How to Make Desert Bases for Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures

October 12, 2026

Desert bases are a favourite for good reason: they are quick, they suit almost any army, and warm earth tones make cool armour colours stand out. The risk is a base that reads as one flat sheet of beige. This guide covers textures, colour recipes and the small details that make a desert look hot, dry and lived in.

The short answer: build texture with mixed sand and grit (or crackle paste for dry lake beds), basecoat a mid-tone earth, wash the recesses, then drybrush two progressively lighter shades and finish with a few rocks and sparse dry tufts. Choose a desert colour that contrasts with your army rather than matching it.

What materials make the best desert base?

Fine sand mixed with a little coarser grit gives the most natural dune-and-scrub texture. Ready-made texture paste is faster and more consistent, and crackle texture paint creates sun-baked cracked earth. A few small rocks or pieces of cork break up the surface.

Texture	Best for	Speed	Tip
Sand and grit with PVA	Sandy dunes, scrubland	Medium (needs drying and sealing)	Brush watered-down PVA over it once dry so grains stay put
Ready-made texture paste	Fast, consistent armies	Fast	Pick a fine grade; coarse paste looks rocky rather than sandy
Crackle texture paint	Dry lake beds, wasteland	Fast to apply, slow to dry	Thicker layers make bigger cracks; dry flat
Rocks, slate or cork	Height and focal points	Fast	One or two per base; glue before adding sand around them

What colours work for desert bases?

Not all deserts are yellow. Pick one of three broad families and stick to it across the army so units look like they fought in the same place.

Desert type	Basecoat	Wash	Drybrushes
Classic sand	Mid tan or ochre	Brown	Pale sand, then bone
Red rock	Terracotta or rust orange	Red-brown	Light orange, then pale peach
Salt flat or ash	Warm light grey	Grey-brown	Off-white, then a very light pure white edge

How do you make cracked earth?

Apply crackle texture paint thickly over the area you want cracked and leave it to dry flat at room temperature; the thicker the layer, the larger the cracks. Once dry, wash the cracks with a dark brown and drybrush the raised plates lightly. Mixing a patch of crackle with a patch of sand looks more natural than cracks across the whole base.

How do you stop a desert base looking flat?

Use at least two grit sizes, push a darker wash into the low points and keep each drybrush lighter and more restrained than the last. A contrasting rock colour, such as cool grey stones on warm sand, gives the eye somewhere to land. Very fine final highlights on raised ridges suggest harsh overhead sunlight.

Which desert colour suits my army?

Aim for contrast: warm sand and red deserts suit blue, green, purple, black and grey armies, while a pale grey ash waste flatters red, orange and yellow schemes. Also check value, so the base is clearly lighter or darker than the lower legs of the model. Our colour scheme guide explains value and contrast in more depth.

What tufts and plants suit a desert?

Sparse, dry tufts in straw, burnt or brown shades fit best, placed in small clumps next to rocks where they would find shelter. One tuft per infantry base is usually enough; lush green tufts look out of place. Small dead twigs or roots also sell an arid setting.

How do you match the model to the base?

Drybrush or sponge your final base colour lightly onto the boots, lower legs and tracks so the dust looks like it came from the ground the model stands on. Weathering pigments in the same shade take this further. Keep it heaviest at the bottom and fading upwards.

How do you keep sand from falling off?

Let the PVA dry fully, tap off loose grains, then brush a thin coat of watered-down PVA over the sand before priming. Priming with a spray also locks grains in. Finally seal the finished base with matt varnish along with the model.

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