Texture Modelling Paste, which tastes best???

[Grimmnar]

OK not really, but which is best in opinion or proven in fact?
I know of AK Interactive, Monument Hobbies and even Golden brand you can get at Michaels. I know of those three they are all about the same price. Do you have a fave of those three or know of another brand to mention you have had good outcome with? HIistoricon I picked up a small jar from a dealer who started to make his own. Anyone have any homemade recipes to make your own?
So what says the intelligent informed masses, what texture modelling paste, texture effect,do you like and why? And no "crackle medium" as that is a later discussion.                Thanks everyone

Grimm

[HerbertTarkel]

I’m a big believer in the Golden brand coarse pumice gel. I eat it by the spoonful, and can confirm it tastes GREAT!

Seriously though, it’s the one I always use. I also have AK for crackle medium, and Golden for water features. They’re not as tasty…

[AndrewBeasley]

I had some AK sand that was so dry it was inedible - the pack was sealed so it may have been a bad pot as my daughter is very happy with a mud pot I got at the same time.


I've recently tried Liquid Nail / No Nails tube glue and grit - not something I would ever use again (see here for details).


Mod Podge (matte), grit and paint or glue, grit and paint mixes are a lot more controllable and takes paint better than the latex caulk I had planned on using.

[Elbows]

The one I use for...almost everything is Vallejo Dark Earth.  They have a bunch of other types but I haven't tried them. 

[Captain Blood]

Make your own, guys. It’s just sand (various grades to taste), paint and PVA mixed. You can make a big jar of it for a few pennies (or cents in your case), in whatever colour, consistency and texture you want. It takes a few seconds to make up. I’ve been banging this drum for years. Small overpriced jars of ‘basing compound’ are an absolute rip-off.
Buy a small bag of sand, a pot of paint and a bottle of PVA, it will last you a lifetime of basing. Mix up a small amount and keep it in an old food jar or other sealed container. It won’t go off. If you want a stiffer mix, use more sand. A wetter mix, use more paint and / or PVA. A rougher texture, add some fine model railway grit or ‘talus’. Seriously, making your own is not only a fraction of the price of small bottles of the branded stuff, you can make it exactly how you want it.

[Arbedark]

Make your own, guys. It’s just sand (various grades to taste), paint and PVA mixed. You can make a big jar of it for a few pennies (or cents in your case), in whatever colour, consistency and texture you want. It takes a few seconds to make up. I’ve been banging this drum for years. Small overpriced jars of ‘basing compound’ are an absolute rip-off.
Buy a small bag of sand, a pot of paint and a bottle of PVA, it will last you a lifetime of basing. Mix up a small amount and keep it in an old food jar or other sealed container. It won’t go off. If you want a stiffer mix, use more sand. A wetter mix, use more paint and / or PVA. A rougher texture, add some fine model railway grit or ‘talus’. Seriously, making your own is not only a fraction of the price of small bottles of the branded stuff, you can make it exactly how you want it.

Totally agree with you, this is the way to go. Can I also add that toasting the sand/grit in an oven for 20 minutes and adding a couple of drops of peroxide before and whilst mixing, this will greatly reduce the chance of  bacteria and mold growing on it whilst stored in the jar.
A few drops of peroxide does not have any effect on the colour or durability once it has dried.

[HerbertTarkel]

Make your own, guys. It’s just sand (various grades to taste), paint and PVA mixed. You can make a big jar of it for a few pennies (or cents in your case), in whatever colour, consistency and texture you want. It takes a few seconds to make up. I’ve been banging this drum for years. Small overpriced jars of ‘basing compound’ are an absolute rip-off.
Buy a small bag of sand, a pot of paint and a bottle of PVA, it will last you a lifetime of basing. Mix up a small amount and keep it in an old food jar or other sealed container. It won’t go off. If you want a stiffer mix, use more sand. A wetter mix, use more paint and / or PVA. A rougher texture, add some fine model railway grit or ‘talus’. Seriously, making your own is not only a fraction of the price of small bottles of the branded stuff, you can make it exactly how you want it.

Have to disagree with you regarding the artist mediums - they have properties that can’t be replicated the way you’re saying.

I do agree for 99% of people a bag of sand and glue and paint will be fine, but if I want that extra 1% of texture control, it’s Golden brand.

[Captain Blood]

Have to disagree with you regarding the artist mediums - they have properties that can’t be replicated the way you’re saying.

That are discernible on the base of an inch high wargames figure? 
What properties are those?

[HerbertTarkel]

That are discernible on the base of an inch high wargames figure? 
What properties are those?

The texture of the gel, to me, is superior; also when I add the non-pumice gel as water texture, it is awesomer 

The ability to move the artist gels around using my various tools is less messy than sand/glue - so I’ve got that going for me 


I get it - and have used sand and glue - I just like the consistency of the Golden brand, which are relatively cheap, anyway.

As far as the other brands, like buying GW sand - that’s just silly. Unless you live at one of the poles, there is PROBABLY sand around. The AK ones, crackle is different, but yeah, beyond the Golden artist ones I don’t get very many.

[eilif]

I don't use any of the hobby or artist branded solutions but

However, I've extensively used 2 versions of texture paste over the years.  The first is my homemade "Magic Mud"  It's simply Sheetrock "Sand finish Paint additve" (ground pummice) mixed with whatever paint color I wanted the ground to be.   Cheap, color matched and very effective. I used to keep a batch of dark brown mixed for all occasions.  It's thick and keeps a shape (especially when concealing a cast-on base) better than sand/paint/glue mixes.

These 10mm APC's bases are done with Ruddy Brown Magic Mud and a drybrush of tan.


More recently I've mostly switched to "Premixed Concrete Patch".  Doesn't have quite as much grit as magic mud but it smooths and shapes really well. It's also a cement concrete, so it can be used to glue pieces of terrain materials together.  Comes in a nice grey color that often looks just fine with a wash and light drybrush, or of course it can be painted.

[HerbertTarkel]

Looks good! I was just thinking about this post as I used my go-to Golden coarse pumice gel on my Battletech project.


On a side note, I have a Vallejo mixed primer called “Brundleshit Brown” that is a favourite for painting muddy areas 

[Elbows]

While I understand the ease of producing a similar product I don't mind paying my $10 for a 200 mL tub of the Vallejo Dark Earth, which I use on a lot of models.  Now, would I pay that same $10 for one of GW's 17mL pots?  Absolutely not.

The advantage for me is simple, the colour/texture/etc. will be the same for as long as the product is in production, and I get hundreds of minis out of a single $10 tub.  I'm all for saving money, but this one doesn't bug me.

[Grimmnar]

I see colors matter when it comes to texture paste. To me I figure you just paint it once it's applied. Santa brought me Monument Hobbies Texture Basing Gel. I got four jars, 1 jar each of the four different textures. I figured to pick a texture, apply it then paint to suit my needs. Not a good idea?

Grimm

[Elbows]

Nothing wrong with that, but the point of the pre-coloured texture is simple: saves you a step.  I don't want to paint my texture, so I put the pre-coloured texture on.  All I need to add is a quick dry brush and some grass/tufts.

If I'm going to pay for a texture paste, it better make my life much easier. 

[SteveBurt]

The artist’s texture gels stay flexible, and set slowly, allowing you to model stuff. They come in big tubs and are not expensive. Mix with tube arcylic paint in whatever colour you please before applying.
Seems much cheaper and easier than making your own or buying the expensive model basing stuff