Thanks! :)
The base is essentially just bird sand, but if you seal the sand with acrylic colours before its glue is fully dried, the paint dries quicker than the sand/glue below and proceeds to crack open as the sand dries up. First time I had this happen was just due to my impatience, but I liked the effect so much that I decided to consistently apply it to this army.
I'm out of the loop... What torpedo? What woman?