"I need lots of round flight bases, as cheaply as possible" Topic

Something around 20mm or 3/4 inch diameter base. I need about 50 of them. I'd really like something with a very, very thin post; even something like thick wire would work for this application.

If there's not something commercial, can you guys help me brainstorm how to rig one up myself, beyond a lump of green stuff, a nickel, and a chunk of wire?

Hmm… for that matter, maybe that's not a horrible idea….

EDIT: ok, on further reflection – GW-style round bases, with a t-pin stuck through the back. So now the question becomes 'where can I get GW-style round bases cheaply?' Sorry for not thinking of this sooner!

Try Pennies with a Box nail guled point up

I cut a 1" hex out of 1mm sheet plastic and glue on a flathead nail of whatever length suits the spaceship I'm mounting. Of course this is for scratchbuilt plastic spaceships, if you want to mount metal models you may need something with a bit more weight for stability.

Robert

"….GW-style round bases cheaply".

That's an oxymoron.

I doubt it's possible.

I'd get some of the round, flat bases, and use t-pins, or wire to mount your ships on top of them, if they are small enough. Use a Dremel to cut off the pointy tips, if you want them to be shorter.

Glue into place in the underside, after drilling a hole for the t-pin to pass through first, with a good epoxy glue.

I would like to think that we are pretty affordable.

link

-Will

Thanks everyone, I guess my mind is moving in the right direction! Will, your bases look perfect and the price is great, but do you sell any round ones without the slot? That will work better with the wire/t-pin idea, and I think I really will need that thin a support for the right look.

3/4" wooden craft store discs, some brass wire and a few minutes with a pin vise would work, too.

You can get the round ones, without the slot, off of eBay fairly inexpensively.

The seller is either in China, or Hong Kong.

I think they sell 3/4" and 1" bases in quantity.

See here for pics of them, about 1/2 way down the page, and at the bottom:

link

They're some of the nicest looking spacefighter bases I've seen, and the Bergstrom spaceships look quite nice too.

I also use the wooden discs from the craft store and some 1/64 inch wire from the model railroad shop. Use a pin vise to drill the hole, add a drop of superglue to the end of the wire and you're done. They look like this:

link

eM4 sells bases at reasonable prices.

Check out EM4 flying basses. They are quite nice, available in 3 colors and at a pound for 15 come to about 10 cents a piece. They have a hollow base that can be filled with weight for stability.

link

If you decide to go with GW style rounds, they have them also for about 8 cents a piece.

I second (or third) the craft store disks, and suggest using a regular wire nail. Here's a short tutorial using 1-inch disks and fender washers for weight and to stick to magnetic sheeting: link

I use jumbo paperclip wire. The bases can be anything from fender washers and epoxy putty to FoW bases.

DesertScrb, I like the idea of the nail and washer, esp. for escorts and civilian ships. I may even try it for my fighter bases to minimize damage during transport.

Thanks, Cold Steel. I use shorter nails to mount escorts and civilians; that way the capital ships on the table loom over the smaller vessels and the noncombatants.