"Question about basing.. Slotta vs..non a Poll " Topic

I have a question for you gamers out there. With our 28mm human size and even dwarf size minis we add a slotta tab and a slotta base. We are coming up with some smaller 28mm gnomish style figures that are about 17-20mm tall. Does it matter if they are slotta or with a small intregral base?

Which do you prefer? Doing a little poll here :)

RebelMike
Rebelminis.com

Slotta bases are the Devil's meatloaf.

Don't like slotta bases at all!

Bases should be as unobtrusive as possible. People in real life do not stand on plinths!

I prefer pegs so I can either file it off or drill a hole into a plastic base and put the figure wherever I want.

Slotta bases are a pain in the (fill in with appropriate word here…)!

I like slotta bases, use the often, even on figures that have integral bases. Just as people don't stand on plinths, nor do they all stand on little hills either…

Damon.

I prefer to remove anything on the feet of my miniatures so they can be on bases that are as small/flat as possible.

To that end, I find it easier to remove tabs from miniatures than "mounds" (or whatever else you want to call them).

Slots (or pins) only require a snip or two to remove. Mounds require cutting, grinding and more.

So, no, I don't like or use slots, but the tabs that go in slots are easier to remove than other options. Therefore, I would actually choose them over something else.

I don`t like big bases, looks stupid against vehicles and spoils the scale of a game.
John the OFM has a statue of himself on a plinth in the lounge , I have bumped into it more than once.

Slottabase tabs are great. I just cut off the tab and drill a pin into the base of the foot. Then I fix my figures to a 2mm MDF base. Cutting off a cast on base is a massive pain in the bum.

Ian.

I hate slotta bases.

I agree with 79th. Not for me.

It seems to me that slotta tabs are the de facto industry standard for 28mm Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniatures.

I also guess that costumers would expect a consistent basing system within a figure range (I'm assuming these gnomish figures are part of a larger range that includes slotta-based figures?).

Unless there are good reasons for them having integral bases, I'd say go with tabs or pegs.

Doesn't matter to me as long as the "hill" isn't too large.

I've never been a fan of Slotta-Bases. But have never had a problem with fitting miniatures to coins, plastic card (or card) bases.

I would not discard a mini just because to was a Slotta-Base. but prefer cast on metal bases.

Tony

I am also in the "dislike slotta" camp.

I like slottas.
Lots of folks here don't, but we're not the majority of gamers. Here's a few reason to go with slotta's.
1) It's the industry standard. Folks expect them
2) In conjunction with a slottabase it's by far the easiest to base with one's own balast, flock, etc
3) If you don't like them, they're a heck of alot easier to remove than cast-on bases.
4) For those who use pre-cast resin bases, slottas are very easy to cut down into pegs for strong joins without pinning.

For small dwarf figs, Slotta tabs and a 20mm slotta base (EM4 and others sell these) would be a great combination.

I HATE slotta bases.

Another for "hate slotta bases"

Will not buy slotta bases.

With our 28mm human size and even dwarf size minis we add a slotta tab and a slotta base. We are coming up with some smaller 28mm gnomish style figures that are about 17-20mm tall. Does it matter if they are slotta or with a small intregral base?

I would recommend being consistent with your range, and either going for all or none slotta tabs.

If you go for all slotta tabs, some people will hate you because they do not like those.

If you go for all integral bases, some people will have you because they do not like those.

If you go for an odd mixture of slotta tabs and integral bases, everybody will hate you.

Like Slotta bases. I can easily mount the figures, it aint hard to fill the slot whilst I'm decorating the base, and its easy to remove the tab if i want to.

Cast bases are a pain, to match the rest of my figs I need to build up the ground surface around the base or spend more time clipping/sanding off the base.

Unless the cast base is big enough to be the ONLY base (thanks very much for doing so, Old Glory, I do appreciate it).

To get back to your gnomes question… I'm okay with slots or an integral base that is big enough to serve as the only figure basing, but not a lump barely bigger than their feet (the dreaded plinth)…

Prefer slotta so I can use as designed or remove easily.

But, OP – maintain consistency.

Well you have gone and opened the can worms now Mike. There is no correct answer here. Some like slotta others think they are the scions of Satan. For me it depends. For the most part I base my minis on washers or pennies and do not mind building up a bit of epoxy or adding flock to hide the mound that the figure is attached to.

Peg over slotta, slotta over "mound", mound over integral base

I'm standing on a little hill right now!

I agree that Slotta are probably the best option for minis that are nominally 25-30mm scale, regardless of actual figure size.

For minis 15mm and under, I usually base on flat washers, and want the absolute minimum additional thickness possible. Slotta doesn't really work at 15mm, so I prefer the thinnest integral/mound base possible. Anything thicker than about 1mm gets ground down with a cutting bit on a rotary tool. A few passes with a rasp to flatten out the cuts, then some amount of filing and sanding to further smooth and thin the base. Only then can I actually mount the mini to the washer.

I've had minis, especially in 15mm, where the combination of of steps necessary to get integral "mound" bases down to an acceptable size took longer than cleaning, priming, *and* painting the actual mini. Thick bases on such a small mini requires a lot of effort to remove without irreparably damaging the mini itself.

For 30mm scale stuff, I almost always do custom bases depending on the system, which means I need to remove any integral, mound, or slotta base. Pegs are fine. Of the non-peg options, it usually takes a handful of cuts with a clipper to get rid of slotta tabs/bars. Mound bases usually require heavy duty clippers and/or a jewelers saw to remove the majority of the material, followed by any amount of work with rotary tools and files. Integral bases are almost easier, because you just cut the figure right off them, usually.

These days unless I really really want that particular figure, I just outright pass on 30mm scale minis with any base more than just pegs/slotta.

I think there is a division here between scifi/fantasy gamers on the one hand, and historicals on the other. Sci-fi and Fantasy are more likely to expect or prefer slotta bases (and more likely to use fancy resin bases, for which slotta figures are preferable because the slotta is easily removed).

On the other hand, historical players are more likely to prefer a low, flat base that will minimize the height distortion versus vehicles and buildings. On addition, the majority of historical figures out there are sold with integral bases, so that is what historical players have come to expect.

Accordingly, since the Gnomes in question are fantasy figures, I would suggest sticking with slotta bases.

If you do go the other way, make the integral base as thin as possible for easy removal.

I don't really like slotta bases either. It makes the figures difficult to mount on thin steel or washers.

Just say NO to slotta!

Mmmmmm … meat loaf.

Dont ike slotta, Squashed tyre bases are even worse!

Thanks for the feedback guys!

RebelMike
Rebelminis.com

I like wide bases, I write the names of my characters on them.

Ivan DBA raises a good point--there may be a difference here between historical and sci-fi/fantasy figure collectors.

Maybe an important additional question would be, "Would you buy gnomes?"

If the answer is no, perhaps it doesn't matter if you love or hate slot-style bases.

I would rather a slotta than a mound. Slotta's are easier to remove. Reapers come with huge integral bases and are a pain in the ass.

Some of my basing I use the slotta's as is. Other times I glue to a washer or a slotta base but without the slotta. If adding a big terrain element I will pin the figure.

I spend a lot of time on the basing. The figure, the game system and the rules dictate how I will mount the figure.

Xin

I don't hate slotta bases. I use them occasionally, but more often I will cut the metal down to a nub/pin and drill a hole in a base to mount my models.

I like slottas or pegs best.
They make it easy to mount figures on
specialty resin bases.

Integral bases would be better if they were thinner and easier to remove.

I like slottas…but only because it makes them easy to clip off and glue the figure directly to my normal bases. I don't mind small "puddle" bases, but I'd rather have the feet free so I can just file them and glue them to my base of choice.

So I like slottas, but I will not use them.