“Goop” Flocking Technique

Flock on a porous surface.  I use leather glued to a metal base; this technique also works fine on laser-cut 3mm wood bases.  It won’t work nearly as well on plastic or metal directly; don’t try it or you will waste your work.  If you want to use it on them, glue some canvas or rough cloth directly to the plastic or metal first, using glue that works on the plastic or metal, then do the goop technique onto that once the glue is dry.

This technique looks complicated, but it is really pretty fast – maybe an hour’s work for a 15mm army, spread across two or three days (there are three major drying steps).

1.      Glue your figures down to the base.  I’ve done this many ways in the past; my current technique is just to put down some white glue and plop the figure bases into the glue, then adjust position as necessary.  This is more forgiving than using crazy glue or E3500.  Let the glue dry (if not crazy glue, which is dry before you want it to be).

a.      When basing 28mm figures I often add some larger vegetation at this stage – palm trees, ferns, usually converted aquarium plastic stuff.  That way it can be glued down well (sometimes using E3500 or epoxy) and the plant bases are hidden by the goop after.

2.      Mix up some goop.  See recipe following.  I use small (5oz) paper cups; that’s usually enough goop for a full army (20 bases or so) of 15mm figs.  Need about twice as much for an army of 28mm figs.

3.      Spread the goop on the base with the blunter end of a toothpick or any similar tool, getting around the feet and base.  You’re not trying to be even and flat – raised and lower areas are good, but make sure you get everywhere.

4.      Toss on a pinch of sand.  See materials list above.  Don’t try to get the sand over the whole base – just a pinch or two for accent.  It really shows up during the drybrush phase.

5.      Let dry.  A day is good.  Shake off excess sand.  There will often be some cracks in the dried goop, caused by shrinkage – this is a good thing, and gives some really nice accent detail here and there if you manage it right.

6.      Once dry, run a file along every side edge of the base, to square up the edges where the goop bulged over the sides.  Make sure not to file the poor figures you painted (ruins the paintjob), and keep the file perpendicular to the edge of the base.

7.      Mix up some brown glue wash.  See recipe following.  You don’t need much, maybe a fluid ounce or two.

8.      Take a sloppy brush and slather the wash on the basing.  It’ll soak in to the goop and pool in low areas.  That’s good, don’t try to even it out, just make sure you get some on all of the dried goop.

9.      Let dry completely.  Another day, maybe.  A few hours if you put the bases out in the sun to dry.  Whatever.

10. Drybrush the bases with off-white.  This accents the rocks (sand) and higher areas of the goop.  It also allows you to fix the color of the basing if you got a bit too dark.

11. Mix up some reduced white glue for flocking.  See recipe following.  You don’t need much; perhaps a tablespoon or two.  I always end up with too much, but white glue is cheap, so no biggie.

12. Take a cheap brush and splat the reduced white glue here and there on the base like a Jackson Pollock painting.  Here and there irregularly.  Maybe half the base or less gets glue; make sure to get any areas where the lines of the figure shows through the goop.  I usually don’t spread glue where the rocks/sand is.  Immediately shake some flock on the base – I use Woodland Scenics green blend for most of my arable topography armies; a mix of that and yellowish flocking for steppes; mostly yellowish stuff (and less of it) for desert terrain.  Invert the base and tap once or so to remove most of the excess.  Do this over a sheet of paper and every dozen stands you can take the paper and pour the flocking back into the Woodland Scenics shaker.

13. Let dry completely (another day or so) then blow off excess flock.  Do it outside or in a basement unless you live alone, because you will hear about it forever otherwise.

14. Add any decorative accents you want (tufts of longer grass or vegetation); this is usually best on camp bases or larger bases (cavalry or skirmishers or chariots) where there is more space for creativity; I don’t bother with tufts on close-order foot bases.

15. Seal if you like (with matte clear sealer of some sort).  Done.

Recipes:

Goop:

·         Spackle (all-purpose ready-mixed joint compound)

·         White glue (PVA)

·         Brown paint (latex paint, craft paint)

·         Water

I buy a 3.5qt tub of premixed spackle ever few years and use that.  You might buy less; I have hundreds of armies, so I go through it eventually.

Take a wooden craft stick (tongue depressor size) and shovel out some spackle into a 5oz paper cup.  About half full; doesn’t need to be precise.

Add some brown craft paint.  The spackle dries lighter than it is when wet; aim for a couple of hues darker than your final aim.  You aren’t trying to end with dirt color, a little lighter is fine because of the other steps.  For desert bases I use a Raw Sienna color; for arable bases a mid brown.

Add some white glue.  Maybe ¼ or 1/6 as much as the spackle.  The white glue makes the spackle less brittle (less likely to flake during use), extends the working time, and helps it adhere to the porous base surface (wood or leather).

Mix it thoroughly with the wooden craft stick.  Don’t add the water yet, it’s easier to get the stuff to mix before the water is added.

Add the water and continue mixing.  How much water?  It depends.  You’re aiming for soft peak consistency (in cooking parlance).  Sorta like whipped cream that isn’t quite whipped enough yet, if you whip cream rather than buying premixed nasty stuff.  Add some water, mix, add some more, mix.  It’s okay for it to be a bit softer, but it shouldn’t be soft enough to pour out if you upend the container.  You’re going to be spreading it with a toothpick – you want to be able to scoop up some with the toothpick and spread it out like limp icing, where the toothpick marks don’t show.  Too liquid and it will shrink more when drying, creating cracks (which are useful effects sometimes); too thick and it will take too long when you are doing the basing.

Brown Glue Wash:

·         White glue (PVA)

·         Brown paint (latex paint, craft paint)

·         Water

Smooge out some white glue into a small container (see materials suggestions following).  You’ll need maybe an ounce or so of glue, at a guess.  Two or three tablespoons, perhaps, if that’s easier for you to visualize.

Add some brown latex paint – craft paint, cheap stuff (which is what I use for all my painting figures, and don’t get snotty with me about it).  Not too much – you’re aiming for a liquid that looks like chocolate milk (whole milk, not skim).  Choice of color depends upon what you’re aiming for with the flocking technique – desert needs something tawny, light or medium brown; arable topography needs something darker brown.

Mix the glue and pigment thoroughly before adding water – it’s much harder to get the pigment and glue to mix well if it is thinner.

Thin the wash with water; add something like half as much water as you’ve got glue/paint mix, maybe up to even (as much water as glue/paint mix).  Mix thoroughly.

Reduced White Glue (for flocking):

·         White glue (PVA)

·         Water

Smooge out some white glue into a small container (see materials suggestions following).  Add about half that much water and stir with a cheap brush (usually the one you’re going to use for flocking) until it is smooth and even.  Should be a bit thicker than cream – thick enough to hold flocking well and stay where you splotz it on the bases; thin enough to reduce the surface tension of the white glue and be a liquid, not an ooze.

Containers:

The plastic containers for single-serving applesauce or pudding are pretty-much perfect for much of this.  Eat the food first, and wash them out, or your results may be unpredictable.