What material to use to base multiple figures on?

[Archie]

So I have a renovation project going for some old Napoleonic figures (35 years old) and I only play skirmish games and havent ever had to put more than one figure on a base before!

What do you put your figures on? The cavalry have card stuck to their bases that I wont be able to get off so I will be gluing card to whatever you recommend. I think I can get the infantry off their card bases so they will be plastic figures onto the new bases.

I was thinking balsa wood as I have some and it is a joy to cut accurately but it isnt very robust. And I wasnt sure what glue to use then.

All suggestions welcome.

[Mitch K]

40 thou plastic card? Easy to cut accurately, cheap and you can glue it to more or less anything with CA or evo-stik

[fred]

For single figures 1p and 2p coins are hard to beat - they are cheap, and give good weight to the base of the figure which helps with balance.

For multi-basing, MDF is my preferred choice, it comes laser cut in what ever size you want, with square corners, isn't too thick and can be glued with PVA. minibits.net are my current favourite supplier.

I would cut off as much of the old cardboard as possible, before adding to a new base, but obviously with old figures you need to take care not to damage them.

[AndrewBeasley]

Can you soak the card off?

Over the years I have used:

1 ) Card - ended up too thin and warped at the edges
2 ) Plasticard - first my attempts at right angles left lots to be desired so I bought pre-cut bases
3 ) Clear acrylic - only on ships though
4 ) Individual bases from MDF and then sabot style them for larger units
5 ) GW 'slota-bases' then movement trays under them
6 ) coins with and without sabot style bases
7 ) Magnets - round ones from Hasslefree for infantry - rectangles from ?? for mounted


I now tend to magnets for ease of storage.

I have to ask - are these painted the traditional gloss way?

[Emir of Askaristan]

The current fashion is to use lasercut mdf. Other materials such as card or plastic are still used but these bases are very precisely cut but still cheap. Look online for Warbases or Minibits and pick the laser cut bases best suited to your rules.

Personally I use PVA glue (sometimes "woodglue" but currently "tackyglue" from the local Hobbycraft store) to stick my figures directly to the base. This works well with either plastic or metal and should work for your card too, but I'd trim that back as best you can so that it doesn't curl later.

Being mdf they can be easily, carefully cut with a scalpel by sliding the blade under the topmost edge of the base if the figures need re based in the future.

Hope that helped a bit.

Good luck

[von Lucky]

Are you going to base them for a particular game or for display?

I would echo the MDF (which is relatively ease to cut depending on its thickness, you can bevel corners and edges to your requirements), but thin ply or plastic will also look good.

Would you be transporting them (ie needing magnets, etc)?

[Archie]

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=67637.0 is the renovation post.

I won't be basing for a particular game as such but I was going to follow the advice in Henry Hyde's book so we are looking at three horses per cavalry base, six infantry on a base.

I don't remember the book I had out of the library in 1982 (circa) but it seems that three on a base was the recommended amount back then as well.

The figures were originally painted with Airfix enamel paints.

Good suggestions guys and I hadn't thought of MDF. I think I will try some from minibits.net or maybe one of the suppliers at Wartorn at the end of June in Scarborough.

I'm cutting the card back as much as I can as you can see in the picture below. I fear that taking it off from the underside will be messy and possibly destructive.

I don't imaging travelling with them so magnets shouldn't be necessary. As long as I don't trip up taking them from my craft room to the dinning room table things should be fine!

I bought a hot glue gun earlier this year. I haven't used it yet but I was wondering if that would be suitable as a glue choice?

[Archie]

Currently the horses, and infantry are on card like this. On top of which is double sided carpet tape. (I know, I know but I was 12 and it was all I had to hand!)

[Cubs]

Airfix British Hussars! Classic, those spindly legs with ankles that always chipped off because they bent so much (Top Tip: if you brush some clear-drying pva lightly on the vulnerable areas - after painting, before varnishing - it gives them a felxible bond that helps prevent chipping or cracking).

MDF is good, plasticard is good. I use something called Forex, which is kind of a lightweight, easily cut plasticard used in signage. I've got butt-loads of the stuff actually ... perhaps I should start selling it off.

[john Hollyoak]

To remove card bases I put the bases on a tray and pour enough water to just cover the base. Leave overnight and they should just peel off. Occasionally they don't, depending on the original glue. Don't leave them too long or they soak up the water and dry out even more uneven than when you started.
Decent mounting board should be good enough to rebase them. I agree with the mdf route but as they are plastics there is hardly any weight in them.

[Archie]

Hmmm the water idea is interesting (and I didnt think of that) but this is heavy duty carpet tape that I used to stick the card to the base. I am notr sure the card would soak off. I have six more stands of bases to cut down so I think I will stick with cutting around them. If that idea had been in my head when I started I would have tried it.

Cubs I read about that pva trick in Henry's book but I thought it only worked it you did it before painting. Good to know I can do it afterwards.

I must confess I have never varnished a figure.  Would you recommend it?

[fred]

I wouldn't use hot glue for basing - it tends to dry in blobs. Its great for gap filling, or gluing un-even stuff, but not for figure basing.

I don't think carpet tape will be coming unstuck with a bit of soaking. I think cutting around is the best you will get.

Varnishing is good, is pretty quick and adds a good amount of protection.

[Cubs]

I must confess I have never varnished a figure.  Would you recommend it?

Definitely. I use spray mostly, but there also some good brush-on varnishes in matt or gloss. The brush-ons tend to have better protection I think, but the sprays are quicker and give a more matt finish.

[von Lucky]

I wouldn't use a glue gun to attach them to the base, PVA or similar is fine. I would also recommend varnish - the type (matt or gloss) and method (spray or brush) is one for later when we see the painted figures.

Your current basing choice is sound (3 cavalry and 6 infantry to a base). My personal preference would be to have the same size base for the cavalry and infantry, but that'll be a choice you make based on what you believe looks good. For 28mm (~1/56) 6cm frontage x 4cm depth looks good. Might work with these, or they might be look a bit sparse on that size base. What aare the dimensions of the current bases (cavalry and infantry)?

[Archie]

Gone with 60 x 40mm mdf bases. Couple of weeks should see me doing some basing up. Thanks for everyones help.