"15mm: How thick is your basing?" Topic

I just based my first 2 armies and attempted my first solo, learning game with actual figures on the bases (I tried with figureless bases marked with their unit type).

I am finding my bases are too thin. I have to pick them up by a miniature, or when grasping by the base, it sometimes knocks some flock off. While doing the basing I did not have this issue but I think I was more careful and real world application has exposed a fault in my basing technique (I am sure I rushed, also).

So I had some questions about basing 15mm figures:

1. How thick are your bases, what material and where did you get them (I am in USA)?

2. In what order do you base? I tried gluing the figures first then putting glue around them and then flocking. Did not go well. Maybe I just need practice. I also tried doing the flocking first and then gluing the figures but I am not sure how strong the bond is with the flock in between.

3. What glue did you use? I used Gorilla wood glue for flocking the base. For the figures I used super glue.

I really would like to do better at this as I really like the DBA v3 (and HotT) rules from what I have read and tried but I am still new and probably getting it all wrong so I was hoping to try a game at Historicon. Not sure I'd bring my armies with the way they are handling being handled, though.

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

3mm (LITKO) plywood.

Paint, base, turf

Aileen's craft glue (pva)

I use 2mm thick MDF with a magnetic strip underneath – total about 3mm. I find that just enough to pick up.

I use PVA glue for all basing needs. Neat for sticking the figures to the base and thinned for flocking.

I always glue down figures first then flock. I use sand as a texture and then paint to colour it followed by static grass in bunches for that added realism.

Same as Saber6 3mm Litko

I use the Litko 3 MM bases for the very reason you mention. You can pick up the base which puts less wear and tear on the figures.

Terry

2mm MDF

The 3mm Lito or equivalent. I have never liked the old metal or super thin plywood bases--they are too thin to pick up by the base rather than grabbing the figures.

For 25mm, we use the Renaissance Ink style 5-6mm thick bases. We have sometimes used the 3mm Litko bases, but I am not crazy about it.

The 15mm figures are varnished and based on 1.5 mm thick bass wood or triplex.

Fixed to the base with epoxy glue the bases are coated with white glue and covered with sand.

Thoroughly dried, the sand is coated with an earth colour and dry-brushed.

Four or five spots of white glue is covered with electrostatic grass. The space in between is filled in with grass tufts, in this case spring grass from Noch.

I use the very thin steel. Never had a problem. I have heard the "pick up by the sides" rationale for the 3mm bases, but it seems in practice to be mostly bunk.

In the first place, getting access to the sides is okay before contact. but once the enemies are engaged I find you can't reach the base over all the troops.

Then when your troops are lined up edge to edge you can't grasp the edges and have to go fore and aft.

I watch my players, I watch players in my 3 or 4 gaming clubs, I watch players at cons. 90% of the time they move figures by the model and not the base, regardless of the basing (there are a few notable exceptions like 6mm on bid 3" or 80mm bases).

I just hate the look of units marching around on parade floats all over the place. I would prefer my bases were invisible, but if nothing else I make them as unobtrusive as possible, within practical limits.

Oh yes, I use Gorilla brand super glue to glue the figures down. Sand and flock. Then outside and blow them off with compressed air to get rid of any loose flock – especially any that might have clung to the figures.

Several coats of Dullcoat for protection. My flock stays put!

The problem with thin steel bases is that there are problems when trying to rank them up – they tend to overlap one another, which bugs me to no end. Also, unless you are using custom terrain boards, the terrain on the base won't match the terrain on the tabletop anyway so the illusion of blending the base into the tabletop is broken. I've always seen the miniatures on the table as "pretty game pieces" anyway (they could be blocks of wood of paper rectangles and the game would still play out correctly). So in that vein, I see each base as a mini-diorama or game-piece and I even paint the edges black to set them off from the table (since they aren't going to blend anyway) – kind of like doing black-lining on a miniature to emphasize changes from one area to another (like where the wrist meets the sleeve).

I glue my miniatures to the base using Goop(tm) – when dry it still a little "plasticky" (you can dent it with your finger nail) so if you were to drop your base on a hard surface the figures won't pop off. For flock, I either just paint the the base and sprinkle flock on it while the paint is still wet. Or sometimes I'll paint the base and let it dry, then paint Modge-Podge (matt) on the base with a brush and then sprinkle flock on the base. And then as Extra Crispy does, I seal it all with Testor's Dullcoat.

Artist's mount board. About 1.5mm

I use the Litko 3 MM bases…

I do too, but note that Litko now makes an even thicker plywood base too.

I use plastic bases that Dragon Painting Service uses. I order them from DPS, but if someone knows where they get them from I'd like to know as I think I am overpaying.

3/32 bass wood but I'm old school

Second Extra Crispy for every word. And yes, why go through the whole agravation and not play with wooden blocks….
The difference beween wagaming and boardgaming I think.

I second Extra Crispy for every word. And yes, why go through the whole agravation and not play with wooden blocks….
The difference beween wagaming and boardgaming I think.

Art picture frame card or 2mm DMF usually, sometimes 60 thou plastic card. It hardly matters in the heat of battle I use the figres to lift the base anyway.

I do not like elements based on thin steel or other depth-less bases nor do I like them on tall plinths. Like most folks a couple millimeters thick seems satisfactory. Mine are all Formica with magnetic underneath. I glue figures to the bases with Aileen's white glue then then paint over the base of the figure and the top of the Formica with the same glue and add flocking, sometimes Woodland scenics, sometimes static grass.

The problem with Dba figures is that they get close together in groups and you have to use the figure to pick them up as you cannot reach the base edges. It is important to have strong pikes and Spears. Likewise arms and heads. If I cannot replace long weapons with wire, I will paint on UV glue to give strength. pikes are a particular pain, and I will no longer use anything but completely vertical pikes which must be grasped and moved into contact and out.

How does one use gorilla wood glue when you have to get moisture to activate the glue.? Superglue is generally too Brittle told Anything with figures. I will use rapid fix or UV activated glue for quick bond.

The Extra One has it sorted. Litko do 0.5 ply or 0.6 and it seems all flimsy but try the following.

Spray brown
Glue Figures with plenty of pva (softens the base outline of the figure)
Glue Flock
Stick magnet / or steel paper to bottom of base
Varnish

By then you have a base that remains unobtrusive on the table but has strength to pick up by the sides or using the figures.

A good vanish will stop the flock and paint leaving your army.

Only point Crispy has wrong, compressed air? Use your lungs but remember to take a breath before holding the base near your mouth!

2mm MDF from Warbases.

All pikes/spears replaced with wire.

I use Platistruct at .040 thickness for 15mm. I score the plastic first so it is not smooth. Glue the figures on with Locktite super glue. When that is dry I paint the bases earth brown and while the paint is wet I dip them in static grass. Then I spray it all with an artist's matt fixative.
I use steel bases for my 10mm ACW figs but gluing the figures and applying the grass is the same without the scoring. Some of my figures have been based for 30 years with almost weekly use with no problems.

Thanks, everyone, for all this great information. A lot of great ideas. I will have to experiment to see which method suits me.

Bobgnar, the wood glue doesn't mention needing moisture to activate. It is a bit thicker than normal PVA glue, though.

Not sure I will attempt removing these from the bases so I may just use them as my learning armies.

Again, thanks for the help!

0.8mm galvanised steel bases made by PWS. No problems using them at all.

Using some WGA steel bases and some homemade 3mm MDF.

Like the thicker bases due to the fact that the steel, as noted above, tend to get overlapped. Steel though allow me to use shallower storage containers and are magnetic allowing for less movement in containers lined with a magnetic base.

One advantage of differing base thicknesses is to visually even out some of the height differences in minis from different manufacturers.

Artists mounted by board plus magnetic strip on the bottom, roughly 2mm overall.

Nice thick bases which tessellated together well.

Stick figures on with UHU, then Cove base in diluted PVA and dip in builders sand. Usual drybrushing, static grass etc aftereards.

Edge in black to frame the figures.

I went the other way, from thin to thicker. Just finished re-basing my ACW from thin metal to 3mm Litko, after having them that way for 25 years.

The sides are painted to exactly match my Cigar Box ground cloth, and I am happier with them than I was with the metal. Like someone said above, each base is a diorama.

And no, it is not a boardgame, and they don't look like parade floats. I do think that bigger units mitigate the height issue. These are all 3" X 1.5" brigades.

3mm ply for everything now -looks the business.
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I stick the figs with thick super glue and sprinkle the base with fine sand and then apply tile grout with a old table knife and shape it with a thick paint brush..

You can see the sand effect in this pic -it's good way of reinforcing any weak ankles etc too if you put glue around this area before the sand sprinkle.
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Never use anything thinner than 3mm for units ….ever.

No matter how thick a base, I've observed that most gamers pick up their bases by the figures.

The main advantage of thicker bases for any period that needs to have multiple bases touching one another is ease of use.

Thin bases tend to ride up over each other when pushed together and are harder to align without accidentally placing on on top of another. Many years ago I tried thin metal bases and disliked them immensely for these reasons. Thin bases are not fun to "rank up".

With thick bases it's easy to align them as they naturally fall into place. And you can push a few along without the rear.bases riding up the front bases. They rank up easily.

Thick is a relative term. what works and looks lice for one scale looks terrible and won't function for another.

For 15mm I found 2mm to 3mm works just fine. Thicker bases start to compete visually with the figures.

I use 3mm for 6mm sci fi -the ease of picking up the base is a plus.I certainly can't be fiddling about with tiny Epic bases.
It seems to give a better continuity between bases as well IMHO.
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Mostly 1/16th Hobby Plywood, with a separate metal base glued beneath (Magnetic Tape in the Transport Box); This is largely a legacy factor, I still have a few DBA armies based on the plywood without Metal plates, they were added later.

A few armies are based on 1/32 Plywood, which I find I can cut with an x-acto knife. But enough of my figures are Strip Minifigs, Essex and similar smaller types. I don't like the 18mm Old Glory, etc towering over them, I mainly stick to the 1/16th. Temporary basing (Which can last for years….) on Matt Board from Hobby Lobby (Green or Brown, as appropriate), white glue the metal plate on the bottom, and they can take the field.

I use 1mm thick plastic from old window blinds that my wife got tired of they cut easily with an x-acto knife or box cutter and I have enough to last a few more years I use super lue or gorilla for the figures. watered-down Elmer's for the flock, which I apply just before spraying dullcoat.

Thanks again. I have some different bases (thickness and material) coming from Litko to experiment with to see which I like best. Good thing it is summer time!

I find the magnetised bases from Shogun miniatures to be perfect. They are very accurately cut

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John