How-To "Cracked Earth"

Dear Archivists,

if you have a closer look at the bases I did for my demon army, you might notice the cracked earth on the bases. I have been asked how I did this and what I used to achieve this effect. This little "How-To" should help you.

What you need:
- Viva Decor Facetten Lack (which I bought in an art-store)
- Toothpick, old brush or anything else to aply the paste
- Base
- cheap liquid superglue

Step 1
Aply the paste on the base. Basic rule: Thicker layer > bigger cracks, thinner layer > finer cracks.
To get big, noticable cracks, I aplied at least 3-4mm thick layers. Another reason for "the more the better" is the shrinkage the paste has, which is about 50%.

Step 2
Let it cure. Not much let to do now. Do other miniatures ;D
Another tip here: Heat let's it cure faster, so put it under a lamp or on top of a heater... but be careful! To much heat might let your base melt!!!

Step 3
When everything is cure, you should have something like this:

And here comes the cheap super glue into place. The manufacturer of the paste advises to have the surface treated with a ceartein primer they sell aswell. The reason for that is, that the lack won't stick to your bases. Pretty obvious if you think about how the cracks are done... anyhow, I didn't know about this at first and never really needed that sticky primer.

I guess it makes sense if you use the lack on larger surfaces like a canvas. For our little monsters the superglue will work just fine. Simply let some drops of the superglue drop on the cracks. It will immediatly low into the gaps and bond the cracked medium to the base. MAke sure you open a window if you make several bases in a go.... or the fumes will get all slaaneshy :D

I dearly hope that this was of any help!