"Individual Bases for 54mm and 1/32 Figures" Topic

Sorry if this is a well covered topic, but I was unable to find any posts under the topic using the search engine.

I recently bought 24 of the old painted Britains Deetail dismounted 7th Cavalry and some Plains Indians from Toy Soldier of San Diego to play skirmish games. Of course I never used to base my 54s when I played with them as a boy but now I want something with more stability, perhaps even allowing me to play in my garden,

I have seen two inch diameter wooden disks at Michaels and know of plexiglas disks at TAP. I was wondering if there are any other solutions in common use.

Fender Washers. Like regular metal washers except the hole in the middle is much smaller. Can get them at any hardware store.

There was recently a discussion on the Littlewars Yahoogroup (for collectors and gamers of 54mm & 40mm figures) on using cut up floor tiles for basing 54mm figures.

link

I use sheet metal cut to 2 x 3 inch rectangles. Lots of places sell pre cut bases.
For Britains Deetail, I would terrain the bases and use flocking as shrubs for the part of the stand that goes into the horse, in order to disguise it.

I use peel-n-stick floor tiles. I put two together: peel and stick the glue sides together, roll with a roller pin, from the kitchen, to ensure they stick together uniformly. Then I cut to 2"-squares. I Hot Glue the figures to the base, and paint/decorate the bases as desired.

For cutting, it is easiest to mark with either a ballpoint pen, or marker, using a ruler, then cut with a scissors. Scissors are accurate enough, if you are careful. Using a razor knife, with a metal ruler, is feasible, but it is very hard on the hands. A tablesaw would be best, if you are cutting large numbers of bases, and you have the tool already.

To see some examples, visit my blog, and scroll down until you see the orange, Beholder monster figure, halfway down the page: link. It is not a clear photo, but it demonstrates the concept, using Hot Glue and a dowel -- figures are much cleaner, without Glue around the figure's base. Use a small Hot Glue Gun, with High Temperature Glue, for best results. Cheers!

Hey Sgt. Do you think this would work with just one peel n stick tile? Using the sticky side to place the printed card stock? It would be half the thickness for cutting and less cost. Yes, they could be tricky to lay down at first, but what do you think? Would it work?

Thanks.

Matthew

45thdiv/Matthew, for printed card stock, yes, that is what I do: I adhere the card stock sheet to a single tile, by pressing it against the glue side of the tile. I laminate my card stock sheets with clear contact paper, first (applied to the top, inked side only), then I apply them to the floor tile; by laminating them first, they become more rigid, which makes them easier to apply without creases, or folds -- and it protects the inked image from chemicals on my hands, or the rolling pin. I then use a kitchen dough roller to flatten, and press them against the tile's glue. I have never had an adhesion issue, since I first tried this technique, April of 2013. It is surprisingly easy to do; the most difficult part is the application of the clear contact paper to the card stock sheets: Do NOT cut up the card stock sheets until after the contact paper is applied, and smoothed out (air bubbles happen, but try to work them to the edges; if this is not possible, then prick them with a pin, to let the air out, but try to avoid this as much as possible -- the hole can allow water to penetrate, and ruin the underlying inked image). Contact paper will be wasted, but it is inexpensive, and this approach avoids ruining both contact paper and card stock printouts.

The tiles usually price in at around $0.38 USD per 12"-square, for the thinner (approx. 1mm thick), least expensive types. Remember: the design on the business side of the tile, does not matter, as that will be face down, on your gaming table. There are thicker (1/8"), more expensive tiles available. I've experimented with one, so far, because I received it as a free sample: too expensive; too thick, unless you use them for the entire project. Cheers!

Rectangular card seems the commonest solution for garden games that I have seen … sometimes on a movement tray/sabot (here of carpet tile) …

(Garden game at COW 2013)

I base the 54s in my current project on MDF (in multiples as I am using DBA to an 80mm frontage) … some of the figures are Deetail – I take them off the clumsy Deetail bases, trim the lugs into pins and glue them on thinner bases that I have drilled holes into (that way they match neatly with older Britains figures and metals from Irregular)

(54mm Bosworth game at History Live! 2013)

For a future garden game project using my Britains collection I will probably use clear perspex bases to give stability but preserve the appearance of the toy-like bases.

Phil
Ancients on the Move

Beautiful, Phil, just beautiful. Thanks for the eye candy -- a truly tasty treat! Cheers!

Depending on the look you want, I have used plastic poker chips in the past. These work well, ad you can get them for $1.00 USD a box of 50 I believe in Dollar Stores. Of course these work best when yu don't need straight ranks of troops.

I use wood discs for craft use. Michael's has them, but for wargaming we need them in bulk. Try the website craftparts.com.
They have great prices, deliver quickly and have a huge selection.
I glue my figures to them using a craft glue called Goop.
Bonds everything, even soft plastic, to the bases.

I use poker chips and made stands with predrilled holes for basing my 54mm.