Best material to base buildings on?

[Mr. White]

After 30 years of playing with little mens, I'm finally going to work on a table proper. I just received some buildings in the mail (from the wonderful Fogou DUN! DUN! DUN! KS), but I think I'd like to base them.

What are people finding is a dependable material that's easy to cut and work with?

[Cubs]

I have yet to find anything that doesn't warp when paint and glue dry on it, but this depends on the size of the base and how much paint and glue you put on it. There probably are some materials or paint/glue types that won't warp, but I haven't found them. One old carpentry trick is to use two thin plywood sheets and stick them together with the grains running at right angles to one another. That is meant to cancel out warping because they push/pull against each other, but I've never tried it myself.

[Ogrob]

I base most of my terrain on mdf, usually 2mm. Thicker would be less likely to warp, but 2mm is very easy to cut.

[Blackwolf]

I always use plasticard.

[zemjw]

I've just ordered a couple of A3 sheets of this stuff - 3mm PVC Foamex Sheet

It's the stuff that estate agents use to make signs and it hasn't warped with the few pieces I've done so far, although they're not building sized.

[FramFramson]

2mm MDF works out if you spray it down to seal it to prevent warping. I was planning to try some of that sign styrene in the future though. Thinner AND wouldn't need a coat.

[Cubs]

2mm MDF works out if you spray it down to seal it to prevent warping. I was planning to try some of that sign styrene in the future though. Thinner AND wouldn't need a coat.

I use the sign styrene a lot and it's great for bases, but it does warp like wood if the base is big enough and/or it has enough glue on top, as I've found to my cost. That's a great shout with the spray.

[Ampersand Andy]

Laminate flooring, a little heavier than other materials but easy to cut with a saw and rasp-file-sand a chamfered edge which helps offset the thickness (8-10mm). The underside is sealed and the top is, well, laminated. Buildings sit a little higher than on most other materials but Ian Weekley recommended raising buildings on their own little hill and I think it's still a good look.

The Jesmonite Fogou use is light but robust but it still doesn't hurt to have a bit of extra protection for their fine models. The larger up to 400mm wide tile type laminate might be needed for the circular fort or join two pieces together.

Andy   

[Scrubber]

If I can’t get mdf then I use cheap wooden place mats from Poundland or similar.

[McYellowbelly]

Foamex all the way.
Probably the most stable material i've used.
3mm is great for buildings, 6mm for bigger stuff.
Cuts with a sturdy knife too

[tomrommel1]

PVC foam boards are the way to go!

[Silent Invader]

Whatever I base on, I assume that once I’ve applied glue and sand, it will all warp. With this in mind - and generally after any warping has occurred - I do one of two things:

1) For buildings in the landscape, I generally use 2mm plasticard, 3 or 6mm MDF, or much thicker ‘kitchen cabinet’ type panels for terrain basing. I put a smear of milliput around the edge of the base, which serves to levels things off while giving a faintly irregular edge that blends nicely with the table surface..

2) For cityscapes, I use 6mm mdf and glue a strip of plasticard to the edge of the tile, which I engrave to become a kerbstone.

[Digits]

Like Scrubber says, cork backed table placemats are my go to base of choice.   They never warp, have th3 added advantage that the cork stops the whole model sliding on the table and if you shop around, not only are they dirt cheap, but are also available in larger sizes suitable for most buildings.

If you are worried about the shiny surface adhesion for your basing materials,  simply score it or rub a few times with coarse sandpaper.

[BZ]

Another vote for Foamex. Easy to cut, stable, reletively cheap and no warping. But PVA glue doesnt like to stick on it (maybe sanding the surface helps), so I use hot glue gun or when I dont want bumps, superglue on it. And if you want to spray paint it, try a little piece before, not that the solvents in the can attack the material.

[Calimero]

Very interesting topic…

Is there a difference between Foamex and regular Foamboard?