What do you use for a base for your figures?
Plug nickel, Car wash Token or wood chips from Hobby Lobby......

For most individual figures, 2 inch wooden cubes from Michael's Arts & Crafts stained walnut, about a dollar each. Small vignettes and figures with more basework, decoupage plaques starting at 50 cents, same source. Special figures have special bases ranging up to $25 from guys who speciallize in bases with neat burl and/or cut outs. These guys usually sell at figure shows and some general model shows.

hi john

i use small photo frames for bases as they give a nice flat area in the middle to build groundwork on and a nice neat frame round the outside as shown in the picture.


basically what i do is remove the back plate discard the glass glue a couple of pieces of cardboard inside the rim and then reattach the back plate which will hold the cardboard in place, a groundwork can then be built up on the cardboard. Also these photo frames come in so many sizes you can use them for armour or dioramas.

Hope this helps

Simon

Off the shelf, this Miniart set of "Base for Figure" comes in very handy. There are 12 in one box and the base is good for up to 1/16 or 120mm scale



Paul

What Al said

What I do is I go cheap style, I get ice cream sticks, cut them down, sand them down, super glue them together, then usualy I would get some old spices and glue that down and paint it green and it makes it look like grass or fallen leaves then glue down the figure to it :O i love going cheap

If you're showing your figures competitively you probably don't want to use too low a base, like some of those shown above. You want to elevate your figure as much as possible so that it stands out from the crowd and people see it.It's not going to get seen if it's overshadowed by higher bases and displays. A larger, as in higher, base is also easier for judges to handle.

Ugh and make it into a trophy? well you can do that with the paddlepop sticks, just do layer on layer and sand it down lol "but it will have lines in it" well use puddy and fill in the cracks

Each to their own. I've just found this a far more effective way to display figures. And I just so happen to like the trophy look

As Rudi says each to their own, but also if you wish to compete in shows, or even if you attend you'll see at shows most are displayed on this style of base.

Lollisticks in my opinion stuck together with superglue seems a lot of effort compared to just getting a section of wood, even an off-cut and sanding it down/ staining/painting it. Besides I like cornets

Alan

Rudi could you please show us some examples of your work on these bases so we get the overall effect your advocating

Simon,

I've erred in the same way (IMO) in using too low bases and thus didn't get the attention taller bases did. I wouldn't say I was advocating it, but rather that the figure modelling community is. All you need do to see the effect of the higher base is look at any show pictures - I believe a few show reports are available from the HF homepage.

Rudi

Well, I''m not Rudi, but hre are some examples of bases:

A dollar for the block and about $4 for the plaque.

About $25 from Thomas bases.

About $15 from John Jeffries

Another dollar block with a downlaoded "signature" of Sitting Bull

Yet another doallr block with a downloaded copy of Billy the Kid's "wanted poster"

Thanks Al.

Now if readers compare Al's tall bases to mine, seen below they'll see what we're trying to articulate.


The above is an older piece. The base probably stands about an inch tall.


This is a currently stalled project due to an inter-continental move (last year) and a further pending move (end of August). This is an early picture, but the only one I have of the base itself. An old soccer trophy, the base is about 4cm or so tall. It's almost there in terms of height, but not quite (IMO). That said, it's a gift for someone so will mostly like never see a show table.