Bases FAQ

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2mm MDF bases

Card bases

Cutting Card bases

Storing figures based on Card

Texturing Card bases

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Standard (2mm MDF) Range of bases

All our Standard bases are cut from 2mm MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) backed with magnetic rubber sheet. Together they give a base about 3mm (2.8mm to be exact) thick and they make a rigid base for your figures that is thick enough so the base can be handled without touching the figures without being too obtrusive.

Base dimensions are accurate to within 0.5mm for bases up to 100mm and within 1mm above that.

Small figures (up to 15mm) can be attached with PVA but a stronger adhesive is recommended for larger figures.

Any type of paint, flocking or texturing material will adhere to MDF and it even be sanded or cut with a good knife if you need to.

The strength of the magnet is more than adequate to support the figures that will fit on the base provided the magnet makes good contact with a steel sheet or similar material. Lacquered steel, as used in toolboxes, works fine and will keep your bases figures safe in transport.

Do bear in mind, however, that the magnetic grip can be broken by sudden impacts so it is advisable to handle your carrying cases carefully and avoid dropping them if possible.

Two shots of a 40x15mm base fixed vertically on my filing cabinet. The base mounts a 4 man command group of Essex 15mm figures including a heavy standard. It isn't held on with glue !!!

Bases are shipped in pairs, magnetic sides together, and it is strongly recommended that you store them this way or attached to a steel sheet. Magnets retain their 'pull' much better if stored in this way. Keeping the magnetic side clean also makes for a better grip.

NEW Card base Sheets

I have been using this card for basing for a few years now, both on my own 2mm & 6mm figures and on jobs painted for clients. Supply has been intermittent at best until very recently so I have hesitated to offer them for general sale until I was able to find a stable source - which I hope I now have.

The magnetic back is exactly the same as that used for the MDF bases above but the card is thinner and may suit those of you who prefer thinner bases.

The thicker card (1.6mm with magnetic backing) is somewhat denser than normal mount board and less prone to the corners fraying - provided it is cut cleanly with a sharp knife.

The addition of the magnetic back improves the rigidity and the stability of the corners and edges (which I find is often a problem with mount board). It has a white matt surface that takes PVA and most other glues well, can be painted or textured as easily as mount board, but is less absorbent, so that warping is less of a problem.

The thinner card (1.3mm with magnetic backing) is obviously less rigid than the thicker product but otherwise of the same quality. With the magnetic back attached it is also surprisingly resistant to warping, provided it is kept flat while drying (see instructions below).

Neither card is as rigid as MDF or other types of wood or metal bases but they are suitable for smaller scale figures, vehicles and ships. Once backed with magnetic sheet these bases retain some flexibility and can be gently flexed provided the texturing material used is not too thickly applied.

They may be rigid enough to make larger sizes but I can't be certain of that.

I have used the thicker card successfully for bases up to 80mm by 40mm and with 2mm (above) to 15mm figures, including these flight stands with some heavy 3D modelling. The aircraft are 1/300th scale and the bases are 40mm square.

The thinner card I have only used for clients' 2mm figures so far, it is a bit thin for my tastes - I like my bases 'chunky'. I have added them to the range largely because I do keep getting requests for thin bases and this was the best solution that I could find with a material I felt would work well.

I did actually try an even thinner card (of similar quality to the two I chose) that produced bases only 1.1mm think but I'm not confident that they would be rigid enough to work. I am still attempting to get reliable stock of a thicker version of the same product which gives a base about 1.8mm thick but with greater rigidity than the 1.6mm.

Cutting bases from the sheets

As the material is supplied in sheets or strips you will need to cut them to size yourself.

• Use a good craft knife with a sharp (preferably new) blade and always cut from the card side.

• Use a metal rule or set-square held firmly to the surface of the card.

• Always cut on a cutting board or some scrap card that is larger than the sheet/strip being cut.

• Cut with a single firm stroke the full length of the cut and do not try to force the knife to cut too deep, it may take an extra cut or two if you do it this way, but it is a much safer method.

• Make the first cut with medium pressure, enough to cut the top surface of the card cleanly.

• For the second cut  apply a little more force, on the thinnest card this may be enough, but the thicker types will need at least a 3rd cut.

• Do not be tempted to separate or tear a partly completed cut as this will result in a jagged edge.

• Be aware that cutting the magnetic sheet does blunt a knife blade fairly quickly, if you do a lot at once you may need to replace the blade.

Storing Card based figures

The whole point of having a magnetic base is so that they can be stored and transported in greater safety. Ideally I recommend a steel cabinet but any of the flexible metal sheets (e.g. Flex O'Metal or Ferrosheet) will work well enough. I don't find that steel paper works that well.

My personal preference is to handle my figures by their bases but this can cause some problems when handling magnetic backed card bases. The bases are so thin that it is very easy to catch a fingernail on the card edge and split it while trying to release the base from the metal tray it is stored on. To avoid this I put a strip of thin paper (about 1/3 the width of the base) under the bases and a pull on that releases the magnet so that it can be picked up without damage.

An alternative to this method that I use in my portable storage boxes is to make the flexible metal strips that are stuck to the storage box a bit smaller than the base width and stick the strips far enough apart to get fingers down each side. That way I can grasp the edges of the base firmly without risk of splitting them.

Texturing Card Bases

Although these bases are not very absorbent they can still be warped if a heavy layer of texturing material is spread over the surface and left to dry. The shrinkage of texturing gels, fillers and pastes varies considerably but they all shrink when drying to some extent and this tends to make the base curl up at the edges. there are a number of ways of avoiding (or at least, reducing) this problem.

• Put the bases to be textured on a piece of thin scrap paper over a steel sheet before attaching the figures or starting texturing and leave the lot to dry thoroughly before removing from the sheet. This has always worked for me.

• Don't use paint that is very thin as the base coat - keep that as 'dry' as possible, particularly on the cut edges (which will absorb water). Once the card is sealed with a waterproof base coat it is OK to add wet washes, just not as the first coat.

• Don't handle bases while they are wet.

• Apply texture and modelling in patches and in thin layers. Avoid covering the whole base at once if possible but, if you have to, then make sure that the layer is thin and will dry fairly quickly.

• Always leave each layer to dry thoroughly before applying the next one.