to base or not to base my buildings

[anevilgiraffe]

I have a quandry...

I'd like to do something similar to my penisular village square (here) and have a variable square for my ECW type buildings, but this would involve basing those buildings to ensure a regular footprint to get away with the modular bit I pulled off with the adobe buildings.

They currently look like this and this

and best I can think is it will end up either as something similar to my church (pic below - but less overgrown and more barrels and pots) or do I go paved (which I think will limit their use a bit)

[Elk101]

I've had the same thoughts time and time again. I normally don't base them, as a like them to sit directly on the the terrain , but I've started basing my Star Wars buildings.  This is partly because I'm potentially looking to use them on different terrain tiles,some of which look better on bases, but also because I like the look of scatter and clutter around the buildings and it's less faff if it's fixed. As a lot of them are 3d printed, basing makes them a bit sturdier too.

I like what OSHIROmodels does with a lot of their buildings, where the curtilage is designed in. The Dorking buildings are an especially good example of this.

[Silent Invader]

With one exception (*) I’m a baser.

Sometimes the bases are small:



Sometimes they are large:



And sometimes they’re to denote function and place:



As a generalisation I like my buildings and their associated activities to sit in the landscape rather than on it.

*The exception is my very much WIP Victorian London project, where the buildings are unbased but cobbled road inserts butt up against their edges:



But as always, it’s however you like it

[anevilgiraffe]

With one exception (*) I’m a baser.

Sometimes the bases are small:

that started this! 

[carlos marighela]

Make the bases modular and you can keep the buildings separate. I'm in the process of building large swathes of West Berlin. Some of the buildings are particular to that setting, others will see service elsewhere as part of German and Czech villages.  Other more modern structures will see service in more exotic parts of the world. I don't really want to permanently fix the buildings down as that adds to storage issues and ties them to a setting.

I have put together a series of 1 X 1 foot square MDF bases. For the urban bases, the front half gets covered in paving, the rear with cobblestones or stone sets. Others for more rustic/ ancient settings or just for use as town squares will get a full cobblestone treatment. Others again will get a grass and path treatment or just grass for parks and open spaces.

The MDF squares store flat and while heavy, it means I can mix n match while still having bases that make the buildings look reasonably organic to the scene. The MDF squares provide a natural curb to the street layout as a bonus, so I can change the street options from tarmac to cobblestones to dirt roads.

It's a bit of a faff planning how to spread the buildings across the squares and I do have at least a couple of buildings permanently based (a church and a multi storey apartment block) but the mix and match approach works well for me.

[Silent Invader]

that started this! 

I like Carlos’ idea as well, but have never tried it

[anevilgiraffe]

yeah, that fleeting crossed my mind... ultimately, that would be handy if I had a city board, but I don't think that's going to be a thing...

[snitcythedog]

I would say do what you think is right for the build.  For me, it really depends on what and how the buildings are going to be used.  I use to base religiously as I could add further details to the exterior.  My last few batches have been without as it helps with storage and I can pack them closer together on the board with exterior scatter made to fit against their sides.  I am still open to doing both. 

[anevilgiraffe]

it would mean I could do shop fronts, troughs and stuff... the roof overhang means that buildings of the same height couldn't abut anyway, so something alleyway ish would always occur...

[Dice Roller]

I always base my buildings.
I have a narrow base of about 2cm or so. It depends if there are any overhangs on the building. The base will always be as wide as any overhangs.
I do this for a few reasons.
I do it because the base protects them in storage - if they shunt around in the box the bases will bump into each other rather than the structure of the building. I also do it because it allows me to add a little bit of clutter around the buildings which helps them blend in to the table top.
I don't base them in to any kind of set piece (i.e. a farm with out buildings all on one base) and keep the separate components separate. If you want to keep them modular so you can arrange them freely then you have to plan this when deciding on base sizes and ensure that sizes match or are made of fractions (i.e. half or three-quarters, etc). This does sometimes mean that base edges on some are deeper than others depending on the size of the building. But, again, you can use that bit extra for details.

[Burgundavia]

I base, but on the smallest base I can get away with.

[Codsticker]

I like basing my buildings but, yeah, that does sort of limit them to either urban or rural.