Tactical Command
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/

Base - How low can you go?
http://www.tacticalwargames.net/taccmd/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21460		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  berzerkmonkey [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:43 am ]
Post subject:  Base - How low can you go?
(Apologies to Chuck D)
I posted the following on my blog, but since it doesn't get a lot of traffic, I figured I'd also post it here since it might be of use to folks.

I've been looking for some cost-effective basing solutions for my Epic: Armageddon models. In addition to the possibility of basing my vehicles (which I'm still not sure if I'm going to do,) I need base solutions for some of my troops. My Imperial Guard and Space Marines will be mounted on the standard Games Workshop strip bases, but I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my Orks and Chaos Space Marines. I don't have enough of the strip bases as part of my Ork and all of my Chaos purchases were second hand and came without bases. In addition Games Workshop's pricing for their strip bases is pretty high ($4.50 plus shipping and tax for 16 bases.)


As a result, I've been looking at some options - here's what I've come up with:


Games Workshop bases


Thickness: 2.17mm
Size: 10mm x 40mm
Pros: Perfect for Epic infantry
Cons: Expensive ($.28 per base); only comes in infantry size


Self-made bases


One of the first options I tried was to create my own bases from plastic card. I measured out and cut strips based on the size of the GW bases, then punched holes in the strips with a standard 1/4" hole punch. After much cutting and hole-punching, I had some sore hands and partially finished bases. I then cut strips out of a thinner card and glued them to the bottom of the punched strips - instant (after a lot of work) bases. Epic guard fit right in the bases, and I locked them in with model cement. Unfortunately, the glue caused the thin bases to warp, and the stands didn't sit properly on the table. In retrospect, I think the plastic sheet idea is sound, but the bottom layer should have been magnetic sheet - there would have been no warping of the bases, and they would have been magnetized, to boot.


Thickness: Varies on the plastic card and method of construction you use
Size: Unlimited
Pros: Cheap (depends on what you pay for your plastic sheet); scalable for any size base
Cons: Labor intensive, prone to warping if you use the same methods as I did


Litko bases


On a recommendation from a fellow gamer, I ordered some bases from Litko. Litko will laser cut wooden bases to your specifications, which is pretty cool if you have anything that is kind of a weird size. Another neat thing is that Litko offers pre-cut magnetic or flexible steel sheeting that adheres to the miniature bases - very handy for securing your infantry in your carrying case. Litko's pricing is based on the base size, base thickness, material, and quantity of bases you order. For the Epic-sized bases I ordered, I was paying around $10-$12 for 100 bases. Shipping is a little high, so it makes sense to get together with some friends and place a larger order. The Litko bases do not come punched though, so you will either have to drill holes for the infantry models manually, or just glue the models directly to the top of the base.


Thickness: .8mm, 1.5mm, 3mm
Size: Unlimited, cut to spec
Pros: Reasonable pricing, depending on what you order (roughly $.10-$.15 per base); cut to any size; huge array of options
Cons: Labor intensive if you have to drill holes; price per base doubles if you want magnetic bottoms; high shipping


Woodsies


Again, on a recommendation, I went to the local Arts and Crafts store to take a look at a product called Woodsies. Woodsies are a line of wooden shapes that can be used in crafts projects - popsicle sticks, circles, squares, etc. The first store I went to, AC Moore, had a very limited selection, and I did not find what I was looking for. Michael's, on the other hand, had a larger selection and I was able to pick up a bag each of rectangles, squares, and circles. Each bag contains an assortment of 140 small, medium, and large shapes and runs $2.99 plus tax. In the circle assortment, I found 26 large (32.4mm), 65 medium (21.3mm), and 49 small - I didn't measure the small pieces, but they fall well under the rules requirement of being at least 20mm across. Again, these are obviously not punched for Epic infantry, but you could do it yourself with a drill. I know Dave and Capt. Piett on the Tactical Command forums both use medium rectangular Woodsies for their infantry - I feel the bases are a little large, but you have additional room for scenery effects.


Thickness: 1.8mm
Size: 32.4mm, 21.3mm (lg and med circle); (lg and med square); (lg and med rectangle)
Pros: Super cheap! ($.03 per base - even cheaper if you can find a use for the small pieces)
Cons: Limited in size; not punched for infantry; might be hard to find, depending on your location


Conclusions


As stated, I'm already using the GW strip bases for my Imperial Guard and Space Marines. If I decide to base the vehicles, I'll most likely use the Litko bases for the models, since I already bought and paid for them. As for my Chaos and Ork armies, I think I am going to seriously have to look at a combination of Woodsies and Litko round bases. The medium Woodsies are going to work great for stuff like weapons teams, Big Gunz, Sentinels, etc - things that are small and don't require a larger base. The large Woodsies should work for Rhinos, tanks, and battlewagons. I can then fill out the remaining base needs with Litko products - 25mm rounds for infantry, etc.

I'll post comparison pics in the next few days.
Author:  Simulated Knave [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Your blog has been bookmarked for later consumption. :)

As a note: unless you can come up with a way to make bases faster than one every minute-and-a-half, it's almost certainly more cost effective to get GW bases than to make your own. And that, of course, assumes your time is only worth ten bucks an hour.
Author:  Parintachin [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Custom ordering gives you one option that none of the others do: Deciding the shape of your bases yourself. I've just ordered a bunch of hexagonal bases for an upcoming project; and when the time comes for me to do that Malal army I'm thinking of, I'll be going with octagonal bases ..
Author:  madd0ct0r [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
I should point out that living in Vietnam, I value my time as considerably less then $10 an hour.
Author:  Nuglug [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
I have used small FoW bases for my Ork army (se my long dormant painting log in my signature)
And I plan to use washers to base my Marines.

- F -
Author:  Apocolocyntosis [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Simulated Knave wrote:
As a note: unless you can come up with a way to make bases faster than one every minute-and-a-half


Quote:
Cons: Labor intensive, prone to warping if you use the same methods as I did


1.5 mins or faster sounds pretty doable, the way suggested by OP is just not the fastest. 2 layers of 1mm HIPS stuck together with a non-excessive amount of cement should not warp

Use a drill for DIY bases not a hole punch, much faster and means you can go closer to the edge of the plastic without rupturing it. This means you can drill entire stacks of top plates for bases in one go*. To speed up marking out and cutting of the blanks, draw up a grid on the computer, print it and spray mount onto your 1mm styrene sheet. Do not use too much plastic cement. The holes in these bases will also be a much better fit than GW as they will not have a beveled edge and so fit the figs exactly, meaning these is less chance of the base/figure join being visible after flocking. Doing these as one offs would take a while, doing them in batches (50+ bases at a go) is very time effective.



* I used to do them individually, still pretty fast but did get blisters after the 500th hole or so ::) can't remember who suggested doing them in stacks. Before i did this i used to clamp a sheet of HIPS pre-scored into bases to a bit of tatty chipboard and then drill it all as one sheet.
Author:  berzerkmonkey [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 9:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Everyone brings up valid points - yes, FoW bases are usable, but I haven't picked up any, and so didn't include them. I have seen them used though. I would place them in their own category - large selection, but considerably more expensive than homemade.

As for the valuation of my time, if I'm sitting in front of the TV doing nothing anyway, I don't count it as valuable time. If I could be doing something else though, then, yes, my time would factor into the equation. I agree that I certainly could have done the homemade bases faster, but this was a first effort.

Thanks for the input guys!
Author:  evilhomer [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
I picked up a bunch of plastic bases a while back for my vehicles - originally I used a bunch of warmaster bases, but when I ran out I was surprised (and shocked) by GW prices, so I now use bases by Renedra. As I remember the link was posted here on taccoms a while ago...

http://renedra.co.uk/webstore.html
Author:  captPiett [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
For my IG I used small FoW bases as well. A couple of packs of them is enough to base an army even as vehicle-heavy as the IG Steel legion. Perfect size for most vehicles as well - only land raiders are slightly too big, but I used 'em on those for my SM anyway.
Author:  Dave [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 2:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Point of Clarification: GW strip bases are 12x40mm.
Author:  hello_dave [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
A couple of us here use 2 pence coins, so about 3 cents a base....
Author:  GlynG [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 3:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
I've bought masses of laser-cut wood bases on ebay and will just drill holes in them for my little men :)
Author:  mattthemuppet [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
just saw [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Acrylic-Flight-stands-30mm-Warhammer-40k-/300381218466?pt=AU_Miniatures&hash=item45f01da6a2"]these flying bases[/url] on my wanderings around on eBay. Bit pricey for me, but look really sweet.
Author:  nealhunt [ Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Base - How low can you go?
Plastic homemade bases: To cut down on labor, use a paper cutter - the lever kind. You can crank out dozens of blanks in a few minutes. If you are going to hole-punch and sandwich for infantry, I would suggest using a lever-driven hole punch, the kind made to go through many sheets of paper, so you can crank through them.

However, instead of hole-punch-and-sandwich, what I did was glue the models to the base and while the glue was wet, drop them in sand like you're flocking the base. The sand sticks in the glue, giving a slope up to the mini's base. By the time you put the real flock on, it's a pretty smooth line. Too much glue can contribute to warping so you need to watch that.

For warping, there are two possible countermeasures. Card thickness is obvious and the only option if you don't sandwich. If you are sandwiching, glue the top to the bottom and immediately glue the minis in the holes. The warpage is caused by the glue drawing up and pulling unevenly on the surface. If you have an even layer of glue, right through the middle of the base it should minimize warp.


Wooden homemade bases: I did a bunch of these with popsicle sticks. Find them in 3/4" width, which is close to 20mm, or 20mm. That takes care of one dimension. Tin snips or (again) a heavy duty paper cutter can quickly slice them to the required length and crank out dozens of them quickly. I used a ton of these for 20x30mm bike bases or LV bases in my Speed Freeks army.

The biggest drawback I found to wood is the lack of functional glues. Model glues and superglues don't work on the wood very well. Wood glues don't work on the models. In the end, I took to priming the wood (cheap hardware store primer, not model primer) which sealed it enough for superglue to work. Now, I would probably try Gorilla Glue. I've had luck with it on wood even though it says it's not for wood. And, since it expands a bit as it dries, throwing sand in it while wet should do an even better job of sloping up to the mini bases than with plastic bases and model glue.


Hope that helps.
Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/