British Bolt Action Army

In a cupboard I found a dusty box full of warlord blister packs. Having decided to start with a few small infantry figures, the first job is to fix the figures to a base. Having washed the figures in warm soapy water to remove any mould release grease that would stop paint primer sticking, and taken off any mould lines and spurs of sharp metal with a small modeller file, I flatten the bottom of the figures base with a large woodworking file. I find I get a good flat base by laying that flat on the table and running the model along the file. The flat base is vital to ensure the superglue has a good bond to the plastic base. As I like my figures to be stable and not be too heavy I then glue 2p prices to the bottom of the plastic base, as these tend to be heavier (and cheaper) than metal washers.

Give the superglue a minute or so to harden, and then you can build up the bases with some all purpose filler from your local DIY store and something to shape it with – I use a metal clay shaping tool but you could use an old screwdriver or a toothpick. I like the fact the filler adds weight to the base,  but if you want your models ought and easy to transport these days you can get ultralight filler with microwaves that weighs next to nothing.

This is much cheaper than resin bases and covers up the metal base on the bottom.of the figure. The downside is that you have to leave then about 24 hours to harden before you can prime them. Leave them in the open where the air can get to them – they harden much slower if put in a sealed box with a lid.

With a few  blister packs based, I’ll have to leave these overnight for the white filler to harden enough to be primed.