Weekender XLBS: Clear Bases – Yay Or Nay & A Battle Report Challenge
August 16, 2015 by lloyd
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First
Happy Sunday!
Happy Sunday!
I could gurn about FW’s Chaos Dwarf AoS warscrolls and how the nerfed the best army in the game, but there’s a forum already doing that lol.
We used clear bases for our first wave of Deadzone and they work great at showing off the Mats and terrain. The only downside is you don’t get the fun of decorating your bases.
BoW batreps? Yes!
What about clear bingo chips/winks?
http://www.gameparts.net/bingo_chips.htm
They have rounded edges so you don’t have the issue of reflection on the edge?
I find see-through bases to be like the plastic clear straps on ‘strapless’ bras. It just stands out to me even more. No matter how thin the base is, I think clear bases look ugly. I also consider the base to be part of the mini and would much rather a plain black base than a ‘clear’ one or even an invisible one.
Like you @redben I much prefer my bras to have no plastic!
Not a fan of the wired ones either… Very uncomfortable!!!
Just a nice plain black number from primark for me any day of the week 😉
Have you tried a sports bra? Comfort and support!
Always struggled to find one to fit my girth mate 😉
There are specialist shops just for men like you …http://shop.hommemystere.com/categories/Bras/
It’s the hormones in your Relentless! 😉
for clear bases you could get some of the blister plastic and try that.
I’ve always been tempted to use all sorts of things for bases that will bring the army together. One day I will do a team with matching poker chips for bases.
All I know about Warhammer Forge is that the monsters didn’t really sell but their Chaos Dwarf range was really popular.
I’m a little disappointed about the CD warscrolls myself but I’ll keep on adding to my Warhammer Forge Chaos Dwarfs as they are an awesome looking bunch of minis.
Yeah I wont be playing AoS but that wont stop me from picking up more of FW’s CD range, sure they’ll get used in KoW but I’ll be keeping my Chaos Dwarf models pure GW/FW and fluff wise I’ll just say they’re from an alternative world that blew up.
I’m thinking of shelling out for a second set of FW CD’s specifically for Kings of War. I think the FW range pretty much covers a good majority of Mantics units.
As much as I try to love the Mantic Abyssal Dwarves something just doesn’t sit right with me aesthetically. Except that new Golem, he’s a step in the right direction, but I’d still rather proxy them with K’dai.
The only problem with the KoW list is that they don’t incorporate the real heavy hitters like the iron demon or magma cannon, even the greater obsidian golem is a little weak compared to the k’daii destroyer. The greater golem just doesn’t do it for me, it’s too cartoony, although I like the new iron caster and I’m glad mantic are moving away from the “big head-small leg” look of their dwarfs. I will probably build an abyssal dwarf army but I’ll never mix the two into the same force unless I’m using them as allies, an odd thought since… Read more »
Just pondering… If the ‘glowing’ edge of the clear bases is caused by the refraction of light through the perpendicular sides – would casting bases in clear resin with undercut or inward sloping slides reduce or eliminate the effect? Has anyone tried this?
As far as I’m concerned we are still modelling/gaming in the abstract where more often than not it’s the edge of the base rather than the model that counts for measuring and any ‘base-to-base’ definitions of contact. I don’t mind the slight glow compared to the usual painted edge/bevel. It’s the shiny/refection for me, so anything that can reduce that is of more interest.
Hit it with a matte spray on the clear edges, and the shininess will disappear. The edge will still be visible, of course.
Is the problem with invisible bases not that many games measure ‘base to base’? That’s difficult if you can’t see the base.
Happy Sunday,
Nice show, I like the idea of the challenge games but I can’t seem to find a forum in the show notes?
Failing that I may just ping Lloyd up about the club on the Sunday.
For the clear bases have you looked at the possibilities of clear plasticard, it comes in a ton of thicknesses, so it may be easier to find something that has the sturdiness you want
Another consideration is that many of the gaming systems are using the technique is measuring movement and range from the edge of the base. If the edge of the base is ‘invisible’ then this will slow down that mechanic. A compromise could be to paint this refractive edge with the unit or team colour in a style that shows a solid ring of ‘influence’ or paint it with a pattern of say triangles or dots that would draw your attention away from the glow but would seem to be more of a schematic boundary like many video games use.
That’s a great point, and a brilliant idea. Wouldn’t it look cool to have, say, a bright red ring around the clear base of a Nomad model, or Blood Angel? Thumbs up!
I actually picked up a pair of the Xuron spure cutters from a model shop. Work way better than the GW ones, which I found just pinched and tore.
So, Warren pulls out some cheap, plastic thing that pretends to be an airbrush and I think to myself “man, his standards are slipping”.
But then, I realise that this could be the answer to my varnishing (and possibly undercoating) issues!
I really hate having to clean varnish out of airbrushes; having something as maintenance free as this is going to be brilliant.
Happy Sunday!
I love the idea of clear bases for certain games and mini’s. I think it would work really well for games with dark boards.. i.e. Dungeon Crawlers, Some Sci-fi stuff.
For display mini’s I think you totally need decorative bases, and Kings of War unit diorama’s. As a bloodbowl I think you’d lose sight of mini’s on the shiny green board if they were clear
Well maybe with a paint that contains metal your idea with magnets in the feet might work?
if you want to check out newish materials that aren’t too pricey try http://www.mindsetsonline.co.uk good wee site.
If I was going to go clear bases, Renedra do 25mm clear plastic bases, 50 For £3. But that is the only size they do. Stuff like blister plastic and Acetate wouldn’t be rigid enough, and liable to get bent. Personally, I don’t like clear basing. I also think that a base can add to a model especially in terms of adding a contrast colour, further enhancing a colour scheme. They also say for Napoleonics – flags, faces, bases. Get these right and you’ll have an impressive looking army on the table, even if your paint jobs are done quickly… Read more »
Boardgames?..
I think I could bring up Cluedo next weekend
boredgame….
I’ve tried clear bases for my Bolt Action Germans as I wanted them to look okay on any battleground, urban, rural, forest, mud etc. in the end tho I wasn’t happy with the shiny- ness. I also realised more figures than I thought come with integrated bases (both metal and plastic). That’s really too much hassle then. Instead I simplified/ standardised my basing generally and mixed four big tubs of basing material coloured in with appropriate pigments. Urban Rubbel Ostfront Mud European Battleground Desert This serves all my demands and takes under 30 seconds per figure, no painting required. Anyhow,… Read more »
I am a no on clear bases for 99% of miniatures but for some flying models I see the benefit. Base ‘art’ is half the fun of presenting a fully finished miniature.