Basing options - how are you doing them?

[Red-24]

So, now that I am working on my minis (the first few boxes anyway, with bad seam lines and all) I'm trying to figure out the optimum way to base them. My work in progress is here: Starline 2500 minis.

The bases that come with the minis have a little ball and socket joint, and I assume the ideal way to use them is to glue the socket to the base of the ship, then slip it off the ball for storage and back on for use. My thought is that over time, that plastic is bound to break.

So, what do other people do?

I recall someone mentioning magnets, but it seems like the ship would then easily swivel on the base. Where do those of you who use magnets get them, and what's your process to attach them. Is that the ideal way?

Are there other methods people have been using over the years with Starline 2400 minis?

Also, I plan to paint my bases flat black and put fire arc lines on them. Do many others do this? I like the clear bases, but the reflections seem to make them stand out more than the flat black ones do (at least in photos). When are we ever playing on a non-black surface?

 

[ShadowDave]

I have a good few 2400 minis and find that the short stem hex bases that come with are fine, they also give you the basic firing arcs.
I have had a few models on the new type stand, as GW have been using it for their flying stuff. They have all been replaced as the things always manage to break with the ball inside the socket or worse they get loose and the model constantly tilts & swings.
Plus I think the socket spoils the look of the models unless they are quite large. I'll probably put the 2500's on the same small hex base and mount that on a larger flat circle of plasticard to aid any balance issues.

 

[Jiraiya1969]

I will be painting my bases flat black and add stars with a autograph marker.

The stars will range from a small, single dot to a larger dot with 'rays' emanating from it. I might experiment with tossing a few red dots in to give it a TOS feel.

J69

 

[billclo]

I've got a local graphics artist doing up a firing arc template that will be glue-sticked on the top of the baseplate. I'll post pics once I have them in hand.

 

[Da Boss]

The bases that come with the minis have a little ball and socket joint, and I assume the ideal way to use them is to glue the socket to the base of the ship, then slip it off the ball for storage and back on for use. My thought is that over time, that plastic is bound to break.

So, what do other people do?

I recall someone mentioning magnets, but it seems like the ship would then easily swivel on the base. Where do those of you who use magnets get them, and what's your process to attach them. Is that the ideal way?

No ideal way but I like these as they are better for transportation - the magnet bit does come out now and again but it can be glued back on

http://www.ninjamagic.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl.h,content=19&

 

[AdrianH]

The bases that come with the minis have a little ball and socket joint, and I assume the ideal way to use them is to glue the socket to the base of the ship, then slip it off the ball for storage and back on for use. My thought is that over time, that plastic is bound to break.

So, what do other people do?

I leave the ball where it is and remove the stem from the ball for transport. The ball is quite a tight fit (and needs a bit of careful filing if you want the ship to be posable, e.g. tipped over to the classic TOS "dead in space" angle ). I would imagine that repeatedly inserting and removing the ball will eventually damage the socket.

 

[H]

you do get that problem with regular insertion and removal of balls.

 

[Finlos]

No ideal way but I like these as they are better for transportation - the magnet bit does come out now and again but it can be glued back on

http://www.ninjamagic.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl.h,content=19&

I'm going to have to seriously look into those adapters. They look perfect for switching from round bases for ACTA to hex bases for SFB.

 

[scoutdad]

I have 3 dozen of the Ninja Magic adapters sitting in a tray oin my workdesk now.
As soon as I get a fleet box, I'll let you know how well they work ads my intention is to use them to switch out between round ACTA and hex FedComm bases.

 

[Red-24]

No ideal way but I like these as they are better for transportation - the magnet bit does come out now and again but it can be glued back on

http://www.ninjamagic.com/cgi-bin/gt/tpl.h,content=19&

Ok. I like the look of these, so on a whim I purchased 20 connector sets and an additional 40 small connectors.

That ought to give me enough bases for anything I'm likely to play (probably famous last words) and will cover me for the first few fleet boxes at least. If I really like these, this new obsession of mine is going to get even more expensive. ;-)

 

[elakin]

I'm using Corsec Engineering's Omni-stand ( http://corseceng.com/omni-stand/ ). So far i like them a lot, though i wasn't very impressed with the ball magnet option they have.

 

[elakin]

Here's the corsec bases.

 

[doublenot7]

I have 2400 minis not 2500 but mine are all mounted by magnets to the flight bases. Depending on the type of magnet you use, there will be no extra swaying around of the vessel. I use some pretty strong Earth Magets and can always flip in an extra magnet if I really needed it.

 

[Jiraiya1969]

The bases that come with the minis have a little ball and socket joint, and I assume the ideal way to use them is to glue the socket to the base of the ship, then slip it off the ball for storage and back on for use. My thought is that over time, that plastic is bound to break.

So, what do other people do?

I leave the ball where it is and remove the stem from the ball for transport. The ball is quite a tight fit (and needs a bit of careful filing if you want the ship to be posable, e.g. tipped over to the classic TOS "dead in space" angle ). I would imagine that repeatedly inserting and removing the ball will eventually damage the socket.

Found this out the hard way the other day!

I had a spare ball-and-socket mini stand from my B5 Centauri fleet (used an alternate base method) and decided to put one together without filing the ball part down first.

It was broken within 30 minutes.

Precisely how much filing does the ball require, as I don't want it to be to tight, but not to loose either.

Thanks,

J69

 

[AdmiralGrafSpee]

I'm using Corsec Engineering's Omni-stand ( http://corseceng.com/omni-stand/ ). So far i like them a lot, though i wasn't very impressed with the ball magnet option they have.

Ya, those are awesome, but given that I'm only going to play ACTA with these figs I would have to go with the square bases with firing arcs!

Thanks for pointing this out, because so far I'm really hating the bases that come with the ships!

-Tim

 

[Finlos]

Elakin, how much extra work did you have to do to get the corsec mounts to fit the ships themselves?

 

[elakin]

Elakin, how much extra work did you have to do to get the corsec mounts to fit the ships themselves?

Not much at all. I drilled a hole in the bottom of each system for the peg -- 11/64 bit, i believe, and just glued the peg in. For some ships (such as the Fed Frigate and light cruiser) this "hole" was just a very shallow divot - but still provided better rigidity than flush gluing the peg. Other ships, like the heavy cruisers and up, most of the peg fit in the drilled hole.

Of course, ya gotta be careful not to do this:

Haven't tried fixing that yet

 

[Captain Jonah]

^^^^^^ Oops ^^^^^^^

Does anyone have a good source of square bases or round ones with 90 degree and 45 degree fire arcs marked on them?

Preferably able to take magnets.

 

[Finlos]

About the middle of the page here you'll find square bases with 90 degree markings and a little further down you'll find magnetic tops for the stands.

I plan to put in an order as soon as I find my ships have been, um, shipped but can't yet make any comments on them.

 

[Da Boss]

Elakin, how much extra work did you have to do to get the corsec mounts to fit the ships themselves?

Not much at all. I drilled a hole in the bottom of each system for the peg -- 11/64 bit, i believe, and just glued the peg in. For some ships (such as the Fed Frigate and light cruiser) this "hole" was just a very shallow divot - but still provided better rigidity than flush gluing the peg. Other ships, like the heavy cruisers and up, most of the peg fit in the drilled hole.

Of course, ya gotta be careful not to do this:

Haven't tried fixing that yet

Ha ha

I did exactly the same with my Centauri ships first time round

stick a turret in the hole and try and convice your opponents its a special variant