Bases, integral, Slotter and other.

[Renfield286]

im not sure how to start this post.
its mostly a musing about how integral bases annoy me because they don't leave that much room for being creative with the base. (its one of the reasons that i there are certain companies that although have nice sculpts, have made the bases impossible to remove without damaging the mini sculpt and so i will never buy them)
and i prefer slotters because you can remove that bit of metal from the base of the mini far easier that way.

i tend to base my miniatures on plastic bases (a habit that being a GW and confrontation player has left me with) that get decorated separately from the miniature.
Texture base, paint base, apply painted mini (by pinning and superglue) is how i tend to do it.

i also tend to use different shaped bases depending on the setting.
so
Fantasy/historic (anything where most of them will be ranked up) get Square.
Modern/ultra modern get hex
Future gets round (and sometimes hex)

anyone else use any similar methods, or have similar frustrations at integral based mini's
or is it just me being anal?

[TheMightyFlip]

I have a bunch of lovely reaper slave girl minis I intend to paint up for a project rattling around in my head, but I cant because of the cast bases that I know if I try and remove will take a chunk of the feet with them.

Come on people, intergral bases went out of fashion in the 80's!

[Gluteus Maximus]

I just glue the integral base onto a square or round base and then use filler/sand mix to texture it, paint and flock.. It's a lot quicker than removing the old base and then drilling and pinning the figure to the new one and once textured the original base is completely hidden. That is, of course unless it is one of those very thick ones, but even then the texturing does a good job of disguising it.

[Calimero]

I Think that it doesn’t bother me as much as it does for others… I just put those Reaper figures on Litko round bases without even trimming the integral base…



Speaking of integral base, I think that those from Blue Moon Manufacturing are the worst to try to remove. I, myself let them as they are…



The only thing that bother me about bases are the "plastic slotta base" type, I think they are too thick even for 28mm figures...



But that just me... 

[Captain Blood]

This is a very longstanding and oft repeated debate here.

Generally (but not exclusively) people who grew up with historical wargames figures prefer integral bases (like me), people who grew up with GW prefer slottas. It's just what you're used to.

Personally I hate and loathe slottas with a vengeance and I won't buy slotta based figures (no, not even Copplestone's lovely gangsters).
Why?
Because I don't like the lightweight feel of the plastic. I don't like the tacky look of the plastic. I don't like the 'plinth' effect raising the figure up out of its surroundings. And I don't like the fact that the slotta originated so that GW could get away with using less metal in their figures (whilst charging more for them)! 

Apart from that, I'm fine with it. 

Seriously though, I mount nearly all my figures on 25mm round washers which provided ample scope for lots of lovely creative basing. I've included everything from small pools to bits of broken down wall as well as the usual rocks and vegetation. Same kind of scope as on a slotta, but without the stupid plastic plinth 

(I know not everyone will agree  )

[keeper]

I just glue the integral base onto a square or round base and then use filler/sand mix to texture it, paint and flock.. It's a lot quicker than removing the old base and then drilling and pinning the figure to the new one and once textured the original base is completely hidden. That is, of course unless it is one of those very thick ones, but even then the texturing does a good job of disguising it.

I do almost exactly that with inegral bases, except I use 2mm plywood bases from Fenris Games: http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Fenris-Games_Other_W0QQ_fsubZ1QQ_sidZ55776203QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322

For slotta minis, I use slotta bases.  Sometimes I use resin bases instead.  Whatever I think will look good - I don't feel the need for every single mini in an army to be based identically - so long as they're OK for the rules we're using and they look fine.  How you flock/sand/paint your bases has more of a cohesive effect on a force for me, than if all the bases are identical.

YMMV.  In fact, it probably does

[Dolmot]

Slotta tabs are alright. The intended slot placement has its benefits, if you can stand the thick plastics. It's sturdy and simple. Still, the tabs are easy to remove if you want to pin the feet directly into those fancy resin casts or a magnificent diorama.

Foundry's fingernail-sized integrals are also acceptable. They blend easily even to the thinnest plywood bases. Very useful if you want to minimise the lumps dragged by your adventurers. In that use the small integrals hold even better than de-tabbed slottas.

Reaper's huge broccoli lumps are annoying. Has anyone used them "as is" since the early 80s? Everyone wants round/square bases so the lump doesn't help at all. They take ages to blend or cut off.

Grenadier's 3mm thick, large and sharp-edged integrals are also evil. It took half a bucket of sand to bury them when I was basing my barbarian horde. Fortunately they're on movement trays. Otherwise the combined height of bases would look silly. Removal requires power tools and constant attention or the feet will be gone too.

Dear manufacturers: This is 2009. People have their own, justified basing preferences. Please minimise the burden of your "suggested solution". Use the enormous lump o' tin to cast another miniature instead.

[bc99]

I was using American pennies for bases on my Foundry DA miniatures. They are a bit small, even though the price is right (it's a penny!).

I am now using washers that are about the size of a GW slotta base. I will have to transfer some of my DA to the washers, as I'd like them uniform, but besides that I'm pretty happy with the size.

As far as integral bases, from Reaper and such, I usually just plop them on the washers as well.

[Renfield286]

Slotta tabs are alright. The intended slot placement has its benefits, if you can stand the thick plastics. It's sturdy and simple. Still, the tabs are easy to remove if you want to pin the feet directly into those fancy resin casts or a magnificent diorama.

Thats pretty much what i use them for. i do it for pretty much all of my minis now. saves me re painting the shoes after the base (or the base after the shoes)
i do like resin bases too, i have skull pile bases for certain characters (micro art)

Foundry's fingernail-sized integrals are also acceptable. They blend easily even to the thinnest plywood bases. Very useful if you want to minimise the lumps dragged by your adventurers. In that use the small integrals hold even better than de-tabbed slottas.

yeah, i have a few that i have taken the tiny base off and managed to file it around. i don't mind that

Dear manufacturers: This is 2009. People have their own, justified basing preferences. Please minimise the burden of your "suggested solution". Use the enormous lump o' tin to cast another miniature instead.

QFT.

Personally I hate and loathe slottas with a vengeance and I won't buy slotta based figures (no, not even Copplestone's lovely gangsters).
Why?
Because I don't like the lightweight feel of the plastic. I don't like the tacky look of the plastic. I don't like the 'plinth' effect raising the figure up out of its surroundings. And I don't like the fact that the slotta originated so that GW could get away with using less metal in their figures (whilst charging more for them)! 

Apart from that, I'm fine with it. 

Fair points one and all, but i still feel that bases that are already attached are taking away the basing choice

Seriously though, I mount nearly all my figures on 25mm round washers which provided ample scope for lots of lovely creative basing. I've included everything from small pools to bits of broken down wall as well as the usual rocks and vegetation. Same kind of scope as on a slotta, but without the stupid plastic plinth 

(I know not everyone will agree  )

25mm washer does seem like a good option.

i quite like the plinth but as you say, its a matter of taste i suppose.

[Doomhippie]

I used to use slotta bases but have drifted to cheaper washers now. I normally just glue everything (including fixed bases) to them and then just build up terrain around them. For me it's not even important that tehre are little raised areas underneath the models feet only. Sometimes I hide those with static grass or little rocks or the like.

[dadlamassu]

I detest slotta bases because of the extra height it gives the figures and so makes them incompatible with my other models - I've been wargaming for 45 years.

I detest huge cast on metal bases (bluemoon) especially when they are difficult to remove or even reduce.

I use card bases and only remove a base if I have to.

I like figures with small cast on bases.

I like figures with tabs so long as the need for a tab does not create a flatter pose on the figure.

Most of all I will not buy figures that are too tall to fit with what I already have.  I have stopped buying Copplestone figures for this reason because of size creep.  The last I bought were the Sikh Infantry who tower above my other troops.  A pity because I have a large force of his figures.

Alan

Alan

[bc99]

Most of all I will not buy figures that are too tall to fit with what I already have.  I have stopped buying Copplestone figures for this reason because of size creep.  The last I bought were the Sikh Infantry who tower above my other troops.  A pity because I have a large force of his figures.

Alan

I'm also concerned with "size creep", as it renders some figures incompatible with others. My biggest concern would be copplestone with my wonderful Foundry (copplestone!) Darkest Africa figs.

That's another reason I try and stick to washers now. I don't want the figures raised to far, making some already big figures Yao Ming in size to some of my smaller 25mm figures.

I do appreciate a certain amount of size difference, just like real life. I just want to cut down on the appearance of 7 foot tall giants!

[Wirelizard]

Put me in the "can't stand slottabases" category - they're far too tall and distracting, even if they're just 20mm across. My Copplestone gangsters are going to be rebased onto sane bases sometime soonish - all the rest of my pulp 28mm stuff is on pennies, and they look far, far better.

I'm not a fan of huge bases at all, actually. Why put a 28mm figure on a base as wide as it is tall, or even wider?

[Bako]

I only hate the integrals if they're too damn big for the plastic bases and washers or if I really absolutely want to put them on a "special" base, like a mini-diorama than requires their feet free.

The plastic bases are good because they reduce the contact the miniatures' bases have with the terrain and whatnot that they're on, but the washers have more weight making them less likely to get knocked over (though gluing smaller washers and pennies to the undersides of the non-slotta ones does help). More often than not I prefer pretty terrain over gamer-quality slap-stick.

[Bossco101]

I'm in the can't stand slotta camp too. Captain Blood and others have pretty must nailed most of the reasons why I'm against them too. However one other point is that for some poses they aren't heavy enough to anchor the miniature properly. I have though about producing a range of white metal replacement slotta bases to deal with this problem. Trouble is would there be a market for them?

Everyone here is dedicated to the hobby, and knows about basing etc. But take a new green 15 year old whose just bought his first few minis, and now finds they either won't stand up or keep slipping out of the plastic slot. He'll either try and sort the problem out with advice from good forums such as this, or shove them back in a drawer and move on to something else.

They are also a pain to photograph for the shop.