Re-basing dark alliance miniatures

[sterfugalthefreat]

Hello chaps!
I happened to have gotten a box of Dark Alliance Minotaurs. (1/72 scale, really nice sculpts, soft plastic) And I used some spare grot heads to convert a few of them into hobgoblins for another project, but I would like to put them on square bases for ease of ranking up. ( the crossbow is from ghost archipelago snakemen, if the image loads...)

I've never re-based minis before, and this looks like it will require some cutting...

Any tips? I've never done this before and Im a little worried about it.

Thanks.

[Belgian]

Thanks for sharing, great conversion idea. Regarding the basing I don't think there is a need for cutting as I would just glue the miniatures as they are on the desired square bases and texture it to hide the cast on bases of the actual miniatures. Cutting off their existing bases might cause them to weaken a bit as they are soft plastic miniatures.

[Golgotha]

Must agree with Belgian here do not cut build-up instead. I use poly filler strong cheap and easy to use.

[has.been]

+1 to what they said.

1) Glue figures to square bases (I use UHU)
2) Apply filler (mix in a bit of PVA glue as it helps it stick to the base)
    Add some sand/grit to the mix as this will give a texture for later.
3) When totally dry give it a base coat (I use a dark brown match-pot)
4) Stick a few small stones onto the base & some flock.
     I find that some PVA glue 'painted' on with an old brush (cover the
    worst bits of the filler e.g. if part of the figures base is still showing)
    then place on a 'stone' or two (tweezers useful here) then dip the base
    into a tub of flock. Gently tap/shake off the surplus. Put figure onto
    newspaper etc. to dry overnight. Then give it a more vigorous shake
    & recycle the flock that comes off.
5) Drybrush the still exposed dark brown parts of the base. (I use a light
    brown/sandy match-pot as 'dust'
6) Spray the lot with preferred varnish. This helps to keep the flock on the base.

I hope this is of some use to you.

[Pattus Magnus]

Another thing I’ll suggest (although it is too late for these figures) is to glue them to the bases and add the filler and texturing material before priming and painting. That will allow you to trim the edges of the moulded-on bases to ensure a good fit, and also work with the basing materials, without worrying about damaging the paint on the figures.

I really like the conversions you put together, they look great!

[sterfugalthefreat]

Wow! you people are great. Thanks for the complements and advice!

I will definitely Heed this advice and use it in future
re-basing projects!

[Hobgoblin]

I'd agree with all the comments above. One other thing I'd recommend is Golden coarse pumice gel. It's a thick, textured acrylic medium with pumice fragments in it, and it's very easy and quick to base miniatures with (thin layer over the integral base with more gel either side to build up the final base). It's also both tough and slightly elastic, which makes it easy to rebase figures if you ever need to: you just slide a knife blade under the pumice gel and integral base, which leaves you with a textured base that you can reglue to a unit base or whatever.

[zemjw]

Not sure how you are with the 3d side of things...

I print bases that are recessed in the middle. I glue the figure in with its original base, then fill in the hole around it.

I've never got satisfactory results building up material around an existing base (it always looks like they are standing on a mound). The recess means that the base has neat edges and the ground is nice and flat.

I'm filling in a bunch of Foundry skeleton archers using this technique just now, so I'll try to grab some before and after pictures.

I believe someone may be selling these types of bases (greenstuff world???), but if you have a 3d printer, they're much cheaper to make

[Major_Gilbear]

1) Glue figures to square bases (I use UHU)

I generally agree with has.been, but I don't really like UHU (or Bostik Clear) all that much as it's takes a long time to truly harden. I find that if you rub the bottom of the model's base on some fairly coarse sandpaper (80 grit), this keys it well and you can then just some some thick/gel Superglue instead.

Another thing I’ll suggest (although it is too late for these figures) is to glue them to the bases and add the filler and texturing material before priming and painting. That will allow you to trim the edges of the moulded-on bases to ensure a good fit, and also work with the basing materials, without worrying about damaging the paint on the figures.

Yes, definitely this too!

I print bases that are recessed in the middle. I glue the figure in with its original base, then fill in the hole around it.
[...]
I believe someone may be selling these types of bases (greenstuff world???), but if you have a 3d printer, they're much cheaper to make

I know what you mean about models with integral bases standing high when mounted on a plastic base, but I find that even shallow recesses are enough to even out most of the integral base's height (which is enough improvement I think). Warlord Games do round bases with recessed lips in 25mm, 40mm, 60mm, and 25x50mm pill bases to match. However, the lips are shallow, and the bases can be a bit pricey. A better option may be to look at Wargames Atlantic's offerings, which include a hole for a magnet in the bottom too. Finally, Fenris Games do some resin bases with deep recesses.

[zemjw]

This may or may not show for others, but shows what I'm doing for the skeletons, and how it looks on a finished figure

[DivisMal]

Very nice models and good conversions. Like the rest of the bunch, I’d skip the cutting. I usually live with small bumps on the base (people are not all standing on the same flat lawn), and just cover everything with glue and sand.

[has.been]

This may or may not show for others, but shows what I'm doing for the skeletons, and how it looks on a finished figure

Nice idea. You could also use certain 'slotta-bases' , the ones without ribbing
underneath, up side down.

[Belgian]

This may or may not show for others, but shows what I'm doing for the skeletons, and how it looks on a finished figure

Interesting are these files available somewhere?

PS, Are these resin or PLA?

[Major_Gilbear]

@ zemjw:

Lovely end results!

For others without a 3D printer who are looking for similar square plastic bases with a recess, I found these (I believe Reaper in the US also carry them).

[zemjw]

Interesting are these files available somewhere?

PS, Are these resin or PLA?

Those are PLA.

They're ones I made myself, so I'm happy to send you the files if you pm me your email address. They're tiny, only a little over 1k, so won't be a problem for email. I am planning to create a thingiverse account, but haven't quite got around to it.

The slightly frustrating thing with integral bases is that they're all slightly different heights, although only by a few fractions of a mm. I have created bases with recesses of 1.2mm, 1.5mm (the skeletons are in those) and 1.6mm. At least it's easy to do those tweaks with 3d If the figure is still too low I just shim it with some scraps of plasticard.

It works equally well with round slottas, which is really useful for Reaper figures

I've been experimenting with filler material. The skeleton is a mix of Golden Light Molding Paste and sand. The paste on its own settled too much, but the sand gives it bulk. I imagine household filler would work, but the paste is fine for now.

@Major_Gilbear - thanks I was never happy with my built up ones, but these are much more consistent. I do notice a slight bevel on that Miniature Heroes base. That's something I do with the round ones, and I have been wondering about modifying the square ones. I've been keeping Oathmark in mind when doing them, however, which is why I just kept the sides vertical.