"Basing materials - cheap and no warp???" Topic

Have seen lots of basing materials. Aside from using metal it seems that all get complaints of warping.

Time for an old dog to learn new tricks.

Please suggest a source and kind of basing material that is inexpensive and does not warp.

TIA

Al

What are looking at basing?

The solution for individual figs may not be the same as for multi fig bases or buildings.

metal bases from wargames accessory (?) is inexpensive for me and does not warp. 1/4" MDF does not warp for me. A trick you can try to minimize warping on thinner non-metallic bases is to paint both sides to equallize the warping stresses. Acrylic/lexan/styrene in .020" or greater thickness won't warp.

I have used mount board for many years. Never had a problem with warping.

Polystyrene.

For individual figures I use 1" x 36" square wood dowel (round dowel works, also). I use my chop saw to cut the bases to the right thickness, sand smooth the edges, drown 'em in wood sealer, let dry, then base the figure, prime/paint, then flock. Very cheap to make, very effective, and with no warping, I might add…

We have a monthly heavy trash pick up. Sometimes people put out old Dressers or chest of drawers, and when the do I check out the bottoms of the drawers. When I find a good one I like I bust off the sides of the drawer and trim it however I like.

Never had a problem with warping.

For a real thin base I have used the flat side of a old DVD case, trimmed to the shape I want.

Used mounting card, 1.5 mm ply and some slats from an old IKEA blind that were a convenient 25mm wide- none of these has warped. I usually finish my bases with PVA glue, sand and then static grass but have also used ready mixed Polyfilla and bases have still stayed flat. Thinner ply has warped quite badly, but I always stick magnetic tape under bases and even these thin ply bases went straight after careful bending and then leaving base on a steel surface for a few days.

Old plastic slats from venetian blinds. I have a bunch someone gave me from a renovation project. They just happen to be 50mm wide.

The larger the base, the more susceptible it is to warping, in my experience. The most versatile, and inexpensive, material I've found yet, is vinyl, peel-n-stick, floor tiles. I glue two together, using their adhesive, then I cut them to size, Hot Glue the figures to the base, then paint with PVA Glue, and dunk it in a mixture of two colors of green sand, mixed with larger rubble (model railroad ballast); after it dries, I seal it with a coat of Scenic Cement (or watered-down PVA Glue), to seal it. I've only had a few bases warp, but these were covered with other materials and methods. Check out my blog on the uses of vinyl floor tiles, if interested. Cheers!

Thanks Sarge,

I had made another post here which seems to have disappeared. I am venturing into HotT with 25/28 mm figures and need large bases. The metal ones are what I have used for my smaller miniatures but the thin metal just does not look quite right to me with these size bases. Your blog is very interesting but raised a question. Do you stick two tiles together or just use one with foam stuck to it?

I've been chopping up Warhammer spell cards for 15 years.

I don't know what you define as inexpensive, but I use the 3mm plywood bases from Litko Aerosystems. This stuff will not warp.

I generally use artists mounting board, for really big bases you might want something sturdier like marine plywood.

I use vinyl floor tiles up to 2 by 3 inch bases using that do not warp. I would not go any higher then that though.

Cold steel. Thin, strong and will never warp.

Allen57, I stick two pieces of tile together, glue-side to glue-side. Then mark, and cut to size. I've used them for larger bases, such as the card stock siege engines, as well as a card stock siege tower, with the bases being around 6" on the longest side, and likely 3" on the shorter side.

I tried sticking foam to the glue side of the floor tiles, for my movement trays, but they can warp. On a movement tray, the warping is not an issue -- I simply flex them back to proper shape. On my pumpkin-stem Guard Tower project, I used foam stuck to the glue side of the tiles, as well: over time, the foam is separating from the tile glue, so they will need to be re-based on two layers of tiles, glued together…

I'm in the process of adding larger white rocks to white tile bases, for: Frost Giants, Winter Wolves, and Giant Polar Bear figures. The bases are 2"x2", and 2"x3" for sizes. The white rocks are secured with full-strength PVA Glue -- and no warping, but the PVA Glue is not covering the entire surface of the base, either (it is in irregular formations, to represent random chunks of snow, and ice). Applying a coat of Scenic Cement has not caused any warping on these same bases, either (the Scenic Cement is used to better secure the rocks in place).

The vinyl floor tiles seem to warp more commonly when only one layer is used. When two layers are glued together, warping is either very limited, or non-existent. Buy a couple of pieces of peel-n-stick tiles to experiment with. It will cost around $1.50 USD for two, 12"-square pieces to experiment with. They are available from nearly every DIY store. Cheers!

PS: there are inexpensive (thin) tiles, and there are expensive (thick) tiles. I use the least expensive tiles, around $0.69 USD per tile, $0.39 USD on sale.

Gift cards, old credit cards, and similar. Very cheap, and you can sometimes pick up a few from restaurants if you ask your waiter.

Rob

I recommend MDF hardboard. Just paint and seal the bottom and you'll be fine. Warping comes from moisture. Painting the bottom can cause a bit of reverse warping to counteract whatever warping is caused by gluing and painting on the topside. Further it keeps the bottom from absorbing moisture.

I've got individual small vehicles on 40x70 rectangles, figs on 45mm hexes and terrain on much larger pieces and have had no warping problems.

I too usually use vynil floor tiles. I put coloured paper on the sticky side. The are particularly good for small fires, such as 10mm or smaller as they are so thin.

I also cut them into strips for spraying sticks. The points where the figures are stuck so not sprayed stay sticky, so you can reattach partial painted figures numerous times.