Question - when you secure the elephant to the base do you just press in the model to the surface paste and let it dry...or do you use a glue to secure the model?
Also, what surface paste do you use?
The surface putty I use is by Light Modeling Paste by Liquitex. It is fairly fast drying. I also use Light Weight Interior Spackle for thicker areas, it dries even faster.
I spread out the paste onto the base then I press the feet of the elephant into it. If I have a pin in the foot then I often aligne where I want the model - push the pin in, then quickly drill a hole with a finger drill. I then push the feet into the hole and make indentations in the paste once it is set for a short while (5 minutes) or so. Then leave it for a few then I pull the model out which leaves footprints. I then can add sand and grit and rocks to areas that are not where the actual feet land. Once this is primed with some dark sand color then I drybrush the whole (sometimes before- sometimes after final gluing).
I do wait till the base putty is dry and the top coat has set, then I actually glue the elephant in. Usually simple GEL super glue works with resin and plastic elephants now. For the Aventine and other solid metal beast in the past, I would mix up epoxy.
Thank you for the ask, I can see another area now where I should flesh out the how-to details better for the basing. So stay tuned.