Supplimental Miniature Product Inquiry:
Would there be any chance that you could have blank bases manufactured?
I have done many conversions from Confrontation and Mage Knight miniatures. For consistency sake I really wanted to mount them on bases similar to the round bases used by WotC, but I could never find any. Any of the round, non-slotted, black bases I found had bevelled edges. (These also do not help for mounting figures with wide stances, as the top surface area is less than the bottom surface area.)
Here's hoping that there are others out there that could also benefit from such a product?
The round bases from WotC are, as far as I can tell, 25mm in size.
WargamesFoundry makes bases which you might find useful:
Packs of 20
They're just 25mm MDF, but they should work for your needs.
Getting these in the US can be a little tricky, but thewarstore.com does sell bases of this sort. They also sell 25mm square plastic bases which have a recessed bottom, making them ideal for turning non-based minis (like Reaper's Dark Heaven Legends) into square base ones.
Chief Technical Officer
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Would there be any chance that you could have blank bases manufactured?
Paizo isn't in that business, which is why we licensed Reaper and WizKids to make minis for us. Reaper uses square slot bases for their minis (not what you're looking for), and every mini WizKids sells already *has* a base, so I'm not sure it's really a sensible product for them either.
Paizo isn't in that business, which is why we licensed Reaper and WizKids to make minis for us. Reaper uses square slot bases for their minis (not what you're looking for), and every mini WizKids sells already *has* a base, so I'm not sure it's really a sensible product for them either.
Thanks for replying. I was hoping this could be a product Paizo could license from Wizkids, since they already make the product... however they then glue them to the minis.
Aside from the Pathfinder minis, all of the other Wizkid minis are on HeroClix bases. I just bought the Lord of the Rings HeroClix, and I would like a decent base to mount them to. Forunately, all these minis all come on a big "pad" already (once detached from the HeroClix base), which will allow mounting them on any base really easy.
I have been looking for years now, and have scoured the GenCon booths, but there is no one making a round plastic, non-slotted, non-beveled edged, plastic miniature base.
Thanks Elrostar for the bases you referenced, but I really don't like the MDF ones.
Unfortunately, this was my last chance at finding someone to make these bases. Its actually quite frustrating, because WizKids already makes exactly what I want... but the bases are not sold without minis. I was really hoping I could interest someone at Paizo to add these perhaps to their Game Mastery line, but I understand what Vis is saying, as these are not really a "gaming aid", and more of a "miniature hobby supply".
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I have been looking for years now, and have scoured the GenCon booths, but there is no one making a round plastic, non-slotted, non-beveled edged, plastic miniature base.
Talk to a local plastics shop - there are small businesses all over the place that churn out small items made by injection or vacuum forming plastic. Actually, it sounds like you just want someone who can order plastic rod and slice it regularly for you, so a machine shop might be able to do this. If there is a minimum order, you can always sell the excess on EBay - you could spray colour some and sell them as status/condition markers.
Talk to a local plastics shop - there are small businesses all over the place that churn out small items made by injection or vacuum forming plastic. Actually, it sounds like you just want someone who can order plastic rod and slice it regularly for you, so a machine shop might be able to do this. If there is a minimum order, you can always sell the excess on EBay - you could spray colour some and sell them as status/condition markers.
Thanks for the suggestion Brock.
I like the idea of finding plastic rod and have it sliced. It sounds like you might be familiar with the process -- if a machine shop were to slice it, would the slicing process allow for a nice smooth top?
Also, if I were to contact a machine shop would they know of where I could find plastic rod? What sort of a place would sell plastic rod?
Thanks.
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I like the idea of finding plastic rod and have it sliced. It sounds like you might be familiar with the process -- if a machine shop were to slice it, would the slicing process allow for a nice smooth top?
The cut should be smooth, but the edges may need some attention. Burrs may need to be smoothed off.
Also, if I were to contact a machine shop would they know of where I could find plastic rod? What sort of a place would sell plastic rod?
It depends on the shop, what market they target and what materials they work in. You could probably pick up plastic rod at a store that caters to the larger scale hobby market - folks who build radio controlled planes and boats etc.
The space lab I work at has a small workshop and they have catalogues with just about every kind of raw material imaginable - so it's out there for purchase, its just a question of locating it.
RS sell polycarbonate rod. Not sure how that would take adhesive or paint though. I'd email a few potential suppliers and describe what you want to do (cut to disc, smooth, possibly paint, what adhesive you use, etc.) and see what they say.
Eventually, you might want to look into getting a home 3D printer like Printrbot. (The LC version looks a lot better to me than the original, FWIW.) Not now, but in a few months -- they're coming down in price at a frightening rate. Just something that your difficult quest made me think of.
And now someone's making a home machine to recycle your plastic into filaments for use by 3D printers. The mind continues to boggle.
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or you could goto a company that specializes in made to order bases in whatever shape, color, depth. That is Litko www.litkoaero.com
Paizo sells several of their products and they make specialized stands for many game systems. They have a custom order form to make exactly what you want, and will often offer others' popular ideas for sale to the general public also. They call is monster lab or something like that.
Good luck.
or you could goto a company that specializes in made to order bases in whatever shape, color, depth. That is Litko www.litkoaero.com
Paizo sells several of their products and they make specialized stands for many game systems. They have a custom order form to make exactly what you want, and will often offer others' popular ideas for sale to the general public also. They call is monster lab or something like that.
Good luck.
Thanks a lot. I think my search may be over. I will try their base maker lab and see what the bases look like.
Yes, I agree. Which means that I have some newb questions.
The ettin and dire rat look oversized to me, which makes me think "bonus!" So, I'm seriously considering putting them on larger bases; but I've never done anything like that in my life. (I got some Loctite Plastics Bonding System for fixing my frost giant's right arm, as discussed in other threads; but that won't happen until my next day off.)
The most basic question is this. I just noticed that Litko's BaseMaker will let you work in inches. Is it really as simple as that a Medium critter would need a 1" round base, and a Huge one would need a 3" round base?
Also, what are the best techniques, most common pitfalls, and so on, for re-basing these kind of minis? I don't expect a personal dissertation just for me; but a link to a tutorial would be awesome, whether web page or YouTube video or whatever.
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Also, what are the best techniques, most common pitfalls, and so on, for re-basing these kind of minis? I don't expect a personal dissertation just for me; but a link to a tutorial would be awesome, whether web page or YouTube video or whatever.
Note Vic's comment above "Actually, I just learned this week learned that Pathfinder Battles bases aren't plain discs—they have pegs on top that plug into holes in the bottoms of the minis. Makes for a stronger glue joint. "
This means that you're going to have to cut through the plastic connecting the mini to the base. Most past wizkids sets, you could just pry them off, as the heroclix base is flat and has the mini glued on.
Note Vic's comment above "Actually, I just learned this week learned that Pathfinder Battles bases aren't plain discs—they have pegs on top that plug into holes in the bottoms of the minis. Makes for a stronger glue joint. "
This means that you're going to have to cut through the plastic connecting the mini to the base. Most past wizkids sets, you could just pry them off, as the heroclix base is flat and has the mini glued on.
Although I have not received my minis yet, if they are anything like the LotR HeroClix, most will still pop off fairly easily. A few were glued so well to the peg, that I had to sheer it off, but most popped off the bases with minimal force required.
Yes, I agree. Which means that I have some newb questions.
The ettin and dire rat look oversized to me, which makes me think "bonus!" So, I'm seriously considering putting them on larger bases; but I've never done anything like that in my life. (I got some Loctite Plastics Bonding System for fixing my frost giant's right arm, as discussed in other threads; but that won't happen until my next day off.)
The most basic question is this. I just noticed that Litko's BaseMaker will let you work in inches. Is it really as simple as that a Medium critter would need a 1" round base, and a Huge one would need a 3" round base?
Also, what are the best techniques, most common pitfalls, and so on, for re-basing these kind of minis? I don't expect a personal dissertation just for me; but a link to a tutorial would be awesome, whether web page or YouTube video or whatever.
Here is what I do. I have an Xacto knife with a chisel head blade. (I'm not sure if this is the proper name for it, but its just a half inch straight flat blade at the end of the knife, like a chisel).
First I will stick the blade between the mini and the base and light twist it, to see if that small amount of torque will pop the mini off. If its glued really good, then I use my tapping technique. I try not to use too much force when jamming the knife between the base and the mini as it is far too easy to damage either the mini, the base or myself.
With the knife between the base and the mini, I will then turn the mini so that it is facing towards my work table. Holding the knife straight up I then lightly tap the forward edge of the mini's base on the table. This should allow the knife to slightly penetrate under the mini. I then rotate the mini 90 degrees and repeat. Usually by the time I have done a full circle of doing this, it has popped off.
If the mini is clearly not seperating, then it means that the pegs underneath are well glued. You will need to get the knife underneath and meet up to the peg. You will then need to tap a little hard a few more time, until the knife slices through the peg. Because of this, I always use a hobby cutting mat, so if the knife slips further than I wanted, I don't risk rouging the table. When doing this, always be mindful of where your fingers are, as this particular process could be quite injurous if you are not conscious about being safe.
Lastly, only use offical Xacto blades for this. Xacto blades are thicker and will not break easily when exposed to torque. I recently had a cheap non-Xacto blade snap on me when I was doing the above procedure and I was very lucky that it narrowly missed gouging my finger open.
That is so much more than what I expected, I'm really grateful. The blow-by-blow is incredibly useful. Thank you so much! I'll be sure to post my experience once I try it, so that others can learn from my success and/or failure.
I would also be in the market for replacement bases. I'm just starting to collect minis for RPGs and am thinking about buying other brands' items but I'd want them all based in a standard way. Of course, the only reason I'm wanting to kickstart the collection is having just 1 set of minis (Heroes and Monsters) isn't enough to do anything with. This would just tide me over until there is more stuff in the Pathfinder Battles line anyway.
See, I just use poker chip (or dimes and knickles for smaller characters) spray painted black. With some zap a gap, never had a problem!
I guess if that works for you, then great. I am a little pickier though, and having figures mounted on makeshift bases such as that would annoy the heck out of me.
25mm, non-slotted, plastic round bases? Does this work?
25mm, non-slotted, plastic round bases? Does this work?
http://www.thewarstore.com/product61239.html [/QUOTE
Thanks for the link. If those were available in black they would have been perfect :) Of course I could always paint them, but I have some bases on order from Litko (www.litko.net). Hopefully Litko's are just perfect (plus it saves me painting time, which is the reason I buy pre-painted minis anyways)
or you could goto a company that specializes in made to order bases in whatever shape, color, depth. That is Litko www.litkoaero.com
Paizo sells several of their products and they make specialized stands for many game systems. They have a custom order form to make exactly what you want, and will often offer others' popular ideas for sale to the general public also. They call is monster lab or something like that.
Good luck.
I just wanted to say thanks again for this link, as it ignited a great idea for me. While base shopping, I looked at all the other products they offered. One of their products got me to thinking... I like using the Steel Squire templates for showing spell bursts and such on the map, but at any given time we usually have at least 12+ minis down and those templates make it very difficult to put down. Plus storing all of them is quite cumbersome for me. (I don't use the page holders they came with). I also dislike that there is no 15' burst template.
Then it occurred to me that if you were to break most templates in to peices, then you would have a template that would be easy to transport and easy to set down. I visited Jim's lab, and sent them my drawings of the peices. I got a quote the next day and supposedly they are in the mail already. I am eagerly awaiting these as I think these are so much better than the Steel Squire templates (which have been a very useful gaming aid). The best part is how reasonable the prices are there... especially for custom jobs.
When I receive them, I will post pictures. Heck if they are not interested in marketting them, I will, because I think their use is invaluable to table top play.
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or you could goto a company that specializes in made to order bases in whatever shape, color, depth. That is Litko www.litkoaero.com
I just wanted to say thanks again for this link, as it ignited a great idea for me. While base shopping, I looked at all the other products they offered. One of their products got me to thinking... I like using the Steel Squire templates for showing spell bursts and such on the map, but at any given time we usually have at least 12+ minis down and those templates make it very difficult to put down. Plus storing all of them is quite cumbersome for me. (I don't use the page holders they came with). I also dislike that there is no 15' burst template.
Then it occurred to me that if you were to break most templates in to peices, then you would have a template that would be easy to transport and easy to set down. I visited Jim's lab, and sent them my drawings of the peices. I got a quote the next day and supposedly they are in the mail already. I am eagerly awaiting these as I think these are so much better than the Steel Squire templates (which have been a very useful gaming aid). The best part is how reasonable the prices are there... especially for custom jobs.
When I receive them, I will post pictures. Heck if they are not interested in marketting them, I will, because I think their use is invaluable to table top play.
Cool, looking forward to seeing your photos!
or you could goto a company that specializes in made to order bases in whatever shape, color, depth. That is Litko www.litkoaero.com
Paizo sells several of their products and they make specialized stands for many game systems. They have a custom order form to make exactly what you want, and will often offer others' popular ideas for sale to the general public also. They call is monster lab or something like that.
Good luck.
I just wanted to say thanks again for this link, as it ignited a great idea for me. While base shopping, I looked at all the other products they offered. One of their products got me to thinking... I like using the Steel Squire templates for showing spell bursts and such on the map, but at any given time we usually have at least 12+ minis down and those templates make it very difficult to put down. Plus storing all of them is quite cumbersome for me. (I don't use the page holders they came with). I also dislike that there is no 15' burst template.
Then it occurred to me that if you were to break most templates in to peices, then you would have a template that would be easy to transport and easy to set down. I visited Jim's lab, and sent them my drawings of the peices. I got a quote the next day and supposedly they are in the mail already. I am eagerly awaiting these as I think these are so much better than the Steel Squire templates (which have been a very useful gaming aid). The best part is how reasonable the prices are there... especially for custom jobs.
When I receive them, I will post pictures. Heck if they are not interested in marketting them, I will, because I think their use is invaluable to table top play.
That is a GREAT idea. Looking forward to hear how they work out for you--keep us posted. I always thought the Steel Sqwire things looked cool but I couldn't convince myself to buy them--they're pricy for bits of bent wire (but in fairness, I've never gotten around to buying the wire to make my own).