Bases

Captain of Dragoons · Post by **Captain of Dragoons** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:12 pm

Barry,

What material do you use for your bases for the Sun King / Marlborough period?

Thanks

Post by **barr7430** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 3:07 pm

Over the years, many different materials but the consistent aspect has been base 'thickness' - 80 thou.

Originally I was a great fan of Daler Board (as used by artists). I gradually transferred over to 80 thou Plasticard sheet which is very rigid and ALMOST warp proof.

Daler board can warp if too much water is used in painting/basing or if too severe contraction stresses are exerted during base - dry out- water based plasters and putties or watered wood glues.

I am now considering jumping on everyone else's bandwagon and using the Litko pre cut bases but haven't done so yet.

quindia · Post by **quindia** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 3:38 am

The Litko bases are terriffic! They are laser cut and I haven't gotten one yet that wasn't precisely cut and perfectly square (umm... except for the round ones). I use the thicker 3mm bases and they have shown no evidence of warping even when piles with glue, paint, etc.

They have lots of products and will even cut bases of custom sizes. Case in point: My Napoleonic collection is based singlely on 20x20mm squares. This makes my collection great for skirmishing and allows me to field units of different sizes to meet the requirements of different rules. However, they are fiddly to move in 30-man battalions! Litko sells movement trays for units of different sizes, but I contacted them about getting movement stands for six figures. They worked out great. I'll try to post some pics sometime of these stands.

Anyway, I really like the Litko bases...

kutusov · Post by **kutusov** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:43 am

Are they retailed in the UK or do you need to buy them from the states?

kutusov

quindia · Post by **quindia** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:34 am

As far as I know, they are only available from Litko directly at this time. Their site doesn't list any retailers...

http://www.litkoaero.com/

sharnydubs · Post by **sharnydubs** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:35 am

You need to order them from the USA. Shipping is very efficient and fast although it can be costly due to the wieght of the product.

http://www.litkoaero.com

The website has all of the details. After years of cutting up artists board I now use Litko bases exclusively. They are consistent in size, very sturdy, don't warp, available in every size you could think of (with or without slots) and come in a variety of thicknesses and quantities.

I can't recommend them highly enough.

Peter

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:40 am

In the UK, East Riding Miniatures supply pre-cut MDF bases. Thickness is 2mm. In my experience, they work very well and they will cut them to your order.