Hi guys,

I've been having a browse through this section of the forum and btw top stuff guys.

I'm hoping you'll be able to help me though, I've just bought 160 industrial trooper from dark realm for the start of an adeptus mechanicus army, but didn't realise they came without bases. I took a look at GW's site and at almost £6 for 16 bases plus postage they can forget it! Trouble is I want them to try and match the style of my existing army (based on GW bases) as much as possible.

Does anybody know of a manufacturer that produces a comparable bases who doesn't charge ridiculously extortionate prices?

Once I can find some bases I'm really looking forward to putting some pics up here!

many thanks

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You see a mouse trap? I see free cheese and a f*cking challenge! - Scroobius Pip

Are you talking 20mm x 20mm old style ones or the 12mm x 40mm strip ones?

Not sure if any other company does - but e-bay or similar is worth a browse.

Have to agree £6 for 16 bases is a bit rich from GW..... I base mine on metal bases from Precision Wargames Supplies --- adds a nice weight to plastic minis especially.

I'm in exactly the same boat as you, I just bought a shedload of DRM light infantry.

My solution has been to make my own bases from plasticard (High Impact Styrene). This allows me to make them deep enough for the fat bases that my DRM minis stand on (a bit over 1.5mm high...).
What I've done is cut the size I want from 1mm thick plasticard and cement 2 together.
Once they are dry, I have used a power drill with a 6mm dia. drill bit to sink holes into the bases, almost but not quite all the way through. You can vary the locations of the countersunk holes on each base for that "staggered" effect. I like to clean up the edge of each base with sandpaper, as the 2 sheets of plasticard rarely line up perfectly.
Once the minis are glued into their holes, I use a smidgen of Green Stuff to conceal the join between the mini and the base (this may be an unnecessary step though - some sand and flock might be adequate to hide the edges - I'll try that and report back).

This method has allowed me to vary the size of my bases for different units (40x40 for my supreme commander's scenic base, 25x25mm for infantry and fire support, smaller again for snipers), and is also fairly cheap (I calculated that about AU$7 allowed me to make about 40-60 bases). The only real downside is that it's a bit time-consuming, but you get quicker as you go along, especially doing them in large batches.

Once I've finished the batch I'm working on, I'll post some pics so you can see how it looks. Should be up in a few days.

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Thanks I was after the 12*40's

I thought ebay would be my friend but apparently not this time lol.

Failing the 12*40's is there anybody who manufactures bases with the right size holes for these minis?

just_chris your idea sounds like a good alternative, although looks like it might involve quite a bit of effort. I actually have two 1.5 mm and 0.5 mm sheets sitting next to me on my desk. Drilling all the way through the 1.5 and then basing on the 0.5 would work pretty well. My only problem is that I can't cut straight lines into plasticard to save my life. It's all sliding rulers and cut fingers lol, so unless you have any tips I might have to hold off on that.

I know the square bases are dead easy to get hold of but I'm pretty impatient about this sort of thing and I know if I glue these minis down to a square base I'll have a really tough time painting detail onto them.

thanks again

Phil


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EDIT

Oh byw just_chris did you notice that your blisters of 40 light infantry actualy contained 44? I seemed to be getting 10% extra free on all of mine?

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You see a mouse trap? I see free cheese and a f*cking challenge! - Scroobius Pip

To get straight lines in plasticard, I use an artist's cutting mat, and a metal straight edge ruler, and a sharp hobby blade. If you are bad clumsy, you could get a butcher's chainmail glove for the hand that's holding the ruler...   Remember you only have to score the plasticard, then bend along the line to snap it - this means you don't have to press hard with the knife or cut deep.

BTW, 1.5mm and 0.5mm was my original idea but I had to use what was on hand (and I only had 1mm). That would be quicker and easier though than how I'm doing it, because I have to stuff about with carefully drilling to the right depth, whereas you can just drill straight through the thick piece and be done with it. I reckon using 1.5 and 0.5 would cut away at least a third of the time required to build them.

Several people here recommended Litko Basing Systems (http://www.litkoaero.com/) - they do custom sizes, and they look like they would do the job. I wanted to use their bases, but I also wanted bases NOWNOWNOW! So I lacked the patience to wait a month to use my models. If you are in the USA, you'd probably get them quicker.
Also, I'm pretty sure there would still be some work involved in making them work for you - drilling in particular.

EDIT: I only got 40 Maybe you have the new batch...?

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I'm an EA player living in Adelaide, South Australia. PM if you want a game!

IIRC, Cuban Commissar had some made ...   I mold my own with resin, thats one way to get enough !  But it's labor intensive ...  

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Try looking at Magister Militum - they do 50nr 20x40mm bases for £5. They also do lots of other sizes too.

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Quote: (Warhead @ 08 Mar. 2009, 10:33 )

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ChaosOrc has some bases 3.50$ for 10 or Exodus War has a 100 GW like bases for 25.95£ pack. Maybe the bases sold from ChaosOrc are made by EW ?

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Fair players live longer
Epic40k.fr Techpriest

How perfect a match are the EW ones for the GW ones? If they are dead on then I'll pick up a load, but if they are even slightly different in the dimensions and finish the perfectionist in me will probably stick with the GW ones.

Well the EW ones are metal for a start! I've purchased some but not got round to using them yet.

magister Militum has some good bases. unfortunately they have no recesses for Epic infantry but for tanks etc they are great. £5 for 50. Perfect base size to accompany infantry stands.

D.

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Epic:Armageddon... Like Apocalypse but for grown-ups.

[b]Bearded Dice[/b]: [url]http://bearded-dice.co.uk[/url]

I did the countersunk thing for a bit but found it way to labour intensive and just a tad messy (nice result though). I use 2mm plasticard from the outset.

Now I use 1mm thick metal bases, just trim a bit off the bottom of the bases then build up around them with a sand, glue, paint mix (think homemade basetex). Gives the modes a nice low profile on the base and combined with my magnetic sheet lined cases makes for excellent safety transporting minis.

The E/W bases are fine for Epic. But they are not exact copies, as that could case some legal matters.  The E/W bases are "sculpted" to look like loose ground. Where G/W are smooth.

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Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Could anyone post a close-up photo of an unpainted EW base next to a GW base? Either one with or without models.

I've taken the plunge and ordered some Magister Militum bases now, hopefully they'll be suitable.

I think I did the math once and if you buy an Ork infantry box you get more bases than if you were to buy the bases individually.

Buy a couple of Ork boxes and sell the infantry off.  

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-Malakai

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