Basing
Round up of the best starship basing options. these change over time as manufacturers come and go sadly. The best solutions are those, from easily available and inexpensive parts.
Here we have both commercial and do it yourself DIY solutions. This great video by Rottenlead (give them a subscribe) explains the pros and cons of bases and tools such as a painting handle RP MAG50, really good video.
Star Rangers Bases
Dean from starship ranger has a very good tutorial on how to do screw in bases using commonly available materials. This is the best base option IMO at the moment. This produces a base very similar to the sadly out of production CorSec Engineering omni-stand.
Game Masters
star-ranger.com
theminiaturespage.com
The Miniatures Page
Bill at the Miniatures Page has some good tutorials on basing in the workbench section and simpler solutions too. Also a good discussion on issues with magnetic bases.
Brigade Models
Has a guide on Aeronef basing which is applicable to small Full Thrust craft
Honourable Mentions
Sadly neither of these great solutions are no longer in production but are good ideas that can be adapted by the enterprising modeller.
Ninja Magic - magnetic adaptors the genius bit is the 6 way toothed connector, no longer in production due to Todd moving states, this video from Rottenlead has a great overview
CorSec Omni-Stand - sadly Jonathan Bowen passed away so no longer in production but this was a great system too
Active Basing Solutions
Companies that are still in business for now...
Litko - the daddy of base makers
Shogun Miniatures - steel and magnetic base plates
Back 2 Base - acrylic magnetic flight stands
eM4 Miniatures - has classic flight bases
Ground Zero Games - have fighter bases and metal bases for larger ships
Brigade Models - have a range of bases stock levels are variable
Dropzone Commander have a reasonable range of acrylic bases and the Hawk stand widget one of the best conversion devices for smaller miniatures to any flying bases using an interference fit while being bonded to the model much simpler and less intrusive than most stand options. Works perfectly with Micro Machines and other smaller sized ships.
Deathray Designs - Solar Shift range is more ground based but have a range of bases for flying ships and conversion stands for hex to non hex systems. USA based.
Battlefleet Galaxy Shipyards sell a range of bases for different ship scales. Some are specifically for Battlefleet Gothic.
Games Workshop have 32 mm and 60 mm bases, good for larger sized models.
3D Printable Bases
Hexagonal Ship Stands - by Decrayer very cool modular system using magnets, includes tokens and turn gauges plus Fighter arms
Hex Flight Stands for Space Fleets - by Dcmolina system uses magnets, fighter tops and tokens
Fighter bases - by Dcleyne , with space for D6 and magnet to base for 15mm Renegade Legion
D&D flying bases - by BattleLounge, can use used for space ships, space in base for D10 to track height or other attributes
Roofing Nail Bases - by Windham Graves printable bases for roofing nails
Hex flight stand for 3d printing - by Aotrs Shipyard
Print Your Own Stands
Martian Models has a range of print your own bases which they sell with their 3D model design files. These are very reasonably priced. And once you have the files you can print unlimited bases.
These are useful for a range of models and as they are 3D printable files they can be modified for your exact requirements. These can be printed in resin via SLA or in ABS, PET or PLA on an FDM printer.
The better magnets, N52 rated, can be purchased from ebay or Amazon.
This is a collection of posts from the GZG-L mailing list on how to base your fleets, some good ideas and details of techniques and materials.
DIY Ship Basing
I use the standard flying bases (1" AF) but with a few modifications. I cut 1" sections of 5/32" brass tubing (a small cheap tube cutter is the best way, it leaves a smooth end and is MUCH easier to use than a saw) and epoxy these into the standard hex base. These are then spray painted black and firing arcs and other details added to taste.
I glue a piece of piano wire into the hole in the base of the miniature, this makes them easy to hold and store - a piece of wood with holes drilled in it. They will turn easily on the stand but the firing arcs etc. are marked on the stand. For the bigger miniatures I intend to glue the base onto a larger hex cut from platicard or mounting board. If necessary the original hole can be filled with epoxy putty (Milliput by choice). This is also useful fixing 'accidents', more than once I have drilled all the way through a miniature.
The hardest part is cutting the piano wire, I have to use bolt cutters which leaves both ends of the 'stalk' in a rather dangerous condition but I use a miniature drill with a grinding wheel to flatten and smooth one end of each, the other (sharp) end is the one that goes into the miniature. The best way to hold the wires for this is in a pin vice which is in turn held in a bench vice.
A useful tip from a modelling magazine is to take a piece of a connector strip (for electricians) and strip of the plastic to reveal the brass. This is attached to a piece of dowel with a nail in one end for the connector to grip, the other end of the connector can hold the miniatures 'stalk'.
A variation (suggested by re-reading GDW's old 1889 rules) is to cut varying lengths of brass for different altitudes (Very Low 1/4", Low 1/2" and so on). However the taller bases would require larger bases to prevent 'accidental conversions' (The one good line from the film Millennium). The end result roughly doubles the cost of the base (10p to 20p) but is much more secure and has the dubious advantage of making your fleet and bases incompatible with anyone else's.
I have just purchased a pack of large flying bases from Games Workshop at 1.50 pounds for four. The bases are round, clear and 60mm (2.4") in diameter and strangely come with four posts, each of a different length. For capital ships these are ideal. It would be simple to paint or mark the new 12 course points on them. As suggested by someone on the list I now have four sizes of brass tube 5/32. 1/8, 3/32 and 1/16" which will fit one inside another. My starships all have pins mounted in them that fit the 3/32" tubing. The smallest size fits the fighters and aircraft. Another innovation in the course of construction is a jig to hold the brass uprights vertical in the bases while the glue is setting. It is a simple wooden bridge with appropriately sized holes drilled in it to sit over the bases. Something like the ASCII drawing below:
||========||========== || ==== || ==== __||__ ==== | | ==With the largest 5/32 glued into the base by adding pieces I can either have a ship mounted about 1" of the base or aircraft miniatures at any height desired. They should also be perfect for 1/300 aircraft. I was trying one out with 1 1/200th Catalina from Hallmark (Very nice) and with the 6cm base the base could be used to represent its search radius in a map based game!
The only problem is that even the micro pipe cutter I have cannot cut the smallest two brass tubes so they must be done the old fashioned way with a razor saw.
I use round brass tubing but I am intending to change over to square. The sight on ones ships spinning on the bases is not good. However there may be another alternative, cheaper and easier to work with. Several companies (Evergreen and Plastruct) make square section styrene (plastic) 'tubing'. This would be much easier to work with than brass, more easily cut and easily glued with normal liquid cement to the standard flying bases, whether the round Citadel type of the more traditional hexes as sold by Bwana Jon.
Brass may still be the best bet for the male section that fits onto the ship but I think plastic may be the way to go for the base. I will try to get some and report back, but I have to mail order the Evergreen I prefer so this could take weeks.
Michael BlairMODDING FLIGHT STANDS
This is how I've decided to do my stands (and yes, I had to hack a bunch of old ones off to go over to my new standard, but I think the end result is worth it).
I got GW flying bases - they are available in small (25mm) and large (60mm) varieties. When ordering from GW, make sure to tell them not to include the posts; it will save you 50% !! Use the small ones for small ships and fighters, and the large ones for anything that you're worried might tip over.
Next, head out to a hobby shop and get either brass tube or brass squares in three different sizes that will fit snugly into one another. For fighter bases you'll also need some small diameter brass rod (I think 1/16th). For smaller ships, use the two smaller sizes for the following steps, and for larger ships, use the two larger.
Cut 35mm and 5mm sections of the larger "tube," and a 15-25mm section of the smaller. The 35mm section gets epoxied into the GW clear circular base. Put the 5mm section over the smaller piece, and epoxy both into the miniature's mounting hole. Make sure that they're perpendicular BEFORE the epoxy sets.
Now you have a figure that can be put in the stand for play, and taken out for transport or storage. In fact, you only need enough lower stands to fit as big of a battle as you expect to play, as they're interchangable (with the exception of small vs. large dia.).
They have no angles or markers, so you'll need "rings" for during play, but on the other hand, they look really classy, and no matter how many times they change the rules, you never have to change bases again.
For fighters, drill 6 holes at random intervals on one of the small bases (just make sure they're not too close together). Then cut the small dia. rod to random lengths of 5 to 15mm. Epoxy the rod into the stand, and superglue the fighters to the rods, and you have a very cool looking "formation" that doesn't look like a hex. All of the groups will look diferent, which is also very cool.
Of course I like these methods, because otherwise I wouldn't have decided to use them. I'm sure that others may substitute or improve in different ways. In fact, to give credit where it's due, I got the idea from one of the earlier threads on basing miniatures. Sorry, I can't remember who it was.
Sean Bayan SchoonmakerSquare Tubing
I took this suggestion from the list - not sure who posted it - and am very happy with it (currently retro-fitting all of my B5 and FT ships. Any good hobby shop carries square copper tubing that fit snuggly one inside the other. Buy 1/16" diameters and the next largest. Cut the 1/16" tubing 1/4 - 3/8" long and glue these to the hole(s) in the bottom of the ship. Cut the other tubing 1 to 1 1/2" long and glue these into the base. Make sure that you align all the rods the same direction (corners at 12,3,6,9 o'clock for example). This allows the ship to be removed from the base for easier storage, this really matters with AOG's B5 ships. One suggestion, All glues are not equal: The best I've found - and I've tried alot of them - is Loctite(tm) Quick Tite gel. This has the consistancy of toothpaste and is *very* strong. I've dropped ships and had the metal bend and break instead of the glue.
How do you cut the copper tubing without it "squishing"?
I use an Xacto blade and mitre box. You only need to score each side, not cut through, and it will snap cleanly with a slight bending.
Channing FauceCutting tubes
Try using an old Xacto knife blade or any other formerly sharp blade you don't want to use for fine work - just roll the piece of tube back & forth under the blade and the end result is the same as if you used a pipe cutter. I have an ancient blade in a worn out handle that I use for burnishing flash & mold lines on lead figs and it cuts Brass & Aluminium tube really well - and I don't have to spend time both finding my pipe cutter and re setting it for every piece I cut.
Bruce LeeWASHER STANDS
For large ships, the easiest is the roofing-nail and washer stand described on the Superior Models site:
Robert CrawfordI can offer a few more suggestions that I've used for my non-GZG K'rathri ship figs.
I glue a 1 1/4" flat fender washer on the bottom of all of my bases. This allows me to line my carry cases with adhesive magnetic sheeting, so all of my ships can be transported without requiring 2-part stands and foam cushioning.
For the lighter ships, I just go ahead and use the plastic hex bases that they normally come with - glued to a 1 1/4" fender washer. This makes the base size the same diameter as the Geohex clock bases. Small pieces of strip styrene glued to the base make the tick marks.
I tried making a scratch built base for one of my heavy AOG Centauri ships (a la the Stellar Games instructions), and I found that it was much more bother than it was worth. A simpler solution was to use one of the Geohex bases and replace the cast upright with a brass rod of equivalent diameter - it easily holds the weight without bending.
Necklace Clasps
First, I always sand off the thinner top part of the post (the part that goes into the model) and replace it with a necklace barrel clasp. After super gluing it to the post, I super glue the other end to the model. After the super glue is dry, I put epoxy where the clasp meets metal (of the model and of the post). In this way, the glue gives you a quick (but brittle) bond, which holds everything in place long enough for the epoxy to set. The result is very strong and also allows the model to be removed from the base for storage. Oh, remove the little hoops from each end of the clasp, of course, but also use super glue gel - the standard stuff runs down the edges and glues the clasp together!
Second, for my scratchbuilt fleet I used 1 1/4" flat washers and 3/8" piece of metal tubing (the same diameter as the hole in the washer). Glue the tubing to the base and put a piece of epoxy putty in the top of the tubing and push the bottom of the necklace clasp into the putty. I made a a template to put the 12-hour marks on the base. Works pretty well, looks nice, and like the first, it allows the model to be separated from the base for storage.
Keith Watthow to fix plastic stands
Personally I prefer them to break early on, it only really seems to happen with the big ships or those some unmentionable drops. Most of the GZG models already have a hole cast in them for a stand. Using the plastic GW or Warzone stands, glue peg to model, let glue dry, break peg! You have now blocked the hole 'cause if you do it right it should snap at the base of the model.
Take a fine drill and drill into the model where the remains of the peg are and then into the peg itself. If using a hand drill, no problem. If you're like me and using an electric drill (dremel sort of thing) do it in small stages or you'll melt the plastic and gum up the drill. Drill into the model until up hit metal, drill about half way down the other section of the peg. Once you have your holes use a length of brass rod to rejoin to two sections of the peg. You should have no more problems. If mounting new models just cut the top section of the base peg and do as above but drilling directly into the model.
Tony FrancisThe Dropzone Commander widget is also a good solution for plastic stands. The widget is durable and glues into the model and is used on a plastic stand without the pin on the top.
This is a collection of ideas on basing fighters from the GZG-L mailing list
DIY Fighter Basing
Until now, I've been mounting a cardboard triangle on a GW flight base, and mounting a fighter on each corner. It's not bad, but I want to do better.
John CrimminsCork FIGHTER Bases
I just saw this idea somewhere - can't remember where but I don't think it was on the list. I tried it myself and like it. Use the traditional 1" diameter washer as a guide to cutting a circle out of cork sheet ( I bought mine, pretty cheap, as gasket material at the hardware store). Glue the cork circle to the washer, stick six pins in the cork and spray the whole thing black. Glue one fighter to the top of each pin, then remove pins as fighters die and replace the pins to play again.
Jed DochertyOak Fighter Bases
I do the following to make fighter bases:
Get some oak facing (1 inch by 3/8 inch by what ever length)
Go to drill press and put appropriate drill bit for your dice size in and then drill a bunch of holes halfway throught the facing. Seperate them by enough material to cut with a band saw.
Go to band saw and cut them into individual pieces.
Go back to drill and put drill bit that is sized to the proper diameter for the metal part (I use small nails) [make the hole slightly smaller in diamter than the nail] Drill a hole in one corner of each individual piece.
Get nail and tap into hole
Take all the stands and place on old board (or painting smock) and then paint with whatever color you like.
Let dry
Peel off paint on very top of nail (maybe some on the head sides also)
Glue the fighter to nail head. DONE.
GZG Fighter Bases
We showed a prototype round at several UK shows late last year, and response was good, so they're now available. An approx. 1" metal cast hexagon, with a depression at the back to hold a die, and six tiny holes ready to take thin wire (we've done them about 1-1.5" high for the display ones) on top of which you stick your fighters. Looks good with 3 or 6 fighters (3 for bigger ones like the GF range, up to 6 for the smaller FT ones). UK price 90p each, you supply your own chosen type of wire. The "plastic or card hex on top of a flying stand" method is the one we advocated in FT/MT, and still looks good.
Jon TuffleyStud Earring Fighter Bases
Glue 6 earring posts to either a GeoHex fighter stand (with the pegs removed) or a washer of the same size. Glue an earring back to the bottom of each fighter. This allows you to position the fighters at different heights and, more importantly, remove fighters from the stand when they've been destroyed - no extra die needed.
Keith WattPlasticard Fighter Bases
Get some plasticard from your local shop draw around the base of a hex stand on the card cut this out and glue to the top of the stand paint black glue 1 fighter to each of the six corners. this should give you a fairly good base, and leaves a space in the middle to put a small D6 for keeping track of losses.
Mike JamesonCopper Wire Fighter Bases
I take three pieces of copper wire and twist them together. On one end I bend the wires out into a "Y" shape and glue on to a Nickle (US $0.05) but any small metal disk should do. I cover that end of the base with putty to make it smooth. At the other end of the twisted copper wire I bend the wires out into a "Y" shape and bend the end od the "Y" up. At the ends of the wires I place one fighter, for a total of 3 fighters on a base.
Tim PricerBalsa & metal Fighter Bases
We use two methods (as you may have guessed Derek and I rarely do anything in the same way - family cohesion is such a grand idea ;) )
Derek gets really fine brass rod (1mm I think) and cuts off 6 short lengths of it, sticks those perpendicular to a base (he uses balsa hexes, but you could use round/square etc.) then sticks one fighter to the top of each. That way they're at different heights etc.
I also use the fine brass rod, but I drill 6 holes into a GW flying base and its neck and stick the wire into those instead. I bend the rod (if its stuck into the neck) so the top is pointing up and then stick the fighters on top. I get fighters at different heights/angles, but all still in a group.
Both methods look pretty good, but they can be a bit fiddly at times.
Beth FultonBetter Fighter Bases
You might take a look on how I've been basing my fighter groups - the folks I've shown them to in person have all given me "oohs & ahhs" over them. Here's a pic that hows how they look WM. Here's how I make them:
Materials:
Battletech hex base
1&1/4" flat fender washer
length of 3/64" brass rod
Tools:
#56 drill bit + pin vise (or Dremel :)
flat needle file
diagonal cutting pliers (flush cut preferred)
ruler
superglue
flat black primer (spray)
flat black primer (brush)
spray figure primer (black/gray/white - whatever you prefer)
spray sealer (gloss/flat - whatever you prefer)
Steps:
Cut brass rod into 6 lengths - three at 1" and three at 1&1/4".
File both ends of each rod segment flat with needle file.
Clean flash from battletech base.
Measure the center points of each of the sides of the hex base along the inner "lip".
Draw lines from center points on opposite sides of the base through the center of the base. (Basically, you've drawn lines from side to side instead of from corner to corner.)
On 5 of the lines, mark a spot on the line 1/8" in from the edge of the inner lip of the base. Drill holes at the spots marked.
The front of the base is middle hole of the arc formed by the 5 holes just drilled. Measure from the center (marked by the lines) towards the front by 1/16" and mark a spot. Drill your sixth hole.
Glue the base onto the washer. The corners of the base will overhang the washer by a little, so file off the corners so they are flush with the washer.
Prime the base flat black. Clean the paint back out of the mounting holes with your drill bit.
Glue your fighters onto the ends of the brass rods. Prime them (I use gray), making sure that the opposite ends of the rods are kept free of paint.
Paint your fighters.
Paint the rods the fighters are attached to flat black, leaving the last 1/8" unpainted.
Glue the three 1" high fighters to the front three holes of the base.
Glue the three 1&1/4" high fighters to the back-sides and center holes of the base.
Touch up the bottom of the rods with flat black.
Seal the completed stand with your favorite matt/gloss coat
It sounds more complicated than it really is
Modded Metal FIGHTER BASES
I have a slightly different means of basing my fighters. It'll take a little describing, but I really like the way it turns out. First, the basics... I base 'em two-to-a-base using old Battletech hex bases (of which I had a surprising number left after I stopped playing that one years ago. They're about 1" across and have a raised edge. I fill the "valley" in the middle with milliput, kneadatite, or some other epoxy putty (I used plumbers epoxy for mine IIRC) so that the putty is level with the raised edges of the hex. When the putty is mostly dry (i.e. pretty stiff) I cut out a square with one side being a metal hex side, about the size of one of the dice I use to mark the squadron's strength. Pardon the clumsy ascii art, but this might help:
______
/ \ / . \ <---- Base/ . \ <---- Holes drilled for piano wire \ +----+ / \ | | / <------ Square cut out for die \|____|/Then I let the base dry totally. It often helps to sand the base once the putty's dry to get a nice smooth finish. Then drill a couple of holes into the putty, insert some stiffened piano wire and mount two fighters on the wire. Voila. You can cut the piano wire to any length (I use some variety to make it interesting) and you can use colored dice to mark different types of squadrons (or squadrons from different carriers). I use different colored dice for each carrier and put little dots on the back edge of the base to mark the squadron number. So Red-1 (Red die with one dot) may be a strike fighter, while Red-2 may be a recon squadrons from the same carrier... Once you get going with it, they fly out and you can get 6 squadrons per pack o' fighters. I don't, however, know if Ral Partha still makes those hex bases as I haven't bought any in many years. But they used to sell them in packs of 6.
John Swann