This post is slightly different to normal and won't focus much on painting, but instead creating textured bases - particularly by using textured rolling pins from Green Stuff World. This all stems from wanting bases that are more appropriate for certain environments, e.g Space Hulk settings, Imperial Palace, etc. Generic gravel or dirt doesn't quite fit in these circumstances.
I considered 3D printed base toppers, or resin sculpts, etc, but while effective for smaller groups (e.g kill teams) they lack enough variety for larger forces and the costs can add up quickly. While browsing for other parts, I came across the texture rolling pins from Green Stuff World. I'd seen them before, notably for Eldar, but this time I saw some designs that might fit what I was looking for. In the end I chose Ancestral Recall for ornate flooring that might fit the excessive opulence that is likely to appear around the Imperial Palace (and be therefore suitable for Custodian Guard), and Factory for industrial flooring, grating on ships, etc (Space Hulk comes to mind for these, or Boarding Actions).
 |
| Marbled floor with gold inlay. |
My very first attempt, was to use an old glass jar to roll out green-stuff onto waxed paper, transfer it directly to a base and then use the texture roller on that. After some trimming around the edges and a quick bit of painting (more on that in a moment) the result was...pretty good. I did however learn some important lessons:
- Rolling out on wax paper was a bad idea as the paper kind of stuck to the green-stuff.
- Rolling directly onto a base gives uneven thickness.
- Leaving bits of the cured green-stuff seam causes imperfections in the end result. I made this mistake a lot.
For my next attempt I bought a cheap acrylic rolling pin, normally intended for icing sugar apparently, and cookie cutters of multiple sizes. While not the perfect size, the cookie cutters should get me close enough. This worked again remarkably well.
 |
| Old and beaten factory flooring. |
A couple of mistakes with putty that had already cured, but the acrylic rolling pin gave a more even result. Next up I wanted to get consistent thickness however, and so I hunted around for a way of doing this. I've only been doing one base at a time, so in the end I went with layers of cardboard with a hole cut in the middle. I tried 4 layers, 3 layers, and 2 layers, leaving the 1 layer for the actual textured rolling pin. It seems that 2 layers for the acrylic smooth rolling pin, and 1 layer for the textured rolling pin, is the sweet spot for what I intend.
 |
| Ideal for black and yellow chevrons. |
The cookie cutter is slightly larger than the top of the base, so after the green-stuff has cured for several hours I remove it from the flat surface (a piece of glass in my case) and glue it to a base. The glass has some Vasoline rubbed on it before I roll out the green-stuff to help lift it off, but I find it easier when it's cured enough to be rubbery, but not before it's like hardened rubber. A hobby knife helps to peel one section off, then I can use that to help lift the rest without tearing at the putty. After gluing to the base, the hobby knife can be used to slice away excess overhang - but a Dremel rotary tool most definitely helps to smooth that out and unify everything. Just make sure to wear a respirator mask when doing that.
 |
| Creating base toppers is fairly keyed in now. |
I did one test to try create two bases at once, but this showed a particular uneven thickness that I should've been aware of. The cookie cutter should be used in the middle area of the green-stuff, as the outer edges will be pushed away from that and might have a reduced thickness.
I did contemplate for clay based toppers, but ultimately decided to stick with green-stuff. I can confidently create new prints now while avoiding the almost certain mess that comes with clay, and all while keeping the tools clean. I try to use excess putty for creating tubes, cabling, insignia that might prove useful one, etc, but there is definitely some waste. I'm not sure on the cost effectiveness of using all that green-stuff (clay would be _much_ cheaper here) but the results are good, I like the designs, and can create different sizes as and when I need them. If I were army painting, then yes I might just roll out some clay and create dozens of bases in one go, but an army painter I am not.
To round off, here are how I've painted each so far, starting with the marbled flooring:
- Black primer.
- The "baby wipe" technique and Wraithbone spray.
- Praxeti White drybrushed across most of the whiter areas, and catching edges.
- Basilicanum Grey and flow improver into the recesses.
- Pallid Wych Flesh along edges, certain raised areas, and generally glazed where I wanted it more white.
- Retributor Armour to pick out some of the flooring design.
- Not done yet, but I may pick out the smaller diamond tiles in Corvus Black later.
And for the factory flooring:
- Black primer, mostly to hide the green.
- Wraithbone over all of it.
- Space Wolves Grey (Contrast) over the whole base.
- Necron Compound drybrushed over the higher surfaces and metal grating.
- Basilicanum Grey in recesses, some glazing where necessary to tone things down a bit.
- Iron Warrior / Dawnstone mix across edges, some scratches, etc.
- Skrag Brown watered down for rust effects.
It's a bit of a convoluted process, but I do like the result. Not sure if I'll keep it - depends if I can think of a more efficient method to get something similar or not.
Still need to clean up a few edges and get painting on them all. With the process sorted, the novelty has started to wear off and I can instead plan the models that will go on top.
-- silly painter.
