Cheaper Basing Materials?

[Dia]

So I'm looking at the GF9 tubs and wondering if perhaps $4.00 a pop is too much for scenic materials.

Anyone know of a better and/or more cost effective alternative?


I've looked around online but doing research is not the same as having hands-on experience. Advice is very welcome.

[Mananarepublic]

@ $4.00 a pop they can't be considered expensive.... :-)

My 1st tip is to go to your local Hobby Craft store (not as in gaming store - the other kind. Where people buy paint, canvas and train scenery and such). My Local Hobbt Craft store sells sand in different grades for 2.99/lbs - which is way cheaper than GF9 (but still expensive for just cleaned sand).

My 2nd tip would be to go to Home Depot and buy sand for outdoor sandboxes... A lot of people have been telling me this is the way to go to sand larger things like scenery.. and the price you pay is WAY less...

/M

[entendre_entendre]

sand. from the beach. cost: $0. just let it sit for a while
odd piece from bitz box: more or less free
modelling grass from hobby shop train section: $2.50

[ssylyss]

It really depends on what you are looking for. If you looking for dirt or rocks, look in your back yard. depending on where you live, you can find some nice stuff for free. I found a huge shale rock in my yard that broke apart nicely and I have made many, many rock bases with this. My neighbors probably think im crazy, standing there breaking this big rock apart and then analyzing the pieces.

If you live in the city, I have read suggestions of checking the gutters for fine sand, or you can check your local parks.

For grasses and what not I find GF9 to be the best. 4$ is not that expensive really. The GW grass at $8.25is not a good value, and in my opinion the fibers are too long. I have a hard time making them stand up. I dont have this problem with GF9. I've not discovered a free alternative to simulated grass.

[Brass Scorpion]

My favorite cheap basing material is the cheap sand you buy at the DIY store to grit the path in winter. A 40lb bag costs maybe $4 or $5 and will last forever. This cheap, coarse sand has irregular sized pebbles in it, perfect for broken ground or "urban basing" to look like irregular chunks of debris. I use it all the time when I want to cover a lot of area without using more expensive materials. It's what I used on the large bases for my Brass Scorpions, on Sentinel bases for "urban ruins" effects, etc.

[schoon]

Stores like Michael's (http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home) can yield some good, cheap basing options, but also in the "medium cheapness" is Woodland Scenics (http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/index.cfm), which typically gives you FAR more stuff than you can possibly use for the same price as a tiny pack GF9 materials.

[Brass Scorpion]

The small tubs sold by GW and GF9 are just repackaged and marked up Woodland Scenics, so yes, it is much cheaper and you get a lot more for your money by purchasing the Woodland Scenics versions of their products.

[Dia]

Thanks for the tips so far, guys. They've all been great.

I'm actually writing this stuff down shopping-list style. I'm unsure what kinda sand you're talking about Brass Scorpion, since here (in LA) there's not really any need for weatherproofing the driveway; I'll keep an eye out for it regardless, though. And thanks for the links, Schoon. Michael's seemed a bit expensive last time I went but I'll check it out once more.

Dirt and sand are some of the things I've collected from my surroundings. Howevever, I was looking more at things like grasses, snow, debris, etc, and differing grits of sand or dirt. Thanks for the Home Depot tip; hadn't thought to visit them for any kind of basing. Manure always came to mind and that didn't rub me as good for wargaming. Hah.

It's also not that GF9's problematic to work with or a bank buster, it's that I'd rather not spend more when I could be spending less and still achieve the same or better results. I'm bargain hunting. :)

Again, thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.

[Brass Scorpion]

The cheap sand I was talking about is sold at Lowe's, Home Depot, places like that. Not sure what they'll have out there where it never snows, but it might be worth a check. They might still sell it for other general purpose landscaping uses. Avoid the nice, clean, even uniform particle sand used for sandboxes and the like. The "good" stuff for doing basing has a bunch of little pebbles and stones in it that are not uniform in size, just like the little tubs sold at GW. Only instead of being $8 for a few ounces, it's about $5 for many pounds worth. When used for basing it gives a very natural broken ground or demolished urban environment look to your bases. And it's so cheap for a large bag full, a few dollars worth will last forever.

The Woodland Scenics shaker full of snow effects is huge and costs about $10. Woodland Scenics also sells many different grades of ballast for railroad hobbyists, from very fine to very coarse, that would be useful. If you want an uneven mix you can buy several cannisters and make your own custom mix in lieu of the cheap sand from the DIY store.

Visit http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/index.cfm for the full range of Woodland Scenics products.

[ssylyss]

It's also not that GF9's problematic to work with or a bank buster, it's that I'd rather not spend more when I could be spending less and still achieve the same or better results. I'm bargain hunting.

To me thats sort of a trick statement. With one thing of $4 GF9 basing grass how many bases could a baser base? 100? more? almost pointless to shop when something works well, is cheap, and will last forever.

[asmodai650]

I've actually used ground coffee with great success! The varying sizes work very well for uneven terrain like in ruined cities. Just look around your house for different things to use and experiment. Get a cheap can of black primer and start gluing stuff to a piece of cardboard and prime it. See what different things look like primed and drybrushed.

[Aldramelech]

sand. from the beach. cost: $0. just let it sit for a while
odd piece from bitz box: more or less free
modelling grass from hobby shop train section: $2.50

Yep! Got an old ice cream tub full 20 years ago, still going strong!

Note to fellow children of the Great British Empire: Removing sand from beaches is against the law! If you get caught you'll get prosecuted (no joke). So be sneaky:D

[Aldramelech]

I've actually used ground coffee with great success! The varying sizes work very well for uneven terrain like in ruined cities. Just look around your house for different things to use and experiment. Get a cheap can of black primer and start gluing stuff to a piece of cardboard and prime it. See what different things look like primed and drybrushed.

In England coffee is more expensive then cocaine!

[Logan]

Note to fellow children of the Great British Empire: Removing sand from beaches is against the law! If you get caught you'll get prosecuted (no joke). So be sneaky:D

Steal from a kids sandpit then, less likely to have that English beach smell, mmm sewage.
I use sharp building sand (from diy projects), aquarium gravel and my favourite- slate, which can be broken down as small as you like, just put it in a bag and whack it with a hammer, which I steal from my local pub car park's decorative borders.
Chopped up wine bottle corks make great rocks/ rubble without adding weight to the base.
I know someone who uses cous cous, it's a bit coarse but super cheap.

[ivanng]

Here's a quick tip from Malaysia.

Modelling grit is pretty expensive cause of the exchange rate so here's what I use as an alternative.
Hamster bath sand. It's cheap, very fine and abundant. Plus they're even scented :)
My recipe for my bases is pretty simple

1) Mix sand with same amount of PVA glue.
2) Mix throughly until sand and glue becomes dough like.
3) Spread on bases with an ice cream stick to whatever shape or height you desire.
4) Leave to dry.

I added a few drops of very very thin oil to the mixture to get cracked effect when dried.
You can experiment mixing in food colouring, coffee powder, sprue bits or even small rocks into the mix.

If you want, you can even use the mix to glue your mini to the base.

Please visit www.kreatink.blogspot.com for pictures and my attempt at blogging.

CHEERS
Ivan

[chromedog]

I get my terrain scatters (apart from sand - it comes from the local beach) from a model railway store.
$25 for a 100g bag of static grass or flock (beats the GW prices and is the same stuff). Trees come in bags of 100 for $54.

[Chuck Norris]

Ok I would try Spectre Hobbies they have nice quality and cheap and it is not even repackaged woodland scenicsI know i checked. Anyhow the have a kit wth all the lovely bits and even to scale leaves not those birch seeds. I hope they give me something for the free ad.

[solecize]

For bulk work like scenery I use
sawdust is a great replacement for flock- because that is what flock is usually made of. Fine sawdust (from a bandsaw) and coarse (from a table saw), is usually free (i've been known to ask the guys at the hardware store if I could sweep up some sawdust- they usually don't mind), You can also strain the sawdust with a screen to get really really fine sawdust.
play sand is really cheap but you need to let it air dry before you use it for rough grass, dirt, or sand (duh) with sand I usually mix it directly with the paint and just apply it as a slurry.
grog which is a sculpting additive that you can find at most ceramic stores and comes in various grit sizes. It is basically the same thing as ballast but much much cheaper.

For basing i use the stuff above as a basic start then add items of interest like

small stones
small torn pieces of foam rubber for moss
cropped bundles of fishing line for grass
tiny sticks etc.