Clear bases, yes or no?

[NickNascati]

What is the general opinion of the group on using clear bases for minis as opposed to traditional ones?  I go back and forth on the idea.  I did a bunch of pulp era figures on clear bases, and am doing sf figures the same way, but I’m not really sure I like it.  It does seem to make sense for eras where figures may be used in a variety,of terrain types.  But, unless the figures are made for slotta bases, it is quite a bit of work.

[Inkpaduta]

Maybe here and there. I got clear bases for Rumbleslam and they worked create.
But overall, no.

[JamesValentine]

Personally think they look cheap, tacky and lazy.
And where the figures attach looks messy.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I have decided to base my Star Wars Legion Miniatures on clear 25mm circles so that they can work on snow, desert and inside buildings and spaceships.

I am drilling a 1.2mm hole and using a 1.2mm brass rod with no glue. This avoids the splodge of glue under the feet.
I will also matt varnish the sides to reduce the glow effect.

[robh]

Absolutely not, they look awful.

The concept is good but with the present materials they look dreadful unless you use a dim light and look down onto the figure from directly above, any angle of view or strong light and the glare is worse than seeing a normal base.

[Sterling Moose]

Nope not for me.  I get it that you can then place them on any surface but I feel that as opposed to 'proper' basing they look naff on all surfaces.

[has.been]

Yes for any new skirmish projects that involve using figures in different terrain
(dessert/snow/buildings/on board ship etc.etc.)
but probably no for most situations & definitely no for existing stuff,
can't be bothered to do lots of rebasing.

[Nord]

No. Bases means bases.

[Michi]

I have decided to base my Star Wars Legion Miniatures on clear 25mm circles so that they can work on snow, desert and inside buildings and spaceships.

That is what I did with my Imperial Assault miniatures for the exact reason. They are used on different printed floor tiles though. I would not put my "real" tabletop models (miniatures intended for use on modeled terrain) on clear bases.

[NickNascati]

Maybe I should have clarified, I would of course only use such bases on figures meant for skirmish games.

[DS615]

Absolutely not, they look awful.

The concept is good but with the present materials they look dreadful unless you use a dim light and look down onto the figure from directly above, any angle of view or strong light and the glare is worse than seeing a normal base.

I agree with the commercial ones, they look ridiculous.
But the homemade ones the Pulp Alley folks make look much better, and I really like those. It's that huge edge on the commercial ones that I think is what does it, since the ones I like are virtually flat.

Like most others, I think they are useful in certain circumstances, but I don't like them for everything.

[Cubs]

If they models are gaming pieces (as opposed to display pieces) likely to be used on a variety of terrains, I can see the appeal.

But they're not for me. I like a nicely scenic base on my babies.

[waitwhat]

Yes for skirmish, no for anything else - same reason as others but more extreme: for me mismatched mini bases to scenery is a violent assault on the suspension of disbelief. Just can't do it.

[tin shed gamer]

Much prefer a scenic base on figures . I have recently started experimenting with recycling old CD case's to make bases for future and set fittings . That's about the limit of my clear bases, and is likely to remain so.

Mark.

[ced1106]

You can pick up 100 epoxy stickers on Amazon for $7 for clear basing.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=epoxy+stickers&i=arts-crafts&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

I've yet to use them (: but figure I would for science fiction, maybe Star Wars, though not GW. To me, clear bases have a "tech" feel.

However, most of my non-GW sf figures are for boardgames, so have an integrated base.