Well hello there and welcome back to the In Review series, where we have a little look at different products and decide whether they're worth your time or not. Although, everything is worth your time, otherwise I wouldn't waste my own writing this!
Today we will be looking at Geek Gaming Scenics, and some of the products they have available to make your basing life so very much easier. They were so incredibly kind enough to send me a package of all sorts of products to play around with, and so I have picked a selection to show you today.
If you haven't heard of this company, all you need to know is that they will literally solve all of your basing qualms. Specialising in 'base ready' ground covers and scatters, you can be sure that your basing will be elevated massively with little to no effort on your part. I discovered them last year, and bought a few things to try out. I was so impressed by what I had used, so I'm very happy to be shining the metaphorical light on them today.
Let's get cracking with Geek Gaming Scenic's signature product; the base ready series! These are effectively premixed scatters, featuring sands, stones, foam, sawdust and all sorts of other things. They have been meticulously tested to get the most realistic results with the right ratios of ingredients. These allow you then to simply put some glue down on your base, and dip it into the mix. This very simple action, which requires no real time or effort on your part, produces a fantastic result of a great looking base. There are numerous different mixes to pick from, ensuring there's something for every different project you're working on. As there are so many different mixes, it can be a little difficult knowing which one to pick, which is obviously a very good problem to have. Rather than drown you in beautiful basing, I'll share with you 8 of my favourite mixes that Geek Gaming Scenics sent over!
The first 4 are my favourite 'grassland' type base ready mixes.
Mediterranean Soil This is probably my favourite of all the mixes. It has great ratio between flock and rocks, and allows a much brighter basing style. I recently used it on my Greek inspired giant, and it complimented wonderfully. If you want a bright base, which then gives room to add grassy tufts and vibrant flowers, this is absolutely the mix for you. |  |
Arid Grasslands This mix is effectively a darker version of the previous mix. Both the rocks and the flock have been toned down in colour, whilst the quantity of rocks to flock is higher. The purpose of this mix would be the same as above, just for a slightly darker vibe. Perhaps a graveyard scene at sunrise in spring? Or on the bank of a river running through a forest. Either way, it's an awesome mix. | ​  |
Pine Forest Ground Cover I really love this mix, and looks so very realistic. Obviously they all do, but this one is absolutely perfect to do what it says on the tin; be the ground cover of a forest. If you're planning a basing scheme around a forest, or a nature filled diarama, then this is the mix for you. It's the perfect base to then start adding more foliage. I would also argue this mix has much better coverage than the previous two, which is simply down to the ratios of smaller ingredients within it. This one is a must have for your basing material collection. |  |
Wasteland Soil This mix is again, similar to the first two, in that its a mix of rocks and flock. The purpose of this one is for a basing scheme revolving around more 'dead' or 'burnt out' vibe. If you want your bases to still feel like they're from nature, but you hate greens and bright colours, then this mix is what you need. Perfect for mountainous terrain, or a world where we didn't listen to the warnings of climate change. |  |
This next 4 are my favourite 'rockland' type base ready mixes
City Rubble This first mix is exactly what it is described as; city rubble. Obviously it's perfect for a basing scheme revolving around an urban war zone, but it's also perfect for rocky terrain and otherwise uninhabitable land. The bright colours of this rubble would also be perfect to contrast against a dark toned colour scheme on your miniatures, to allow the overall effect to pop. |  |
Arid Earth This mix is the middle tone on the three main rubble mixes. A warmer environment, or perhaps a barren land, this mix is great if you want to eradicate nature and replace it with lovely rocks and gravel. As the tone of the rocks are similar to the Wasteland Soil mix, this would pair beautifully with it, if you wanted the overall effect to be a little more run down and rocky. |  |
Grimdark City Rubble This next mix is the darkest of all the rubble mixes, which makes sense given it's name. For any dark and gritty atmosphere, this is the one for you. A cursed city, the side of a volcano, or a dank dark cave; this one is very versatile in what it can be used on. I used this mix on my Leviathan models, and it looked fantastic in providing a neutral base, whilst extending the overall atmosphere. |  |
Mars Earth I think this mix is my favourite of the rubble like mixes. It's obvious use would be for any alien worlds, which aren't full of vibrant weird plants, but instead the barren wasteland of Mars. I'm just a big fan of the ration between grain and gravel, to the rocks. Its slightly orange/brown hue also will provide much more interesting basing schemes than the previous rubble mixes. Definitely looking forward to seeing what army I will base with this. |  |
These mixes really are so simple to use. Just put some glue down on your base and dip it into the mixes. Shake off the excess and repeat. You can manipulate areas that you want to be heavier on the rocks or grain, but I've found the best results are when you randomly dip the base into the mix, allowing the randomness of nature to come through. I chose to just pop the glue down on the bare base, without any texture or terrain paint, but using this first will obviously create better and more realistic results, allowing the mud to show through the gaps in the mix.
It goes without saying, that if you are a basing master, then these mixes probably aren't for you. But if you don't have access to nature's ingredients, the time and skill required to base from scratch, or simply are uninterested in basing, Geek Gaming Scenics has sorted you out. I find people are often a little intimidated of the basing stage. After spending countless hours painting the perfect paint job on a model, the basing can break or make the overall artwork. These base ready mixes solves that issue in the easiest and most efficient way, so there really is no excuse to have any unbased miniatures in your collection.
I was also kindly sent a big old bag of bark pieces. Believe it or not, up until this moment I had never used bark for my basing, but had always wanted to. So with no excuse not to try it out, I wanted to make a little diorama on a spare base I had, using the bark and base ready mixes. Simply glueing some pieces of bark together, you can create a little rock face with real ease. To be honest, I'm not sure what purpose other than rock, the bark would serve. But it does this job impeccably, so let's give the bark a break shall we? If you can think of another use, then please enlighten me, but for now, I can't think of a better (and lighter) substitute to use, other than becoming a miner and using real rock.
Once all glued down, I primed the little scene using my usual method of priming miniatures. This consists of covering the miniature in question with a black spray, and then dry brushing my way up from there, using greys and whites. I have often found that this 'zenithal' style priming gives the effect of looking like stone, so naturally, the bark already looked wonderfully realistic as rock. In fact, I was so impressed by how great it looked, I did literally nothing else to it. Now of course I could have used washes and highlights to elevate it, but for the sake of showing you how quick and easy you can create amazing bases with Geek Gaming Scenics, I chose to leave it like this.
Next I decided to use a texture paint to put down some mud like substance, as I do think the base ready mixes both look and glue better when put over the top of something other than the bare base. Weirdly, Geek Gaming Scenics don't have their own range of texture/terrain paint, but maybe if you shout at them enough, they might just look into it. If they did, you probably wouldn't need to buy from a different company for your basing needs ever again. Once the texture paint had dried, I put the glue down and covered it with the Mediterranean base ready mix.
Once I was happy with the placement, and allowing it some time to dry, I then used some of the tufts that Geek Gaming Scenics sent over. Yes that's right, they also make tufts! I think tufts are an absolute must have for everyone who makes their own bases, and sadly, it isn't something that you can pick up on your woodland walk. So buying them from the many various hobby companies is the only option. There is a brand that I have religiously used for all of my tuft needs because I believe their quality to be the best. However, these GGS tufts are certainly giving them a run for their money. My favourite way of applying tufts is to use a few different shades and sizes together. For this particular diorama, I used both the Autumn and Dead tufts from the range. As discussed before, nature is seldom symmetrical and neat, so using random shapes, placements and tones is always the way to go to get the most realistic look possible.
As you can see, this little diorama looks so very realistic. It also looks like I slaved away for hours in creating it. This is for me, the absolute main selling point of Geek Gaming Scenics products, as they allow you to effortlessly and quickly create something that looks remarkably impressive, without losing hours of your life. I didn't quite time myself as I made this in a few stages across a couple of days, but I would be supposed if the total time was much more than 30 minutes from start to finish. That small amount of time, for such a good looking finished piece, is something we should take note of, given how time consuming the act of painting the minitaute in the first place is!
This is why I'm going to coin GGS base ready mixes, as the contrast paints of the basing world. You can create a truly impressive base using just one mix, that will stand out on the gaming table or within your collection, just like the contrast paints by Citadel. However, they also then allow you to elevate it and take it a step further, to really get into the realm of competition winning bases. You could put washes over the base ready mixes to slightly change the pigment, or to make it more in line with the paint job on the model that stands upon the base. You could use other basing products, like laser cut plants, or mdf terrain pieces to take it a step further. Really, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination is. But as long as you start your basing with a GGS base ready mix, and a few of their tufts, you'll have an awesome base ready for both the tabletop and display, with no real need to do anything else to it.
I should also note here that GGS sent me both their basing glue and their basing sealant. The basing glue, from what I can tell, is a very fast drying form of PVA. It's very easy to spread out across a base, and doesn't have any negative effects on the base ready mixes. I often use superglue for my basing, but it often doesn't agree with whatever product I put over it. So as long as you have at least a little bit of patience to allow it to dry, this glue is all you would need alongside the base ready mixes.
The basing sealant does exactly what it says on the bottle; it seals your bases. When working with larger rocks and pieces on your bases, the glue is often enough to keep things secure. But these base ready mixes contain all sorts of tiny grains and scatters, so you need something a little stronger with more coverage to ensure your bases stay strong after throwing them around the gaming table. That's what this basing sealant does for you, and it's matte finish means you can also remove any unwanted gloss from exposed glue that may be present.
Overall, I have to say that I think Geek Gaming Scenics base ready mix range, is perhaps the greatest basing invention to have ever existed. It allows you to create amazingly realistic looking bases, without fretting over the details. Again, if you're a master of basing, this might seem unnecessary to you. But for most hobbyists, I feel like this is the future of basing. There's enough choice and range of products available, that there is absolutely something for everyone and every project.
I don't believe that the base ready mixes are the be-all and end-all, and you can do many things to elevate them further, but if you view them in a similar fashion to contrast or speed paints, you just can't go wrong. What's more is that these mixes are really quite cost effective, if you were to add up what it would take to get all the individual ingredients to make your own mixes. Again, if you live in an area that seemingly contains every biome imaginable on earth, then you won't need these as you can go gather your own basing materials. But for the vast majority, this is such an endlessly useful product, that you may never want to set foot in a real forest ever again.
I want to give my undying thanks to Geek Gaming Scenics for sending me over some of their products to play around with, my heart is full of gratitude and warmth (makes a change from it's usual state). They haven't paid me for my words, simply sent over some of their products for me to talk about, so you can trust my words are my own. This is absolutely a company you should go check out if you haven't already, and you can find their website and all of their products HERE. They deserve your attention for their innovation. Also, as an Englishman, it's great to see a UK company making their own products in the UK. This nation is a master importer, so it's refreshing to see. We should support these small businesses, so we can keep quality products being made close to home, rather than seeking lack lustre cheap alternatives from half way across the earth. That's about as patriotic I can be about this country, given it's current state.
Thank you for reading this lengthy article. I hope you have seen how possible it is to create the best basing possible, courtesy of Geek Gaming Scenics, and that you should probably head over to their site to find your new favourite basing supplies. It is worth noting that there is an unbelievable amount of different products, and with the individual static grass and rocks available, there's nothing stopping you making you own mixes. For everything that I have used in this article though, you can find them all below:
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