How to: Paint a Mosaic Resin Base

Hello friends!

I don't think I've ever been as happy with my basing as what I've developed for my Haqqislam Infinity forces. These bases are  satisfying to paint, look fantastic, and best of all are quick and easy to do! The techniques I use here can be employed for any sort of textured resin base, and I hope you find them useful!

For this army I'm using the Micro Arts Studios 'mosaic' resin bases. These are great quality casts with some lovely subtle texture to them that this process really brings out.

Step #1: Select bases and drill holes. First I choose which base will be used for which figure. Situate the model on it during assembly and drill holes in the base to mark where the pins will be. I note which figure goes in which slot by writing in permanent marker on the underside of the base. Then undercoat the bases with your preferred color using a rattlecan, I went with Games Workshop's "Mournfang Brown" spray.

Step #2: Base colors. Using an airbrush I went over the entire base in with Vallejo Model color's "Sand Yellow". It took about 3 coats to get a nice strong tone across it, working off of a brown undercoat. I then used a brush and painted sections of the mosaic using Games Workshop's "Stegadon Scale Green" and "Doombull brown".

Bases after step two.

Step #3: First layer of shade. I used Scale 75 "Inktense wood" wash through the airbrush to get this first layer. I sprayed this almost parallel to one section on the side of the base in order to have the ink catch the raised edges of the base texture. The Scale 75 washes are very strong and even with this limited usage you get a lovely tint out of the base layer of paint.

These are the same bases after the first shade. Note how there's a lot more ink on the side of the base in the top right than there is on the base itself. This is because I only wanted it to skim the top and was spraying most of the ink on the side of the base to help control the amount going over the top.

Step #4: Second layer of shade. I used the exact same airbrush technique only this time using Army Painter "Strong Tone" wash, which is a very natural tone to bring everything together. Once again I focused my spray against the side of the base in the exact same spot as the previous shade in order to only skim the top of the base and draw out its texture.

Bases after step three.

Step #4: Detail work. Once the second shade has fully dried, paint the rims of the base black, and do some edge highlighting around only the outer rim of the base to make things pop a bit. I didn't bother doing any edge highlighting inside the base as I knew I was about to use pigments anyways.

Step #5: Varnish bases. This is really important because we'll be wiping the bases down with water when we use pigments and the inks and washes will absolutely be wiped off in the process if you haven't varnished it. I used Army painter "Aegis suit" rattlecan varnish but you can use any sort of satin or gloss varnish that offers decent protection against water.

Step #6: Pigments. Use vallejo's "Burnt Sienna" pigment and mix it with a bit of water to get it nice and sludgy. It should be thick enough that it doesn't run when you put it on a flat surface, but runny enough that it still falls into and fills the gaps of the bases. Using a cheap brush you slam this mixture into all the crevices of the base. Have fun and be as messy as you want, none of the pigment on the surface will be staying there.

Bases after step six. Pigment spackled into the cracks.

Step #7: Wipe away the pigment. This is the funnest part of the process! Dampen a cloth or piece of paper towel a bit and literally wipe off the tops of each base. After 1-3 passes all of the pigment on the surface will have disappeared but the pigment in the cracks will remain. Your varnish will protect your previous work from getting wiped off. It's sooooo satisfying.

However you need to ensure the previous layer of pigment has completely dried, preferably overnight, before doing this. Otherwise you might remove some of the pigment in the cracks!

Finished bases after the pigment has been wiped away.

Step #8: Final varnish. After giving the remaining pigment another chance to fully dry (it doesn't need quite as long this time) you should do one more layer of varnish to set it in place and voila, mosaic bases! The varnish will also help protect your work if you decide to paint your figures after they're attached to their bases as I do. Any stray paint that gets on the base can be wiped off with water without issue thanks to the varnish.

My test model getting painted on top of a completed base. Looking good!

These techniques should work well for any sort of textures resin base! I hope it has proved useful!😄