How to base minis with attached bases?

[metalface13]

I got my Dracula's America minis from North Star/Artizan yesterday, but I've never had non-slotta metal minis before.

Do I just glue them to a plastic base? Seems like when I do my basing it will result in an extra lumpy area between their legs (which sounds like a personal problem).

Do I attempt to cut the metal base off? I'm a little worried about damaging the feet.

[levied troop]

This is how I do mine ( and I suspect I’m not alone)


Stick them to a base, plastic, MDF or metal washers. 
The next step depends on the style of base you want.  Those above were going to get a country base, rough ground etc so I’ve used a plaster mix to fill in the base and cover that lumpy area between the legs. Paint and flock that and you’re good to go.

If you need a more urban base, using milliput and engraving cobblestones or flagstones into it will work.

Or you can cut the base off - I use a pair of side cutters and a file, with care you won’t damage the feet - and attach it to a more suitable resin base.

[Sir_Theo]

I just stick them on and then use my basing material to disguise the lip. Where it is pronounced I use greenstuff or something  to smooth it out.

[white knight]

If it's really thick, then cut it off some around the feet and make a hole in your plastic base to sink them in. Otherwise, just glue them on top, smooth it out a bit with putty and then add your usual base texture.

[fred]

Personally I prefer flat bases over the plinth style often used with slotta tabs, so I use coins or MDF, but this probably isn't too important.

Don't cut the metal base off, just glue it to your chosen base, and as said above a little texture will hide it no problem.

Here are my Forsaken before the bases were textured, so metal base glued onto a coin - but hard to see as black undercoat is kind of slopped around



And here they are finished off - with the bases just covered in a layer of sand. With some tufts and small stones added.


If the bases are very thick then I quite often use a bit of wood filler to smooth done the step between the cast on base and the new bigger base.

[snitcythedog]

Personally I cut the base off the mini with a jewelers saw and then pin it onto a flat base.  Just what I do. 
Snitchy sends.

[Daeothar]

I've used several different ways of basing such miniatures:

*Simply glueing the metal base onto the base of my choice, and then using putty (Green Stuff and/or ProCreate) to work the metal base into the base beneath.

It's quite sturdy, but has the property of making all miniatures look as if they're on top of a rise/hill and therefore will make miniatures slightly taller than those based with other methods.

Depending on the thickness of the metal base, this difference can be quite significant.

* Cutting off the integrated base from the miniature, and glueing (and pinning) the miniature straight onto a base of choice.

This will guarantee that all miniatures are based uniformly, but it is more work than the previous method.

If the base of choice is a thicker one, such as a slottabase, lipped base or resin base, I might opt to cut away the integrated base, but leaving a column/pin of material under the miniature's foot/feet, so that they can be used to pin the miniature, by drilling a corresponding hole into the base. Obviously this only works with thicker bases.

* Cutting a hole into the base of choice, to exactly fit the integrated base.

I've done this a couple of times, with miniatures I did not want to damage. It is quite an involved way of going about it, as the cutting and fitting can take a long time, but the result is that you can always recover the entire original miniature, including the integrated base, while still having the miniature matching with miniatures that had their integrated bases cut off.

Here's an example of mine:

[Duncan McDane]

I file them down until appox. 0.5 mm. Works perfectly, even on the tougher lead free alloys they use nowadays like Reaper. Before I tried using an electrical grinding stone but that gave me too little control whilst sanding down takes forever and cutting/slashing/sawing at it was took way to much time and/or fingercutting 

[Hammers]

I sand my based miniatures to a millimiter thinness and glue them to washers.

[Mindenbrush]

Glue to base, add PVA glue and sand to make up the difference between the integrated base on the figure and the actual base - may take a couple of goes to do that.
Then add a final layer over the integral base and the rest of the base, making sure the base edge is cleaned up each time.
When dry, add a couple of coats of thinned down PVA to lock the sand in place.
Paint base. 

[MartinR]

Standard Wargames figure basing. Stick figure to base, slather it in PVA and dip it in builder's sand. Tap off the excess, and paint, stain, flock as appropriate.

The glue and sand will even out any unsightly ridge (and even if it doesn't, no one notices anyway)

[Pendrake]

Flip a “plinth style” base upside down. Set the integral base inside the hollow area. Add combinations of green stuff, sand, RR ballast, fine gravel, PVA glue, or cyanoacrylate glue to fill in the remaining hollow areas.

Basically blend the integral base in with additional material.

Many of the round black plastic bases Reaperminis is now producing are straight sided (meant for gridded map RPGs) so there is no bevel to worry about with those.

If the metal integral base texture looks like broccoli there is an easy way  to match it by making more of it. A swatch of Velcro, specifically the side with the plastic hooks, will impart the broccoli texture to green stuff or other putties.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

Like others I have used different methods.

For Frostgrave, I have left the original integral base and glued that to the round base. I then smoothed the transition with milliput.

Two Statuesque Frostgrave (I have reworked the necks a bit).
The base is then textured, painted and possibly flocked.


As mentioned above, this can mean the figure appears to be standing on a hill.


The new "lipped" bases from Warlord help reduce the height.


Where other figures are on pre-textured bases (normally a circle of Slater's 7mm scale paving) I have used my razor saw then pinned and glued.


Of course if the rest of your figures have integral bases, you might need to add them to your other figures.

[Revfan]

I saw in a post on this forum... some time back where they suggested using necklace pendant blanks.  I found some on ebay for cheap enough to give a try....



They come in different sizes... so I got a few different ones to try out.  You can cut/file off the pendant hanger thinggy... but I have left em on cause it makes a neat little handle.  You can get different finishes... I think these were antique bronze or something like that.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/64pc-12-25mm-Blank-Bezel-Pendants-Base-Settings-Tray-DIY-Bracelets-Necklaces/132729453844?hash=item1ee74abd14:g:UY4AAOSwqxZbZEVN

[Maddoc]

I take off and nuke it from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.