"Integral bases, Filing, Questioning my sanity" Topic

Does anyone else spend countless hours filing, sanding, dragging across the sidewalk to reduce the thickness of integral bases on your miniatures only to mount them on a base, penny, washer?

No, not me either. Life's too short, and there are too many figures to be painted.

I file the integral bases to give a smooth even surface for mounting to my washers. I've thought about seeing if there is a tough enough sandpaper for my sander to thin them down, but I'd never do it by hand.

I do it. You're not alone.

I only cut enough off the bottom so the figure doesn't fall over when I base it.
A quick cut with a box cutter or old Xacto blade is enough.

I use a dremel with roller sandpaper head. I can take a 4mm base down to 1mm in under a minute. A few quicks runs on a file will flatten the base.

I then use nail clippers to trim the base before mounting.

As a extra bonus, the metal shavings (collected in a box under the figure) are very fine and I save them for use as filler for conversions.

Depends on the base. Very thick ones I will often work to reduce (otherwise I have an army of guys fighting on little mounds!), but if the base is already pretty thin I'll file it down so it sits flat, and leave it at that.

Damon.

Same as the OFM. I'd sometimes like to grind down the bases, but am sure I'd snap off too many feet.

Edit: I did clip off the edges of some bases to get three guys into an elephant howdah.

Punkrabbit:I am glad i am not the only one.
VCarter: I fear the dremel, great idea with the shavings, that could constitute for sand/dirt in scale.

I clip based to make them fit stuff but file them thinner? Nope: as has been said, my life's too short.

John T

Same as the OFM. Though I use a file since Old Glory Command Decision figs often need more then what a box cutter could safely handle.

It is a good thing to fear the dremel. I have shaved down parts of my fingers, finger nails, and (even worse) parts of the figures when it slips.

To the, life's too short, train of thought, I agree. I do it while I am at work. I am on the phone frequently and need to busy my hands, (thanks ADHD), otherwise I fidget.

I just stick them on a bigger base, sand & flock'em, and let other people have conniption fits about the "height"…

Yes .. it is always worth it !

Phil

Depends how thick they are, whether the y can be made to fit recesses in bases, or if they can be made to sit on a good eyeline with other figures.

then again i do it in 6mm . . .

No, although I do cut/file off flash. I like thick bases for figures and vehicles. Reminds me that they are only pretty 3D counter.

The only time I really did question my sanity was when I seriously considered filing the horrible moulded bases off the Hallmark 1/6000th scale destroyers. One of my pals did this with an angle grinder, but I value my fingers too much.

In the end I could neither file them off, not live with their utter bodgy horribleness, so I sold the lot to more tolerant people. The cruisers and battleships don't have bases, so why, oh why the DDs….

I trim and file just enough so the bottoms are even. I like to use a toenail clipper for clipping bases.

I usually flat black all my bases, so I don't sweat detail differences on integral bases. Instead I celebrate that I don't have to mount the figure myself.

Not usually, though I have recently filed down five thick bases to reduce the height difference between two different manufacturer's figures for the same unit

Yup. I could base thicker, but then that is just more basing material used. A few quick passes over an aggressive file and I get a nice flat base.

Thirty years ago when Freikorps figures formed a major proportion of my purchases I used to spend hours reducing the thickness of the plinths on which they were cast, but eventually sanity prevailed (no, that can't be right… I'm still playing with toy soldiers).

etotheipi: that is exactly why I file them, 15mm figure on a 3mm integral base. It annoys me almost as much as when they pose a Miniature with a rock under their foot ala Captain Morgan.