How to Make Warhammer Bases on a Budget (Cheap DIY Methods)

One of the coolest parts of the Warhammer hobby is bringing your miniatures to life with a great-looking base. Nothing makes a well-painted model feel unfinished faster than a plain, bare base. A good base ties your model into the world, boosts the overall visual impact, and honestly just makes the army feel complete when it hits the table.

The good news? You don’t need expensive texture paints or specialist products to do it.

This guide focuses on cheap, DIY Warhammer basing techniques that anyone can use. Whether you’re building an Age of Sigmar army, painting 40K models, or just hobbying for fun, these budget-friendly basing ideas are easy to make, cost pennies per base, and look fantastic once painted.

Everything in this article is stuff I actively use in my own Warhammer hobbying, and most of it comes from everyday materials you can grab locally or already have at home.

Quick Budget Warhammer Basing Summary (Fast Results)

If you just want a quick, cheap Warhammer basing recipe, start here:

• Mix builders sand or aquarium sand+ PVA glue + brown paint
• Apply it directly to the base
• Let it dry fully
• Drybrush with lighter browns or greys
• Add grass tufts if you want extra detail

That’s it.

This single method works for rocky, dirt, urban, jungle, and even water-adjacent bases with small tweaks, and it costs hardly anything per model.

Everything below breaks down variations of this idea in more detail.

Useful Materials for Cheap DIY Warhammer Basing

Here are some recommended materials you can pick up for model basing on a budget.

Using Natural Materials for Basing Models

Lots of great basing textures come from everyday items like tea leaves, dirt, herbs, or sand. They work brilliantly — but there’s one thing to watch out for.

Organic materials can grow mould if they don’t get properly dried or cleaned first.

The fix is simple:

If it’s something like rocks, pebbles etc it can be advisable to wash them down with soap first, once this is done you can: Spread your basing material on a baking tray and pop it in the oven on a low heat for 10–20 minutes. This dries out moisture and removes any lurking bacteria. After that, you’re good to go, and your bases will stay clean for years.

Same goes for builder’s sand. It’s amazing for basing, but:

• Sieve it first (removing the ultra-fine dust makes it look better), don’t worry if you can’t do this, I’ve made plenty of mixtures without doing it and it still looked good.
• Dry it in the oven for about 20 minutes on low heat to sanitise it

Here is some I prepared and used for the models you will see below:

How to Make Cheap Rocky Warhammer Bases (DIY Method)

Cheap, textured, and perfect for gritty battlefields

This is one of the easiest ways to create great-looking bases without spending money. The texture you get looks brilliant once painted.

You’ll need:

• Cork floorboards cut / ripped up or small slate pieces or small rocks.
• PVA glue
• Sand or builder’s sand
• Your usual earthy/grey paints
• Matt varnish optional

How to build natural rock and ground bases

1. Glue your ripped up pieces of cork board down as “rocks” or glue the slate / rocks down.
2. Coat the “rocks” in a very thin layer of PVA glue.
3. Generously spread PVA onto the rest of the base.
4. Sprinkle sand over it all or paste a sand mixture on.
5. Prime if you want smoother painting.
6. Basecoat dark brown or grey.
7. Drybrush lighter tones to bring the texture out.
8. Seal if you want extra durability.

How to Make Cheap Urban Warhammer Bases (DIY Ruins)

Easy cracked streets or ruined flooring for Base

This one is perfect for armies that fight in ruins, cities, or industrial areas (lots of armies fit this theme, especially Cities of Sigmar, Kharadron, Ironjawz in Ghurish ruins, etc.).

You’ll need:

• Cork board (Cork floor boards are good)
• Old plastic sprues
• PVA or superglue
• Sand/grit
• Grey/black paints

How to build it:

1. Cut up small rough chunks of cork and glue them to the base like broken tiles or concrete slabs.
2. Cut the sprue into small brick shapes to signify broken buildings.
3. Add sand in the gaps for rubble.
4. Basecoat black or dark grey.
5. Drybrush lighter greys to add depth.
6. Add rust streaks, scorch marks, or little bits of sprue as twisted metal.

This ALWAYS looks cool on the tabletop and it’s literally rubbish turned into terrain, winner winner chicken dinner.

How to do Jungle Bases

Amazing texture and colour using things you already have at home

If you’re doing anything nature-themed: Sylvaneth, Seraphon, Kruleboyz, undead rising from the earth this basing style works beautifully.

You’ll need:

• Tea leaves or dried herbs
• Aquarium stones or little pebbles
• PVA glue
• AK Water gel for puddles.
• Green paints
• Optional tufts or moss

How to build it:

1. Cover the base in PVA and sprinkle dried tea leaves all over.
2. Add one or two stones for more structure.
3. For any puddles add AK water gel.
4. Paint everything dark brown or green.
5. Drybrush with lighter greens or browns.
6. Add tufts of fake grass or moss for foliage.

Remember:
Tea leaves must be baked in the oven for 10–20 minutes first to stop mould from forming later.

These bases look way more detailed than they have any right to for the cost.

How to do Water Bases

Water done right for your water based models

If you’re doing anything water-themed: Indoneth Deepking, Kraken Eater or anything else water related this basing style works beautifully.

You’ll need:

• Cork board (Cork floor board works well) for the rocks.
• Sand for better rock texture and ground.
• Paints for the water (choose colors for the type of water you want: Ocean, Swamp, River etc).
• PVA glue
• AK Water Gel.
• Optional fake tufts of grass or moss.

How to build it:

1. Glue your ripped up pieces of cork board down as “rocks.”
2. Paint the base in the water colours you’re trying to achieve (River, Swamp or Ocean).
3. PVA layer the rocks (Very thin layer) and PVA the side of the rocks and any “ground”.
4. Apply sand to this PVA surfaces.
5. Apply AK Water Gel to the water surfaces (I recommend to go very thick and leave to dry for 8+ hours). AK Water Gel you can get one for each type of water you want: Ocean, Swamp, River etc.
6. Paint the rocks and beach, dry brushing technique works very well on sand and rocks.
7. Add tufts of fake grass or moss for foliage.

Remember:
AK Water Gel will dry semi transparent so if you use light enough paints underneath you’ll create an incredible water effect as you can see in some of the pictures of my models.

Final Basing Tips & Tricks

Basing is one of the most fun and creative parts of the miniature hobby. The cool thing is you don’t need fancy tools or expensive pots of texture paste to get great results — you can build stunning bases using things already in your kitchen cupboards.

Rocky terrain, broken urban ground, jungle floors and water bases… all of these can be done quickly, cheaply, and with awesome results across any Warhammer game system.

I’ll be adding photos into this guide to make it even easier to follow step-by-step, so check back soon!

If you want more basing ideas, faction-specific basing themes, or even a full BattleClash basing series, just let me know — happy to build it with you.

FAQ: Cheap & DIY Warhammer Basing

What is the cheapest way to base Warhammer models?

The cheapest method is using builders sand mixed with PVA glue and paint. One small bag of sand can base hundreds of models, making it far cheaper than branded texture paints.

Can I use real sand or dirt for Warhammer bases?

Yes, but you should always clean and dry it first. Wash it if needed, then bake it in the oven on low heat for 10–20 minutes to remove moisture and bacteria. This prevents mould later on.

Is homemade texture paste as good as store-bought?

For most basing, yes. DIY texture mixes often look just as good once painted and drybrushed, and in many cases give more natural results than pre-made texture paints.

Can cheap basing methods be used for Age of Sigmar and 40K?

Absolutely. These DIY basing techniques work across Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40K, and other miniature games. The same base texture can be painted differently to suit any faction or setting.

Will DIY basing materials last long-term?

Yes, as long as materials are sealed properly. Once painted and optionally varnished, DIY bases are durable and will last for years without issue.