Transparent bases

[Aethelwulf]

What does everyone think about transparent bases, and could you make them at home?

[Citizen Sade]

I can see the attraction and yes, you can. See Pulp Alley Dave’s tutorial:

https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=110555.msg1382384#msg1382384

[has.been]

I would be quite happy to use them for skirmish figures
who could end up in various terrain.
e.g. Pirates (Decking/ Desert Island/Taverns)
       Sci-Fi (Desert/ Jungle/Alien Hive/Space station/Ancient Ruins)
Where having the 'wrong' type of basing sticks out like a sore thumb.

I have bought some, & the bits to 'Make Thin Ones At Home'...
so far used ... one.

[gweirda]

Being a 'base-minimalist' who sees the goal as keeping the fig(s) upright and as unobtrusive as possible, I'm a big fan.  It helps with the latter (unobtrusive) facet to use a thin, non-shiny material - the 'thin' part makes cutting/punching them out at home easier.

The use of glues/cements to attach the fig(s) is limited a bit by the no-see-um goal so I do some pinning - the extra time this takes is perhaps not much more than what would be spent on elaborate, scenic texturing/basing?

[Major_Gilbear]

Clear bases have pros and cons just like any/all other basing choices - I expect that you're already aware of what those might be for the most part, so I won't list them all here.

I would say, that for boardgames, thin clear bases can often look quite nice and unobtrusive, and it's usually plastic models that you're mounting on them.

For wargames, especially if you're playing on surfaces that are rough (drybrushed sand for example), I would expect that clear bases would not only look a bit odd, but would get scratched reasonably easily over time too.

There is also a modest trade-off between finishes to consider. As you can imagine, the glossier the plastic base, the more transparent (and also distracting) it is; but if it's matte, then you start to lose that transparency, and it renders using them in the first place a bit pointless.

And since the next question associated with clear bases is inevitably how to attach figures, here's the last thread on the matter (but if you search, you'll find more): https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=139312.0. The thread also covers different plastic materials a bit as well.

[Too Bo Coo]

I'm on the fence. I LOVE the look, my base not getting in the way of the terrain. But....

The biggest issue is keeping them on that base for metal minis. My success story is to use Rendera hard plastic clear bases (they need to make cavalry bases) with hard plastic minis. They bond like all hard plastics.

However, metal minis are problematic. Glue alone is just a recipe for aggravation. The plastic bases are too thin to pin, so I have been successful with thicker clear laser cut disks, I run steel sewing pins through one or more limbs, and they are not easy to see, but even with pins, they pop easier than other traditional basing. But it's not terrible.

People stress over the fogging when using superglue, but just go easy with it and make peace that there will be some slight fog around the feet, but you will never see them again after that first time you glue... I dont at least.

[ced1106]

Clear bases look hi-tech to me, so I don't use them on fantasy figures. They look fine for modern and sf.

For metals, I cut off the slotta base strip, then pin them. Integrated bases are too intimidating for me.

A few models from Sally 4th! Kept it tiny so the post wouldn't be too large.

Sally 4th uses clear bases extensively, so you can see more on their site: https://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/

[Aethelwulf]

hmm, thanks for all that will have to give it some jolly hard thinking, wot.

[Hitman]

Also, if doing a lot of figures, they are not magnetic, so that could be a huge issue during transportation. I value the painted figures more than worrying about figures having flocking on them when inside buildings or on ships. Clear bases are nice, but if they can't keep a figure safe in transportation, then the clear effect to cover all terrain aspects isn't worth it. Just my 2 cents worth.
Regards,
Hitman
😎

[DS615]

1" or 1.25" hole punch and Transparent Plastic Plates.
All the bases you could ever want.

I like them only for certain games, and you can't spray them with a sealer since it messes up the transparency.

[Aethelwulf]

Also, if doing a lot of figures, they are not magnetic, so that could be a huge issue during transportation. I value the painted figures more than worrying about figures having flocking on them when inside buildings or on ships. Clear bases are nice, but if they can't keep a figure safe in transportation, then the clear effect to cover all terrain aspects isn't worth it. Just my 2 cents worth.
Regards,
Hitman
😎

This doesn't really matter for me as I mostly play solo.

[Cat]

An earlier thread on this topic got me to use Ultra-Pro rigid card sleeves and a circle lever punch for one project and I like them a lot.
 
It was great for that particular project because it's low figure count.  Personally, I would not be likely to go that route for a large figure count game if figure choices also required tons of puddle removal.

[tikitang]

Back when I collected and gamed with 90mm pre-painted figures, I put them all on clear acyrlic bases and thought they looked smashing:








However, now that I'm over that phase and into proper miniatures, I would never want to use clear. It doesn't look or feel right to me.

[Aethelwulf]

I was thinking of using them for pulp minis, so that they look right for any setting.

[Daeothar]

And I'm thinking that when playing on a gaming mat such as Tikitang has shown and which has been more and more prevalent these past years, transparent bases would be perfect indeed...