Making Figure Bases: Plan, Texture and Paint the Scene

Making figure bases means choosing the ground, texture and presentation around a miniature. The useful result is a setting that supports the figure's pose and leaves its assembly connections usable.

This guide is for a purchased resin character kit: 1. the figure arrives unpainted; 2. its sculpt may already include a specific base arrangement; 3. any extra scenery and painting are work you choose after delivery. Check those details before buying a generic base or covering the supplied one.

Remerlinds makes physical resin figure kits in the Netherlands, with workshop preparation available through Bronze, Silver and Gold. The final section connects your basing plan to those choices; the starting point is the actual kit in front of you.

Start with the base arrangement supplied by the sculpt

Read the listing and inventory the parts before designing another base. A product image may show a scenic platform, separate effects or a finished display arrangement. Confirm what the kit includes and how the components connect. A photograph alone does not establish the dimensions of every loose part.

Lay the pieces out on a clean surface and identify the figure's intended standing position. If there is a keyed connection, find its matching part before applying texture. Do not fill an unfamiliar opening simply because it interrupts the ground. It may be needed during assembly.

Distinguish the supplied base from an optional plinth. In this guide, the base carries the figure and its scene; a plinth is an additional presentation support beneath it. You may want one, both or only the arrangement already designed into the sculpt.

Also decide what you want to preserve. An engraved floor, sculpted stones or a carefully shaped ledge may already do the visual work you need. Painting that surface can be a complete basing project. Adding texture is a choice, not an automatic requirement for making the kit look finished.

Plan the footprint and leave connections clear

Make a paper outline of the available area before committing materials. Our base-size and display measurement guide covers actual width, depth and height; here, use that outline to decide where the scenery can go.

Mark three things on your sketch: the figure's contact areas, the outer edge and the direction from which you expect to view it. Keep separate notes for any overhanging cape, weapon or scenic element. The visible base outline is not necessarily the outline of the completed figure.

Try one simple layout first. Put a low rock to one side, leave the standing area clear and let the remaining ground stay quiet. Photograph the arrangement from the intended viewing direction. Then remove the extra rock and compare. This gives you an actual composition choice instead of a growing pile of accessories.

Check assembly access as part of the layout. You need room to place the components, see their connections and support them while working. If scenery blocks that sequence, move it now. A larger scene is not an improvement when it makes the intended assembly awkward.

Key takeaways

• Plan with the complete figure's outline, including overhangs.
• Keep intended contact areas and assembly access clear.
• Compare a simple arrangement before adding more scenery.

Compare three surface treatments on a sample

Use a spare piece of the same intended substrate, or a suitable test base, to compare materials. A cardboard colour sketch can help composition, but it does not prove that an adhesive or paste will bond to a resin surface. Test the relevant material combination.

Treatment	What you control	What to check first
Adhesive and fine basing grit	The grain mix and the areas you cover	Adhesive compatibility and whether loose grains remain
Ready-made texture paste	Application thickness and tool marks	Supported surfaces, layer limits and drying instructions
Small scenic additions	The position and height of individual features	Attachment, assembly clearance and the completed footprint

These methods can share a base. Fine grit can sit around a low cork rock, or a paste can bridge a small decorative transition. That does not mean every material can be mixed into every other product. Keep each product's instructions beside the sample and check compatibility before combining them.

Skip universal rankings such as cheapest, most realistic or fastest. A texture you already own may suit one scene and distract from another. Decide using the actual appearance, the required materials and the amount of work you want to do.

Apply fine grit with a suitable basing adhesive

An adhesive-and-grit treatment gives you direct control over coverage. Choose a basing adhesive specified for the materials involved. PVA-based products are used for scenic ground cover, but that does not make any wood glue suitable for every resin, metal or coated surface.

On your sample, apply the adhesive only where you want texture, following its dilution and application instructions. Add a small amount of basing material over a catch tray. Keep the intended contact areas and the rim clear. Avoid pouring loose material near your face or blowing excess from the surface.

Let the adhesive reach the stage required by its manufacturer before handling or painting the sample. Inspect the result for unwanted clumps, bare areas and loose grains. If coverage needs correcting, find out whether the product allows another application rather than applying an arbitrary water-and-glue mixture over everything.

Once the sample behaves as intended, repeat the treatment on the planned area of the base. Work around the scene in manageable sections so you can see where material has landed. Keep tools used for adhesive separate from your detail-painting brushes.

Ground-cover adhesive is also a different job from attaching the figure itself. Select the structural attachment for the actual connection and materials. Do not assume that the glue holding decorative grit is suitable for supporting the complete build.

Use texture paste according to its own layer limits

Texture pastes vary in grain, flexibility and the surfaces they are designed to coat. Check the exact product, especially when using an art material on a small resin base. A paste sold for rigid supports does not automatically suit a flexible addition or an unknown coating.

Try the intended application tool on the sample first. A small palette knife can spread the material; a suitable stiff brush can leave a different surface. Make a short test strip with each, then decide which texture belongs in the scene. Do not use the supplied sculpt as your first experiment.

Follow the maker's layer-thickness and drying guidance. Thick and thin applications can take different times to dry. Where a product requires thin layers, build them in the stated sequence and allow the required drying between them. There is no reliable whole-base timetable that covers every paste.

Keep paste out of connection recesses and avoid burying sculpted features you intend to retain. Inspect the edge while the product remains workable according to its instructions. It is easier to plan a clean boundary than to make removing a hardened ridge part of the project.

Key takeaways

• Check the paste's intended surface and application limits.
• Choose tool marks on a sample before coating the kit.
• Schedule later steps around the actual product's drying guidance.

Add scenic height only where it helps the composition

A small piece of cork, a purchased scenic detail or a separate sculpted element can change the setting without covering the whole base. Decide what the feature contributes: a step, a broken surface or a patch of ground beside the figure.

Try a torn cork edge and a cut edge on scrap, then choose the one that fits your intended material. An irregular edge may suit a rough rock, while a straight edge may suit a built structure. Neither technique is inherently more realistic in every scene.

Place the addition on the paper plan before bonding it. Check the view at figure height as well as from above. A rock that looks neatly arranged on the desk can hide a foot, block a cape or become the first thing you see instead of the face.

Keep decorative terrain separate from the figure's designed support unless you are deliberately planning a more involved conversion. Raising a foot onto an improvised rock changes the assembly problem. It deserves a specific attachment plan, not a last-minute dab of scenery glue.

For the first version, limit yourself to one raised feature and one smaller accent. That is an exercise in making choices, not a rule about how every finished base must look. Once those elements work with the pose, you can decide whether anything else is needed.

Paint a sample palette before the full base

Choose the ground colours alongside the figure's intended palette. Paint them on your prepared sample and view it next to a colour sketch or painted practice piece. Judge the combination under the light where you normally assess your work.

One straightforward approach is a base colour followed by a lighter drybrushed highlight on raised texture. Remove most of the paint from the brush and test the remaining mark on scrap before touching the sample. Build the effect gradually so it describes the surface you created.

You can add a controlled darker shade to selected recesses if the effect needs more separation. Follow the paint's application guidance and allow it to dry before the next technique. A fixed one-hour pause is not a substitute for the actual product instructions and conditions.

Use colour variation deliberately. Two related greys on different stones can suggest variation, while one restrained ground colour can let a bright figure dominate. You do not need every grain to be a separate painting task. Look at the whole base from the planned viewing distance between passes.

Choose the rim colour after seeing the scene. A dark neutral, a related ground colour or a pale frame may each work; compare a small swatch before painting the full edge. If you varnish the base, test compatibility and sheen on the sample and follow the varnish instructions.

Build the schedule around attachment and drying

Separate planning time, application time and waiting time in your notes. You can finish a composition sketch during one session without claiming that the complete textured, painted and attached build will also be ready that evening.

Write the stages in the order your kit needs: inspect, plan, sample, apply scenery, paint and complete assembly. Some builds need a different assembly order for access. Follow the supplied arrangement and move optional scenery steps around it rather than forcing the kit into a universal sequence.

Use a painting holder appropriate for the base or part you are handling. Do not superglue a delicate foot to a scrap handle on the assumption that the bond will release cleanly. Temporary support should have a planned attachment and removal method before the figure is mounted.

When work requires sanding, consider both the substrate and any paste or coating on it. Our resin sanding-dust guide covers planning a small abrasive task and its cleanup. A mixed-material base still needs the instructions for the added products.

Key takeaways

• Separate active work from each material's waiting time.
• Plan how you will hold and release the component.
• Keep the kit's assembly access ahead of optional decoration.

Review problems before adding another layer

If grains remain loose, a paste cracks or a coating lifts, return to the sample and the product instructions. Check the substrate, application thickness, drying conditions and material combination. Adding more glue or paint immediately can hide the information you need to understand the result.

Compare the failed area with an unaffected area under good light. Record what you applied and in which order. That makes a question to the material supplier specific, and it helps you avoid repeating the same uncertain sequence across the rest of the base.

For a concern about the supplied resin part, photograph it before scraping or sanding. Keep the order details and identify the component. A problem present on arrival should be discussed before it becomes mixed with later scenery or paint work.

Also allow yourself to simplify a purely visual problem. If a tuft blocks a boot in the proposed layout, omit it before gluing. If the ground colour feels too busy on the sample, try fewer colours. The best correction may be a clearer plan rather than another decorative layer.

Choose a kit and finish level that match your project

Look for a sculpt whose supplied scene and pose you want to paint. The current anime figure-kit collection is one place to explore; check each listing for the included components and finished dimensions instead of assuming a standard base across the collection.

All Remerlinds kits arrive with supports removed, washed, cured, test fitted and checked. They are unpainted. Bronze leaves sanding, filling and primer to you. Silver adds light sanding of support marks and filling of drainage holes that remain visible after assembly; assembly seams, primer and painting remain your work.

Gold adds the specified seam and joint filling, sanding, extra preparation and black, white or grey primer. You still assemble and paint the kit. The finish-level guide sets out those workshop services. Custom scenic groundwork you design is a separate creative project.

Before ordering extra materials, make one page with the included base arrangement, a clear assembly area and the surface treatment you want to test. Then make one sample. A small decision you can see and handle is a better starting point than an ambitious shopping list.