Texturing figure bases.

[katie]

Wood filler from B&Q.

It comes in a nice mid-brown which means that chipping isn't a problem. Mixes with sand, water, static grass to produce new textures. Can be painted, drilled and carved when dry...

Comes in litreish tubs for not-very-much!

[Ragnar]

Thanks people, I was hoping for a solution that didn't require mixing, I have been spoiled with my old tin of paint (and the one before that).

[Hammers]

I use Milliput to blend the figure's metal base into the wargame base and then cover with PVA and sprinkle sand on top.

Vallejo have a special Pumice paint

I am not very keen on pumice texture mediums. The granularity of the grain is too homogeneous. Glue and sand from the gutter wider and more natural range of grain sizes.

[Ragnar]

I am not very keen on pumice texture mediums. The granularity of the grain is too homogeneous. Glue and sand from the gutter wider and more natural range of grain sizes.

But my usual M.O. is to sprinkle some sand on my textured filler anyway, so that's not an issue.

[FifteensAway]

Tried Gloop, sort of hated it.  I just use acrylic house paint - or large and cheap bottles of hobby paint (like 16 oz) and ground flock (clean play sand) - and a final touch of dry brush.  Less work than gloop.  Full disclosure - I only work in 15/18 mm.

Part of Gloop I do like - cheap.  Same reason I prefer craft paint to hobby paint for figures - vastly less expensive for essentially the same thing.  Minor adjustment of technique and pretty much the same results.

[Hammers]

Do any of you use tint or pigment in your base pastes? I often think I should.

[SteveBurt]

I use the artists texture pastes and just add a squeeze of acrylic paint from the tube to colour it.

[dexter]

Has no one mentioned Basetex yet?

http://www.colourparty.co.uk/basetex.php

[Captain Blood]

Basetex is simply commercially made gloop 
There are a number of manufacturers that produce similar products, but they're all basically just a mix of sand, PVA and paint. The main difference is that a small pot of Basetex or similar brands will set you back three or four quid. Whereas you can knock up an equivalent amount of your own inside one minute for about 2p.
(Obviously, you need to invest in a bag of builders sand, a bottle of PVA, and suitable colour emulsion paint - but once you've got them, you can carry on mixing your own 'basetex' to last you until the end of time... )

Mixing your own, you can make it exactly the colour you want, you can vary the texture to taste by using different grades of sand or adding fine model railway grit, and for application, you can make the mixture as stiff or as gloopy as you like by varying the mix of wet to dry ingredients.

Most people living in houses have had some kind of building work done at some time and have some sand lying around in their shed or garage. Ditto emulsion paint, although you can use hobby or craft acrylic just as well. PVA is cheap as chips, but again, it's something many people have anyway... Why not give it a try? You will find it's exactly the same as Basetex...

[Cubs]

I scoop a couple of handfuls of builder's sand on a baking tray and put it in the oven for an hour or two to dry it. When (completely) cool I sieve it and then have two types of sand - coarse and fine - to put in tubs for storage. Considering I can get a 25kg bag of sand for about £3-£4, I find this pretty cost effective. Ditto buying large tubs of PVA and pots of DIY emulsion paint instead of using hobby paints for big terrain pieces.

[Connectamabob]

I use Aves epoxy sculpt. As simple as gloop, but gives true total control to sculpt features if/as I want. It's a single, simple material that lets me make bases as basic or as artsy as I want without having to faff with anything more. If I just want basic ground, I just slap a little on and bodge it around with a stipple brush. If I want a complicated, deliberately composed display-type base, I have total control to create whatever I can imagine without being at the mercy of found objects. It also means I can drill pin/peg holes for figure mounting wherever I want, since rocks and the like are made of epoxy like all the rest, instead of real rocks.

Only disadvantage relative to gloop is it costs more, but in the amounts used for basing, even a small kit could last for years, so it's not a big expense. Plus it's useful for a kabillion other things, so it's kind of just an all-purpose material to have in your modelling toolbox.

[SotF]

Another thing that works relatively well for texturing bases is some of the textured spray paint. Tape the edges of the bases and spray the whole lot before attaching the minis to them.

Stone spray works great for it. And you can make stonework via masking tape patterns on the base itself.