"Individual 20mm Base Size?" Topic

What do you use to base your individual 20mm figures? (I'm looking at purchasing Liberation Minis specifically.)

Pennies? Washers? Litko?

Diameter?

We prefer tipping figures over (gently!) when they become casualties. Too large a base and the base stands out too much when the figure is laid on its side. Also smaller bases are easier to fit between bits of terrain and in buildings.

But too small a base and figures might tip over accidently.

Maybe a better question is what's the smallest practical base with 20mm metal figures?

MB

I use pennies for single figures and poker chips for weapon teams.

I tried using these plastic plinko? chits that are the same size as a penny, but they just did not have the weight IMO.

Washers are usually more than $.01 USD and you still may have to fill in the hole.

Not WWII gamer in that scale but I base 1/72 Ancients on 3/4" squares. Hope that helps some.

John

I based my WW2 figures on a #10 zinc washer which is about the same size as the figure's base. yes more expensive than a penny, but they allow you to store them on a magnetic sheet in the Plano storage case and to use magnetic card cut into small squares as wound, heroic, suppressed etc. markers that travel with the figure.

I dont bother filling in the hole and I use a craft silicone type glue to attach them to the base.

All my 20mm stuff is on 5/8" washers. That way I can put them on magnetic team bases if a rules set requires that sort of thing. By the by, the holes never have to be filled because they are always covered by the bases of the figures.

US pennies are just about 19mm in diameter, for reference.

All my figures here link

are based on SAE 1/4" washers from Home Depot

my 3/4 inch rounds. gamecraftersltd.com

9/16" fender washers from mcmaster.com

Hi,

Once eurocent coins are just perfect. Ought to work very well for tipping the figures, too. Here's a sample: link

iAugustus

Augustus…those bases do look perfect. My concern about US pennies and similar sizes (3/4") is that when tipped the base is about as tall as the figures. You end up less with tipped figures and more with pennies on their sides! :-)

MB

We use uk pennies. Back when they were legal tender though we used to use half p pieces which were about a cm like a euro cent is. Both euro and uk "coppers" are formed on steel sabot and hence stick to mag vinyl. If you go for washers then bear in mind that stainless steel isn't magnetic. You want raw steel or galvanised.

For individual 20mm figs I use pennies. Plenty of heft to stop them falling over by accident, especially with a bit of magnabase on the bottom.

Pennies are your friend!

Leland R Erickson
Metal Express
metal-express.net

pennies are the way to go. right price and right size.

A friend and I, in trying to figure out the right size washer, both agreed that a washer the size of a penny would be perfect, we both actually bought a pack of $0.04 USD washers .. while holding the penny we had used for comparison … DOH!!!

I now save all my pennys for 20mm anything and all my 25mm SciFi. I swear I have an IQ higher than my shoe size … no really!!!

In most countries it is actually a felony to use currency for anything other than currency! Buy 1/2" washers in bulk and they're less than a penny!

I individually base my 20mm moderns on 20mm squared mdf bases (2.5mm thick). These are available from East Riding miniatures or there are some slightly shallower ones available from products for wargamers. They are just heavy enough without being too heavy or too hard, they seem less likely to chip other figures when packed away (rather than metal on metal), and because they are square they are more stable. As a bonus the height of the bases means you can pick them up without having to touch the figures themselves.

In most countries it is actually a felony to use currency for anything other than currency!

Technically, defacing the currency is illegal. At least in the US, no-one is going to say anything about taking pennies out of circulation.

Buy 1/2" washers in bulk and they're less than a penny!

How big a bulk? 10,000? In quantities of 1000, they're still 2-3 cents each where I am.

For the record, I use 1/8" (hole size) x 3/4" (diameter) zinc-plated steel washers on 15mm figures. They are about 5 cents each, but US pennies aren't magnetic!

"In most countries it is actually a felony to use currency for anything other than currency"

Is it?

I am always careful to leave the Queens face unsullied.

I recently sold off all my remaining 20mm in favor of using 28mm figures in my skirmish games. But back when I did still use 20s, I used the square 20x20mm Games Workshop bases. You used to be able to buy those in large bags for a fairly reasonable amount. But sadly GW now packages their bases in mixed bags to force you to buy more bags to get the amount you want and thus removed one of the last good deals they had. Were I basing something like that today, I would go with a similar sized Litko base.

TR

edit: Wow. I just looked at the date of the original post. Holy thread necromancy, Batman!

Very good trenchraider, made me laugh,
I guess I'm the necromancer in this case, just thought the post looked interesting

Not worried about being arrested for using pennies, just think that the "magnetic" advantage of using steel washers far outweighs the minor cost advantage.

I just bought some #6 washers. They look to be about 3/8". I don't want my bases to be any larger than necessary, so I can put them almost anywhere on the table.

As for the hole, that is usually covered by the base of the figure.

Pennies.

Always put the side with the year of mintage on the bottom. That helps me randomly determine which troops should have better stats. The older the penny, the better the troop.

It's always nice to get a "seniors discount"!

Aside from any criminal charges for misusing currency; you are forcing your governments to mint more "pennies' to replace the ones you base your figures on. Therefore you are devaluing your own currency!

There are also laws concerning hoarding of currency/coinage.

Stainless steel not magnetic? Funny, my cutlery holds magnets as I speak/ type. Perhaps what you think is stainless steel is some non-ferrous alloy.

I can buy bulk 1/2" washers for less than $.01 USD Canadian in quantities of about 500. Stop buying Sterling Silver washers you guys!

Not sure about the legal aspect being anything anyone enforce. Lol.

As for British pennies, they changed the metallic content a few years back, so they now stick to magnetic tape really well.

I bought a load of 12mm stainless steel washers the other day, with the idea of using them with 15mm figures, so that I could drill 12mm holes on FOW bases, and put magnetic tape underneath. The idea being to use the same figures for skirmish or larger scale rule sets, and could show unit casualties by taking figures off the base. The problem was, that the iron content in the steel washers wasn't large enough to stick to the magnetic tape.

So I'm now thinking along the lines of using larger mdf bases with just magnetic tape on top to accommodate 4 pennies.

2p coins a pretty good for 15mm weapon teams etc.

Considering the number of people who "collect" pennies, a few being used to base figures are just a drop in the ocean. However, somehow it seems "wrong" to me.