Cheap home made bases

[jknaus]

I'm finding it hard to find figure bases that are inexpensive but look nice. Today I tried a futile search at the lumber yard for some interesting wood to make my own base. Well they didnt have any (small town at the end of the road). But I did find molding for walls in walnut, cherry etc. And I said self, that might work. So here are 4 pieces of curved molding and a glued together set of 4. Also 2 square pieces. I am going to go and find some dowel to fill the center of the composite base, finish sanding it and then do 3 or 4 coats of clear coat, and I think it will work.

Then I put a figure on one of the squares and with a bit of ground work to hide the design it will work.

$15.00 for the 4 quater pieces and $2.00 for the square and a uniqe base. Cheaper than buying one and paying postage etc. Maybe someone will find this handy.

James

 

[gordy]

Resourceful! I've got two of the square pieces on my patio door! (i wonder if the wife would notice them missing )

 

[jknaus]

This is what I built the base for.

Now its finishing it and then making a suitable setting.



James

 

[Einion]

Recent(ish) thread on a similar topic for other options:
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34245

Einion

 

[jknaus]

After 4 coats of clear varathane.

Except where it gaped a fraction I think this was a successful experiment and I will keep trying. I'll also look for the veneer and try that.
James

 

[Martin Antonenko]

However, I would suggest you to fill the seam on the front of the base and yet to be ground.

It is done quickly and would greatly enhance the base.

Regards

 

[Mark S]

James,great idea.
I too ,having limited funds, have been on the lookout for cheap but good looking bases.
I've found these at the local hardware store.
They're all wooden feet for furniture and only cost a few dollars each.
These ones combined with a gold draw handle make a cheap bust base.Total cost with sanding, stain and estapol including metal handle is about $10.00US.

 

[Paul20100]

Wooden bases for figures are awfully expensive. Except for special sizes or effects, I no longer buy any but large blocks of tropical wood which I saw to the correct dimensions, sand and varnish in order to achieve the desired effect.

 

[Jeff]

Another thing to remember is that your base does not need to be wood. One of the best basses I have seen was for a Terminator figure and it was a piece of polished aluminum bar stock.

One enterprising modeler I know used aerosol spray can tops for a series of busts. They looked great. i think he got the ide for them form me as I had brought a figure in to a meeting and had it on a spry can top as working base. He thought it looked kind of cool. and the rest as they say is history.

I have seen several Samurai figures on painted lacquered bases. A painted base can be just about any wood even cheep pine. There are a lot of specialty finishes that come pre packaged so that you get that aged look of old finishes. So be creative. A base does not need to cost a small fortune to be effective.

 

[IIICorps]

Almost all the hobby and craft stores carry various types of unfinished, wooden plaques and bases (decoupage, etc) in a variety of sizes and shapes. You can also find these in the hobby/craft departments of some of the larger variety sstores. Any or all of these would be cheaper than purchasing turned/tooled commercial wooden moldings from the home repair places.

You can also find an assortment of large wooden beads and baubles used by the macramé folks.

 

[dinovision79]

I partially agree with you, however a good wooden base goes a long way. IMO, painted plastic will not resist that well to handling as wood, and light weight stuff can be top-heavy and unstable when using a heavy, eg. metal figure, can be problematic to fix the base for transportation into a box, etc.
Lacking enough time for the painting itself, I'm trying to minimize time spent on such things, just have to look for a reasonable supplier.

I get my bases at local figure shows from Balazs (pF member BlackArmy), very nice ones for 8-15 USD, bigger ones even suitable for mounted figs, ok, no postage for me... but still, for such price it may not worth the hassle to make your own, for a few dollars saving, plus your time spent. Here is his website: http://www.blackarmymodells.com/#/wooden-bases/4533031142

Of course, I don't want to stop anybody making his own bases, especially if you enjoy it, just the base doesn't necessarily have to be double the price of your figure.

Cheers
Denes

 

[Einion]

...just the base doesn't necessarily have to be double the price of your figure.

Yes, that can be a problem!

I realised some years ago when I was using some pricier bases (Ken Thomas) on a couple of 1/16 busts that the base made up 95% of the cost

Einion

 

[theBaron]

James and Mark, thanks for showing your bases, I like your frugality ("Frugal doesn't mean cheap--it means you don't waste anything"--bonus points if you remember whose motto that was).

James, I like your base made from the quarter-round molding pieces. That's a great idea, and of course, you can sand and finish it any way you choose, to get great effects.

If I may add my suggestion, and some of you may already know, but I like to look at the arts-and-craft stores, Michael's and AC Moore here in the States. They sell pine plaques of various shape, starting at a dollar. Good for vignettes, and also, for the other scale modelers among us, they're good bases for ordnance, ships and aircraft, too.

Excellent thread! Prost!
Brad

 

[jknaus]

Some more good ideas there. Right now I'm unemployed so money is a bit of an issue. And I live out in the boonies so there isnt much choice on where to shop. I have to travel over 300km 1 way to get to a big city with all the cool places. So this was my solution, and I thought I'd share as I am sure there are others out there counting pennies.

James

 

[Jeff]

Just a note my friend who used the spry paint lids filled them with resin and they were not top heavy at all. The fact is most figures are not handled a whole lot. most sit for long periods without being picked up. I know mine do. It looks like all the bases I have here at home are hard wood.

I have really started to open myself up to other styles of base. Think about it this way we have all seen the normal bases but if you were to put say great cowboy figure on a piece of weathered fence post it might just really make what is an average figure really stand out. A base that seems to comes from the environment of the figure will make a much more effective frame for cretin types of figures. Like the small piece of Aspen branch with bark I saw a woodlands Indian on not to long ago. It just felt right with the figure it was paired with.

A friend of mine did a wonderful Phoenix follies mermaid sitting on a rock in the water and his base was a Chicken Of The Sea tuna can that held poured resin water. It was really funny, and original.

James and Mark nice work on found object style bases. Lets not be afraid to think out of the box, or the hard wood pedestal as it were ;-)

 

[chippy]

My bases cost me nothing . I look for intresting pieces of wood when I' walking my dog in my local woods or driftwood on the beach near my home .
My only costs is the varnish and sandpaper .




chippy