"Making my own clear bases" Topic

Inspired by Pulp Alley's method of making clear bases

YouTube link

I bought myself a 25 mm paper punch and used it on some pieces of clear plastic. They seem to work out well for the most part. They are fairly stiff after attaching the miniatures, and the miniatures don't look like they're hovering on air when placed on terrain.

However, they are paper thin, so I have to pick up the miniature itself. That was never an issue for me, but I know others may not like the idea. YMMV.

Still, it's worth trying. I'll let you know how well they hold up.

Thanks! I had been thinking about using thin clear plastic for bases, but was not happy about having to cut them with scissors or even a paper cutter. In either case, I was going to make square bases for 25mm metal figures.

This video showed a great tool that I did not know existed, the large hole punch. Also, I had not thought of using blister packs, which are made of good, stiff, thin, clear plastic.

So that video was well worth my time. Thanks for posting it.

You're very welcome. Glad you found it useful.

I didn't know about the paper punch before the video either. I will still order LITKO's clear bases, but I now have an alternative, especially for miniatures that are taller than usual.

Something I found that I have been using, is Scotch Restickable Clear Dots. They are 22.2mm, so bigger than a penny, smaller than an inch. They are meant to be stuck on objects. What I do is peel two sides and stick them together, creating a clear base that is rounghly 3mm thick, allowing the figure to be picked up by the base. I also found that by removing the plastic film from the top, I have a sticky surface that along with super glue holds the figure quite firmly in place. I just hit the top with some matte varnish to kill the stickiness.

Also, I have a 25mm punch as well. I've discovered that after a while, the cutting edge seems to dull.

I'll have to try the clear dots sometime. And good point about the edge starting to dull. I have noticed I need to use a little more force to punch a hole. How long before it becomes unusable?

I did a bunch at one shot about a year go, when I went back to it a couple months ago, it would not work.

The punches also seem to dull more in one spot, so you get a disc that jams in the punch and won't release

Exactly right.

BGG suggested 1" clear epoxy stickers. Haven't used mine yet. :/

link

ced1106, Yep, that is essentially the same product I am using.

Do those epoxy stickers work well? I may give them a try.

Wizkids now makes clear 25 mm bases. I will post a review when I have tested them.

I finally tried making bases from a blister pack. I used an X-acto knife and a ruled cutting board. I've done 2 so far, rectangles that are just big enough to give the miniatures stability in the direction in which they tend to tip. Even without matte varnish, I think they look OK. Pictures here: TMP link

@nnascati: Thanks for the reference to Scotch Restickable Clear Dots. They're on my list of things to get at the hardware store.

My experience is that for looks the bases need to be thin like the Pulp Alley ones otherwise the edge effects and the distortion remove a lot of the gains.

Clear plastic bases are the way to go!
I even use clear plastic Kriegspiel blocks for KriegSpiel, by mounting 4 Inf., 3 Cav., and 1 Arty w/ 2 crew, 5mm Franco Prussian miniatures from Heroics and Ros.
Clear plastic Kriegspiel blocks from Command Post Games.
Why cover up the map or the terrain?
Plus in Kriegspiel its a pain lifting blocks to see the terrain beneath.