"ACW Basing of 54mm Figures" Topic

It looks like The Bug hit this posting of mine.

Over the past week I have based, terrained and flocked 49 infantry bases of Union and Confederate regiments for my 54mm Pickett's Charge convention game. That is a mind numbing number of bases to work on: Stage 1 – epoxy glue the figures to the wood base; Stage 2 – apply and spread the "goop" made of wallboard paste and paint around the figures; Stage 3 – dry brush the bases; stage 4 – apply tufts and static grass to the base. Stage 4 is the most difficult part of the effort.

Click the link to my blog to see more pictures and get an update on my Pickett's Charge project.

link

cheers,

Fritz

Great job, Jim!

Jim

Beautiful. What size are the bases?

The bases have a 80mm frontage by 120mm depth and are made of MDF wood. I use two part epoxy glue to attach the plastic figures to the wood bases.

W-O-W!!!… Out-freaking-standing! Gorgeous figures, terrain, and tabletop…

About using epoxy to attach your figures to their MDF bases. I mount Army Men, made of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastic, to 50mm MDF square bases, using Multi-Temperature Hot Glue. They stay stuck, very solidly; it is difficult to remove them once the Hot Glue hardens. I, too, texture their bases, using Wood PVA Glue, applying colored mixtures of sand, and Model RR Ballast (small stones). This has served me well, handling the Army Men by the figures, more so than their bases. They get man-handled quite a bit, to be honest. It is exceptionally rare for one to come off of its base, once Hot Glued.

Get yourself a Multi-Temperature Hot Glue Gun. The Low temperature setting issues the Glue in a more viscous state, which has a 10-15 second work time; the High Temperature setting (Glue) comes out very much more fluid -- runs, with a work time in excess of 40 seconds -- too fluid, too hot, too molten, for too long, IMO. Any brand Hot Glue will work, so buy the least expensive brand you can find.

I have had occasions where I needed to rebase multiple LDPE figures (Army Men, Skeletons, Cave Men, and Viking figures, all LDPE plastic, mounted with Hot Glue), removing them from their MDF bases. It was surprisingly difficult to remove them, without damaging their molded bases (several were, in fact, damaged, in spite of my efforts to avoid it). If you need to de-base them, I recommend using an X-actor knife to cut the Hot Glue from the MDF, then flex and peel the Hot Glue off of the molded LDPE base, carefully.

Hot Glue takes acrylic paints, very well, though two coats is best. It can be removed easily, when molten (CAREFUL -- It's Hot!). Once it hardens, it can be cut off, to remove excess; the hot Gun's nozzle tip can easily sculpt hardened Glue, if necessary -- hardened Glue can be sculpted with the Gun's tip, to create miniatures made out of Hot Glue… It is easy to work with, and it is surprisingly effective, and strong, for bonding LDPE figures to MDF bases; the bond does not weaken even after 10+ years. Cheers!