Hobby Tutorial: The BEST Way to Make Snowy Bases!

After years of modeling with crappy snow bases, I finally found the the way to do it right! A tutorial:

When the new Space Wolf Codex dissed the Wolfwing, I decided to expand my wolves a bit and purchased some Thunderwolves. From the outset I envisioned that their bases would carry a lot of snow; the idea is that the Thunderwolves go where others can’t and in those places the snow would be nice and thick.

For years I have been playing around with baking soda and PVA glue or drybrushing white paint on sand. I even glued sugar onto bases, but none of it looked really good. But now I have found the best solution; by far! Secret Weapon’s crushed glass mixed with ‘realistic water’. It’s been on the market for a while, but I was surprised that none of my Santa Cruz Warhammer comrades were using it and I had kind of forgotten about it. Not anymore! 

1. create a good base with lots of rocks on it. You can nestle the snow up against it.

2. Here’s the product, available at Secret Weapon Miniatures

3. Pour some crushed glass on a tray or container; don’t breathe it in!! It’s very fine, like powdered sugar.

4. add some Realistic Water

5. Then mix it with an old brush

6. It will become slushy. If you want your end result to be slush, melting snow, this is how you want it. I envisioned dryer, glimmering snow, so….

…I added some more crushed glass.

7. Brush it on in the thickness that you want in certain areas, but don’t worry about what it looks like.

8. Once you have filled up your area, use a sculpting tool and massage the snow around, how you want it. Look at some winter images and study how the snow crests up against rocks.

9. Here’s the finished, wet, snowy base. Now you will have to let it dry overnight.

10. Here’s the end result, dry, glimmering, crispy looking snow! I think it whitened and hardened out even more after 48 hours. It will become rock hard.

And here are his buddies, all playing in the snow!