close to hand lotion. (Come on guys, don't act like you don't know what that is...)
2. Grab an old paintbrush and paint a thorough but thin layer of the glue to the top part of the figure base, taking care to avoid the sides of the base or the figure itself.
3. As for textured material, sand works in a pinch, I prefer to use a product by Woodland Scenics called "Fine Ballast."  You can usually find this stuff in the Railroad section of your local hobby store:

  4. Pour some texturing material about an inch or two deep in a dish.
  5.  Dip the painted model base deep into the material, then pull out, and sift the excess back into your dish.
  6. Once you have a coating about a grain deep,  make sure you don't have any clinging pieces on the model or the edges of the base.  Let the models dry for an hour or two before you apply primer.  Here are my skeletons fully based:

Well, that's that.  Pretty simple, but there may be some wargamers that aren't familiar with this process.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, I plan to prime and maybe base coat the models.  Until then!

Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion!

 Andre