This New Year it was time to replenish my stock of sand for my figure basing. I use a very specific type of sand that comes from a particular beach in New Zealand. So I drove the 600 kilometres to Cathedral Cove on the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula, where I grabbed a couple of handfuls of sand to take home.
Well, to tell the truth it was actually our family holiday. But, hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story!
Why Cathedral Cove sand? Well, it has a unique blend of grainy sand, crushed pink and white shells, and contains minuscule remnants of scarlet pohutukawa blossoms. This combination makes a perfect ground texture and colour that doesn’t need any painting or dry-brushing.
Just apply it with PVA glue, then once dry, add some patches of static grass, tufts or miniature plants. Simple!
The hardest part is making sure I always have sufficient stock of this very special sand – it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it!
Happy New Year everybody!
DRESSING THE LINES 
Brilliant! If you’re going to paint, paint the best miniature. If you’re basing, get the best sand
I love the idea of Cathedral Cove as a source of basing sand. We should add that to Trip Advisor 🙂
Happy New Year to you too Roly. I too collect sand from the beach! I prefer the fine sand from Piha on Auckland’s west coast…we are a sad bunch really aren’t we?
How do you wash the sand to remove the salt and anything else that may react over time?
Er, I don’t … never had a problem yet after all these years.