Flames of War (FoW) Figure Basing

Detailing the team bases really does enhance your figures and is well worth the effort. I have detailed below the steps that I take to make my own bases.

I undercoat all my bases with a black primer and when this is dry I attach a unit identification label to each base. These are printed out on a laser printer and display the unit ID in the format Company / Platoon / Squad, e.g. A/2/1 = Company A, 2nd Platoon, 1st Squad. Since a squad can consist of several fire teams, some stands will have the same label – I do not differentiate between fire teams of the same squad.

The appropriate figures were then glued to each base using a contact adhesive such as Evostik.

A coat of PVA wood glue was then applied to the base (but NOT to the bases of the figures) and the base was then dipped in a mix of coarse sand and grit (the type of material which is used to line the bottom of a bird cage). When removed from this mixture the excess was then shaken off and the base was left to dry overnight.

The sand covered base was then given a wash of Dark Brown. This was then heavily drybrushed with Green Grey (886) taking care not to get any of the paint on the unit ID label.

Finally I added a drybrush of GW camo Green.

Finally, I covered the majority of the base (including the figure stands) with a watered mixture of PVA glue and, whilst this was still wet, placed the base in a container full of electrostatic grass. Having given the container a good shake so as to fully cover the glued area, I removed the base and left it to dry. The electrostatic grass tends to 'stand' up more as the glue dries and shrinks.

Finally, I painted the rim of the base with USA Tan Earth (874) and when this was dry, I applied a light coat of spray matt varnish. This takes the shiny gloss off of the electrostatic grass, reduces the sharpness of the highlights and generally unifies the whole model.

Materials Used

Black Primer
Unit ID labels
PVA Glue
Contact Adhesive (Evostik)
Sand & Grit mixture
Dark Brown Ink
Green Grey (886)
GW Camo Green
USA Tan Earth (874)
Electrostatic Grass
Matt Varnish

Adding Detail 1

I wanted 'rocks' on a number of the bases and for this I used good quality aquatic gravel which is not too coarse.

Applying neat PVA to the areas that I wanted to cover in rocks, I then selectively placed the rocks in place using a pair of tweezers so as to get a good gradation of rock sizes. This was then left to dry.

Adding Detail 2

To simulate reeds and undergrowth I use cuttings from a broom head made from coconut fibres. These are easy to find in any hardware store.

To a number of bases I applied some 'clumps' of reeds cut quite short and glued in place using a watered down PVA solution (this will dry transparent). Again, this was left to dry.

One problem here is that the 'reeds' tend to topple over until the glue starts to go off and I had to keep adjusting the clumps I had placed by using tweezers.