A question of bases

[Umbran]

Okay, to folks who regularly do minis, this'll seem like a stupid question.

I've painted quite a few figures - but they were all either one-piece metal figures, or multiple pieces in plastic. I am now faced with a Reaper mini that has a metal body, and a plastic base. The mini has a tab that fits (sorta) into a tab on the plastic base.

If it were all plastic, I could easily find an adhesive for it. But mounting metal onto plastic is a different kettle of fish. Can any of you folks tell me - what's the accepted general procedure for dealing with such a figure?

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Zap-a-Gap has worked well on my metal minis married to plastic bases so far....

 

[Odhanan]

I'm practicing a bit of an overkill when it comes to bases. For plastic bases with metal minis, I use my "usual technique": I fit the miniature in the slot by cleaning up the tab and then, if it still doesn't fit, carving the slot of the base with a X-acto knife, and then gluing the whole together with... Superglue!

 

[Kormydigar]

Okay, to folks who regularly do minis, this'll seem like a stupid question.

I've painted quite a few figures - but they were all either one-piece metal figures, or multiple pieces in plastic. I am now faced with a Reaper mini that has a metal body, and a plastic base. The mini has a tab that fits (sorta) into a tab on the plastic base.

If it were all plastic, I could easily find an adhesive for it. But mounting metal onto plastic is a different kettle of fish. Can any of you folks tell me - what's the accepted general procedure for dealing with such a figure?

It really depends on the mini. For most regular sized figures superglue works just fine. For larger and heavier figures (or regular sized ones that are unbalanced because they lean way off the base) I will use the slot but also pin the mini using a pin vise and a bit of wire. I cut the wire a bit long so that it can bend in an "L" shape under the base. After the mini is glued and pinned to the base I will fill the hollow underside of the base with putty (usually just DAP spackle for cost effectiveness) and let it dry. This adds weight to the base and really anchors the pin. Once completely dry the bottom of the base can be sanded smooth.

 

[Umbran]

After the mini is glued and pinned to the base I will fill the hollow underside of the base with putty (usually just DAP spackle for cost effectiveness) and let it dry. This adds weight to the base and really anchors the pin. Once completely dry the bottom of the base can be sanded smooth.

Excellent thought!

Thanks for the tips, folks.

 

[pogre]

If the miniature's tab is loose in the plastic base's slot take a pair of pliers and bend the metal tab - this should give you a more snug fit. I generally fill any gaps with green stuff (kneadatite).

 

[terrainmonkey]

here's a thought. what i do about basing is cut the tab off completely and create a base for each figure. usually superglue rocks, debris, etc. on and then fit the miniature onto the newly created base. superglue the mini on the base and hit it with zip kicker. let it dry overnight, then prime and paint. at the end you have a fig standing on a cool base, and you don't have to worry about the plastic at all.
for ranked units, you have another issue. just superglue the figure in the slot, then take more SG and spread it on the base, stick it in a bucket of medium grit sand and shake off the excess. this will usually keep the fig in place and if you want, hit the base with ZK and presto, no problem. hope this helps.