"Replacing integral bases (illustrated)" Topic

Let's start with Exhibit A:

Using a pair of clippers, cut away the metal on the outsides of the feet:

Now make two cuts to remove the metal between the feet:

Remove the stuff protruding in the front and back:

Now for the secret sauce, cutting off the soles:

On one foot, I usually leave a peg to strengthen the bond to the base:

The aforementioned base. I ordered a bag of these transparent acrylic bases from Fenris. They're 15 mm diameter, 1 mm thick.

Drill a hole for the peg:

Paint, then glue into place:

Leftovers:

Hmmm… oddly enough, this is how I do it as well.

Excellent tutorial.

Thanks for sharing.

Why type of clipper do you use?

Very nice ste-by-step!

How do you cut around the peg without damaging the foot?

Out of interest what make of miniature is it ?

@Mako11:
I'm using one of these from Prince August, but I also have a no-name one which works just as well.

@StarfuryXL5:
It's a little fiddly and the foot usuallu has to be straightened afterwards. I simply make a horizontal cut behind the peg and snip it off, then repeat in front of the peg. I then round off the corners using a knife.

@Knight of St John:
It's automata infantry from 15mm.co.uk

I like the peg. I have been trying to drill and pin the tiny legs.

To clarify, the picture on the right here shows the business end of the clippers positioned to cut off one of the thick "soles". In order to leave a peg, I don't cut all of the sole at once, instead cutting from the front and back leaving the peg in the middle.

I have also tried drilling and pinning and it has worked well. The main problem for me is handling the tiny pieces of wire, and getting them to stick to the model instead of my fingers :)

This is a good method that's low-hassle and uses basic tools. Thanks for posting it!

A word of caution: I've found that removing the base between the feet can be tricky, as the clippers can "spread" the metal, causing deformation of the legs or even breaks!

I often "dig out" the base under the mini's feet using a Dremel cutter bit (working up from under the base). This reduces the amount of material I need to cut through to separate the foot… But I lose the peg to attach it to the new base. That's a nice bonus with this method.

Nice work! If you don't mind a shameless plug, here are some sci-fi bases I made for 15mm minis:

They're 1/2" across, or roughly 12.7mm. I wish more casters would make 15mm infantry without integral bases and instead just include pegs on the feet, but I know that might not be possible because of the limits of pouring molten metal into a mold and whatnot.

Thank you for the reply Lupulus. My eldest son saw some15mm Necron type figs last year at Salute, but we did not know who made them.

You're welcome :)
If you want some variant sculpts there's also Rebel Minis rebelminis.com/scourge.html .

Thanks for the details, and link.

I really appreciate it.

So it's two perpendicular cuts in front of and behind the peg. You have to make sure your clippers are sharp to the tip and can cut cleanly to tip. I can see how it would be fiddly, especially on a 15mm figure. But definitely worth a try.

Yes, something like this:

(The foot will have to be straightened after cutting)

seems like a lot of work to stick it onto a plain round base! Why not just attach it to the base and then build the new base up to meet the integral one???

Well, I see a few reasons;
-Attaching to a base and stuffing putty to blend the two together is actually more work
-I'm not fond of having each model standing on his own personal giant-space-mole-hill
-It would defeat the purpose of having a transparent base, wouldn't it?

I'm going to submit this post, go into the other room go through to the procedure above, including drilling a hole in the base and make sure it fits. Then I'll return and post how long it took me.

And I'm back.
The timer says 1:32, so a minute and a half.
Sound reasonable?