"Making your own bases for Polemos ruleset" Topic

Hello, could someone direct me to resources for making my own 60x30 and 30x30mm bases to be used with Polemos rules?

In specific, if I should cut this from some material or go into baking polymer clay to make them. I would prefer the diy approach to buying bases of baccus etc.

Edit: for artist mount board, is it the foam ones like this one that you use and cut your own bases from it?

link

Thanks,

avoid cutting mdf yourself. it has very nasty stuff in it. I do not understand the reference to clay. For a base???
You cannot come anywhere close to making your own bases as cheaply as you can buy them unless you use something like vinyl floor tiles.

You want to cut these from material of some sort. Bass wood, vinyl tile, or sheet plastic. But if (like me) you like them very precise, buy them made out of MDF or plywood. In the US Litko.net is one source, there are plenty around.

If you mean how to get them to look textured on top, that is a second step. You glue on sand, then paint and so on. Here is a short video I did describing the process:

link

I just cut bases of the required size from artists mount board. Dirt cheap and simple.

I used to make my own bases. Then I realised it was costing me a lot of time and effort for an inferior item. And it wasn't much cheaper!

Do yourself a favour and buy them from Warbases or someone….

If you're in the US, get the 3mm thick plywood bases from Litko. Great products. Basswood works if you want to cut your own, but the Litko bases will most likely look better than anything that you could do yourself.

Avoid trying to DIY with MDF it is difficult and hazardous

Best bet is cardboard – either container board (aka Case board) which it tough for its thickness or mount board.

Mount board has the advantage of being available pre-coloured, if you get he black cored version with a green surface the you don't need to paint it.

Note: this is not foamcore which is horrid for basing.

For tools you need a decent knife, preferably with a metal blade guide, and a steel straightedge.

Cut the bases in groups, your measuring will be more accurate. Cut part way through the card in strips (30mm is logical for Polemos), then mark and cut the bases to length and finally separate the 30mm strips.

Cheers
David

I would prefer the diy approach to buying bases

Why ? MDF bases don't cost much and buying them is much more convenient, quicker and more accurate than making them yourself.

I buy ready made MDF bases with magnetic bottoms. These save me lots of work and are probably both cheaper and more accurate than I could do myself.

Then for 6mm I finish them off using the Baccus basing kit!

Makiee:

No, the foam board you linked to is an incredible pain to work with.

Mat board is a nice quality poster board type material. It is thicker than a paperback book cover, closer to the backing on a legal pad. Comes in a variety of colors and usually sold in sheets of roughly 20x30 inches.

At Michael's ask in the framing department.

Hello Makiiie!

Making your own bases for Polemos will probably do you more harm than good. No matter what method, tools or material that you use they are rarely truly straight and often subject to warping, bending, breaking, etc. Your also highly unlikely to obtain a material that will give you a comparable height (2mm).

The 2mm, 60mm x 30mm, 30mm x 30mm and 60mm x 60mm laser cut MDF bases sold by Baccus can't be beat. Mounting your figures on substandard bases will only devalue your collection.

For many years I made home made bases for all my figures that came in a variety of scales. I used all kinds of different materials. At some point they always failed in one way or another. Don't fall into the trap, the precut MDF bases are a God send.

Best regards,

Glenn