If you ask a group of hobbyists how to improve a miniature, you'll usually get the same bunch of answers. Thin your paints, add edge highlighting, learn weathering or master some other more advanced techniques.
No doubt that all of those things can certainly help, but there is an easier way to make a big impact with just a little effort.
If anything is the foundation of a miniature, it's the base, but it's often treated as an afterthought by a lot of painters and hobbyists. You can spend hours painting a character, monster, or vehicle only glue it onto a plain plastic base with a little texture paint and call it a day.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with that approach, but a well-designed scenic base with some standard painting techniques can have a huge impact on the final presentation.
Bases Matter!
A miniature doesn't exist in isolation, every miniature has a story or a context around it, and the base ties that miniature to that story.
Resin bases are available to match pretty much any theme, size and shape. Ruined stone tiles for your ancient warriors, desert terrain and dunes for the undead of the sands, to industrial steel plate and grates from a far future hive city. Much like a good table full of terrain gives your game immersion and depth, a good base provides context and helps create a more immersive miniature. Â
Scenic bases aren't just great on a per-model basis, a huge advantage is consistency across a unit or army.
A traditional two or three colour paint scheme will always be more impressive when an entire army shares the same visual theme. A lance of riders mounted on bases dressed with Celtic crosses immediately feels cohesive, and an army of laser toting guardsmen marching across industrial flooring is tied together on the table and in the narrative.
Character Models Get More Character
A scenic resin base does come at a cost, so if you plan to start with a handful of models, start with your characters.
Heroes, commanders, monsters, and centerpiece models draw the most fire, and the most attention! A detailed scenic base helps reinforce their importance on the tabletop and creates a stronger focal point for the miniature. Many resin bases will also add just a little height to the model, not enough to model for advantage, but enough that they add one more level of differentiation for the key pieces on the table.
Pieces painted for painting competitions also tend to rely heavily on their basing to create visual impact. Even if you aren't painting competition pieces, the same principle applies to gaming miniatures, where the base helps frame the model and draw attention where it belongs.
You Save Time And Space
Let's not forget that a premade scenice base saves you precious hobby time. There is absolutely no doubt that building scenic bases from scratch can be incredibly rewarding, but it also takes time. Texture materials, sculpting, cork, rubble, plasticard, and countless other hobby supplies can quickly pile up on your painting bench too.
A detailed resin base gives you most of that visual impact immediately with no additional tools or supplies. Prime it, paint it, and if you want further customization add a few finishing touches and you're ready to go.
It can be the perfect balance between appearance and practicality without excessive time spent, or materials gathered.
Match The Base To The Model
Much like terrain choices, paint schemes and army composition, there isn't a 'best option' that works for everything.
For Fantasy miniatures, classic choices include ruined stonework, ancient temples, forest themes, and weathered pathways. If you are basing a Sci-fi miniature, industrial flooring, mechanical structures, urban rubble, or alien landscapes all have strong tying themes. As mentioned, the key is consistency across the unit or army.
A strong theme across an army almost always creates a better result than mixing multiple unrelated styles together, but within an army feel free to vary between units. Your infantry might be all based on ruin stone, but your cavalry can be based on rolling hills for their flank charge.Â
A Small Upgrade With A Big Impact
Miniature painting is full of ways to spend more time and effort chasing small improvements, but a scenic base is different. It's one of the few upgrades that can dramatically improve the overall appearance of a miniature or group of miniatures without requiring advanced painting skills.
A well-chosen base adds character, creates immersion, and helps tell a story before a single die is rolled. If you're looking for the next improvement to your army, warband, or display project, don't overlook the ground beneath your miniature's feet, it makes a bigger difference than you expect.
Looking for inspiration? Explore our collection of premium resin bases designed for fantasy and sci-fi miniatures!
Cheers,
Dave