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Made in us
Powerful Pegasus Knight





Omaha

I like basing, so I base all my models. I usually do a simple green flock and then use a brown color for the edge. I like to make my bases clash with the models colors like my Mordians green bases really makes their red coats pop.

I personally think a painted model with a painted base looks better than a not painted base.

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Rough Rider with Boomstick






I give my models a detailed paint job, then leave the bases clean and black.

If the bases don't match the board I am playing on it seems a bit weird to me. The clean black bases on the other hand are easy to look past, and in my opinion look just fine in the display case (I've always kind of looked at it like a computer game showing off a detailed, weather-worn unit with a black background; it allows you to focus on the unit rather than what he is standing on or what's behind him.) Also not basing my models saves a ton of time.

"Everyone move up! Got your pet rocks or dead carcass? Alright, let's go! Wraithknight, make sure you drag that crashed Space Marine Land Speeder with you even though we're fighting Orks."


That is awesome lol! Never thought of it that way, but that does make me laugh!


I also noticed a few comments mentioning that basing can help with an army's fluff/back-story/narrative, that seems like a cool use for it.

However I will leave my bases clean for now.

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Hacking Proxy Mk.1





Australia

It never occured to me not to base my models.

I find building scenic bases one of the most fun parts of the hobby and a model without a base just looks unfinished to me.

I guess I just don't treet my models like game pieces anymore, recently I've very deliberately switched to treating them like artworks.

As well a good base can save a bad model, while a bad base will ruin a good model.

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Stern Iron Priest with Thrall Bodyguard





Redondo Beach

for the most part, i feel that the base sets the scene for the model...
it's the finishing touch...
i'm a big fan of base inserts, and like building a mini-diorama for the miniature, especially if it's a more display oriented piece...

that said, i love the look of the old Rackham studio minis on the plain black bases...
it just seems so right for their minis, somehow...

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Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer





Mississippi

I've done black bases for years - started with my D&D minis, where it fit for the dungeon maps we played on. Besides, black's my favorite color anyway.

My friends harrass me for it, but I don't care. It's the way I prefer to do it, and that will not change.

Though, I have tried my hand with doing something different with my Necrons, since the scheme I went for the models was black w/ gold joints (and glowing green in the cracks) - the bases are flourescent green with rocks. In blacklight, the bases have an unsettling glow.

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Calculating Commissar




Frostgrave

 Thud wrote:
It's super simple, quick and makes the army look much better.


This is certainly something I've noticed recently (I started with the base painted green) but have fairly recently started playing with flocks and scenic bases and the results just seem so much more alive.

That said, up until recently most of my gaming has been on an uncovered table, so having jungle based troops moving across a wooden table hasn't jarred too much, and the mini's spend more time in display cabinets than tables anyway. I still don't go nuts on the basing - generally some mud/gravel/grass with a couple of tufts and smallish stones, so there's not much in the way of pet rocks.

Admittedly, I usually use lipped bases now (keeps the tufts from sticking out over the side and makes them easier to move) and paint the lip black.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/17 09:02:58


 
   
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 notprop wrote:
Models that haven't been based don't look finished, simple as really.

The juxtaposition of one type of base with another type of table finish seems unduly pedantic to me. You need to suspend belief a bit in the first place to fully appreciate an attractive miniature wargame it's not a big step to ignore a desert base in an urban street.




Like the way that you are challenging some very basic assumptions about the hobby though Sinful Hero, first the meaning of the word 'wargame', then the need for bases! Wondering what you have in store next..

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 Pacific wrote:
 notprop wrote:
Models that haven't been based don't look finished, simple as really.

The juxtaposition of one type of base with another type of table finish seems unduly pedantic to me. You need to suspend belief a bit in the first place to fully appreciate an attractive miniature wargame it's not a big step to ignore a desert base in an urban street.




Like the way that you are challenging some very basic assumptions about the hobby though Sinful Hero, first the meaning of the word 'wargame', then the need for bases! Wondering what you have in store next..

Well, I've always gone against the grain, and I've finally got around to start sharing a few opinions.

I think a lot about black bases versus scenic has a lot to do with whether models are canvases for creativity, or customizable game pieces. The latter spectrum is where I obviously fall. I like showing off the pose and paint(when I get around to it anyway), and I'd rather not anything draw attention from it. I understand wanting the model to look more dynamic with a scenic base, but they're game pieces that I want to be easily identifiable to me- and for me at least basing can distract from the model.

I'm proud of them, I like showing them to my friends, but the base is merely a part of the game design(showing space/area) rather than a part of the model IMO.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/17 14:40:08


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Toronto, Ontario

Huh. As someone that's only been into minis for a few years, and only ever based one figure (aside from those that come with a base of sorts of their own), it's interesting to see how contentious an issue it can be in the larger community.

Personally I prefer black bases. I respect and appreciate the hours some of my friends put into crafting unique basing (along with their meticulous assembly and paint jobs), but I'm simply not interested in spending those hours on the disc said figure is standing on (even if it's a swift thing for some folks, I'm sure untold hours were spent getting to the point it was so quick, and as a non-artist, the less opportunities I have to screw up my figure, the better).

Respect to those who go the extra mile, but at this time it's just not a priority for me.
   
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Executing Exarch






 SharkoutofWata wrote:
A model bringing around his pet rock because it was added to the scenic base is absolutely hilarious to me. I actively try to find alternative models for Special Characters that include some scenery. I have an Illic Nightspear model that is really just a specific Ranger model painted in the distinct blue and yellow I avoided with my other Rangers. Just normal black or green painted bases for me. Most fancy is green flock but I haven't done that in ages.

"Everyone move up! Got your pet rocks or dead carcass? Alright, let's go! Wraithknight, make sure you drag that crashed Space Marine Land Speeder with you even though we're fighting Orks."


Bring-along pieces of scenery is really the most immersion-breaking part of playing a miniatures game to you?
   
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Ramsden Heath, Essex

Wow, I've never been quoted so much!

I was thinking over the weekend and remembered that I could sort of show what I meant as well as I have images of the same models before and after basing.

Before (Rhs).


After.


True lighting a positioning makes a difference but the before example just doesn't cut it as a finished model to me. Also the khaki tiles on the base vs. the Necromunda terrain create no visual problem for me either but I am massively biased.

Now that is (for me) quite an effort for basing a mini, though I will say it was far from difficult. My IG for example have only two coats of GW basing sand on them (its has a very pleasing colour and size variation in it since you ask) and I don't paint it. Now my mini painting is decent table top at best but with a bit of sand and a few arid deserty tufts here and there and they look at least 42% better than without.

I can not say enough what a difference even basic basing makes to a model. If like me you follow the rule of four foot I would go so far as to say on the games table it is as least as important as painting, in display probably more so. A base painted black just looks like a base you have splashed paint all over, marks for neatness but not for style or effort I'm afraid.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/17 14:41:22


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Dogged Kum






Unless the base decoration matches the table, it will always look out of place, to a certain extend - looking down on a red desert or grey city themed table filled with snow based-minis or bland black based-minis is basically the same to me.

The difference comes when you take a mini into your hand or look at it standing in a display (the mini, that is ).

In that situation, even a mediocre basing will always win over a bland black base IMHO.


If I can chose I will use round black beveled bases with basing or inlays, i.e. where I both have a decorated base AND a black ribbon around that acts as a frame (of sorts) for the paint&basing job.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/22 09:19:29


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Thermo-Optical Hac Tao





Gosport, UK

I really like the lipped bases ala Warmachine/Malifaux etc. you kinda get the best of both worlds, you can base it how you like and there's the black lip that separates it from the table... It's like each model has a little pedestal.
   
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 ImAGeek wrote:
I really like the lipped bases ala Warmachine/Malifaux etc. you kinda get the best of both worlds, you can base it how you like and there's the black lip that separates it from the table... It's like each model has a little pedestal.


This is a good point, and I've thought about changing over alot of my figures to those bases because they just look nicer in some cases.

I base my figs but always paint the lip black just for this separation, and it always looks great.

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Longtime Dakkanaut





Portugal

The model needs basing. No exceptions,

I don't care if it looks out of place, when I paint a miniature I imagine a story, a plot, a background. For example, my former army, Necrons, their tomb world was a world that went into an ice-age thanks to the imperium.

The Oniwaban Shinobu Kitsune and the base plays a big part to tell the "story": It's a high skilled ninja, so skilled she managed to surprise her target because of her impossible route: She jumped over lilypads:


My Space Marines, the first "stage" of their plot is an urban warfare stage, where they have intercepted the Alpha Legion. All my first objectives will be city related, like a cache of supplies, an holy statue, etc so of course the base has to play a part:


So yes, IMHO, the base is extremely important, I never "rush it".

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 2014/11/17 20:14:19


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Longtime Dakkanaut




Louisiana

The base is part of the story a miniature tells. I have considered clear plastic bases before, but I've never done it.

Even if frosty space vikings on snowy bases are engaged in an epic conflict on table McLava Flo, the bases don't bother me. I want to know who those tiny little guys are. Once you know that, you can imagine what might bring them to planet Lava-Alpha 7.

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MN (Currently in WY)

I usually just put a quick blast of paint and a wash on the base. If I did more, nothing would ever get done!

Now that time is more of a premium in my life, I don't want to spend time doing micro-landscaping on Trooper #8 in a 10 man squad.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/17 21:44:50


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Raging Ravener




All over the place

I havent gone too overboard on the basing yet. Brown gravel/dirt with green/yellow tufts for my nids (the green sets off the orange/purple scheme), cork w/a dash of red flock and "nearly dead" blend tufts for an urban/autumn theme for my DE. No idea what i am gonna do for myNecrons or Tau yet, and my Marines are from back in the day so i keep the awful goblin green-topped base just for pure nostalgia

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Calculating Commissar




Frostgrave

 Easy E wrote:
I usually just put a quick blast of paint and a wash on the base. If I did more, nothing would ever get done!

Now that time is more of a premium in my life, I don't want to spend time doing micro-landscaping on Trooper #8 in a 10 man squad.


I put a coat of PVA/wood glue down, dunk it in a tub of flocking/grit and then glue a couple of tufts down. Takes maybe 20 seconds per mini. If I'm feeling fancy I'll only partially cover the base in glue before dipping to have some variety of materials.
   
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Secret Squirrel






Leerstetten, Germany

My basing varies.

WFB: Fairly simple, usually I just PVA glue to add some sand that gets painted, and then some flock on top of that. Enough to add a little something to the miniature and to make a unit look cohesive, but nothing over the top. My High Elves have some small areas of snow, and my Skaven get some dead looking flock. That gives them a little bit of character and ties the whole army together.

40K, Infinity: A little more work, but still fairly simple. One of my small armies is on city-bases, but the usual setup still follows the same guidelines as my WFB bases. Sand/Paint/Flock.

The one game where I go a bit over the top with my basing is FoW. They are tiny models on fairly big bases so I treat every base like a mini diorama.

   
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Dakka Veteran





Florida

When I've "finished" painting a group of models, I like to base them with a theme so that they can fit into a diorama whenever they hang out on the shelf.

For game pieces, I find black bases makes it clearer where my dudes are. I'd love to do all of my Malifaux or Infinity stuff on clear bases, but at this point I don't want to rebase a whole army if it has a unified look.

\m/ 
   
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Brigadier General






Chicago

I'm of the opinion that an unbased model just looks unfinished. It's a wargaming standard that goes back to the early decades of the wargaming hobby and as anyone reading my posts know, I have a certain amount of respect for wargaming traditions and standards. http://chicagoskirmish.blogspot.com/2014/08/painting-matters-in-defense-of-hobby.html
Basing is not about blending in with a table, it's about giving the model a finished appearance and more visual display appeal. The answer to the OP's question about…
 Sinful Hero wrote:
And why do some tournaments encourage it? Is it something to do with model>game piece?
is directly answered by this long history of basing as being an accepted wargaming standard and of minis being looked at as models and display pieces and not simply game tokens.

For me, it's more than that though. I find myself in agreement with those who base as a way of giving unity and narrative to a given army or warband. Basing all the units the same can not only make the units seem more united, but it can also add to the background and fluff of the force. For example, the broken red rocks under the feet of my chaos force is both thematic and unifying. Similarly, my woodland warriors warband are incredibly diverse in race and attire, but they are tied together by the woodsy grassland basing that they share.

I do understand the argument that basing will only match certain types of terrain. This was less an issue with historical units which tend to be tied to fewer types of terrain representing the areas where they would have historically fourght. Fantasy and sci-fi units on the other hand are not similarly limited and are likely to see a wider variety of tabletops.

That said, I think the benifits of looking complete, unifying the force and contributing to the theme or narrative of a force far outweigh any potential dissonance between an army and the table it plays on. And I still think that bare bases are incomplete.

 treslibras wrote:

If I can chose I will use round black beveled bases with basing or inlays, i.e. where I both have a decorated base AND a black ribbon around that acts as a frame (of sorts) for the paint&basing job.
Proxie models offers all sizes of bases with a smaller version of the rounded edge. It's less obvious than the larger style PP lip, but it's a nice look and the bases are very affordable.
http://www.proxiemodels.com

For myself, I feel that the beveled edge of most GW style bases offer enough of a division, but I understand the appeal of the rounded edge.

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2014/11/18 15:30:17


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MN (Currently in WY)

Here's another reason why my basing is very basic. I don't enjoy basing very much.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/18 18:25:36


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Decrepit Dakkanaut





Biloxi, MS USA

 Easy E wrote:
Here's another reason why my basing is very basic. I don't enjoy basing very much.


I don't either, hence why I didn't do it for more than a decade. I do it now because it really does make a world of difference, not because I enjoy it.

Trust me, I didn't enjoy spreading Green Stuff across a 5" base and making it into blasted, muddy NML:



Nor do I enjoy cutting and applying each individual plank/duck board:

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/18 18:37:15


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Black Country

I base my Orks 'cuz Gork sed 'eed stomp me if I didn't.

Makes 'em look prettier.


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Because even my painting looks better with basing


   
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I think basing for me is what finishes the model off, it brings the model into the setting of the base you choose and makes each model like a miniature diorama if that makes sense

   
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Longtime Dakkanaut





The reason I base models is so they don't fall over. A plain black base is just as much of an aesthetic choice as an ornate thematic one. It is not a question of 'do or do not' -- it is just a question of taste. Neither one is objectively better (though some bases obviously require more work, which might score points with some people).

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/11/19 01:56:32


 
   
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Secret Squirrel






Leerstetten, Germany

Another purely selfish reason for why I base:

My painting skills are pretty "meh" IMO. But I feel that I am pretty good at making a very pretty base. Having a 10/10 base on a 5/10 model makes the whole thing look like a 7/10.

For asthetics I would imagine that a model that is painted extremely well is going to look very different with a black base than a model that is not painted to the same level. With a blank base there will be more focus on the miniature itself (not that this has to be a bad thing of course).

I do think that in the case of the OP he probably still has a "finished" base: uniformly painted and no paint marks from the model. A clean "plain" base is still different (and better) than an unfinished base.

 Sinful Hero wrote:

And why do some tournaments encourage it? Is it something to do with model>game piece?


I don't think any of us have really covered this yet. I think they simply encourage it for the painting and modeling aspect of the hobby. To many, as we can see in this thread, it is a part of a "finished" model although I would be willing to argue that a cleanly painted base is technically as finished as a scenic base.

Many tournaments also have a painting competition element, and the base will be part of that scoring.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/19 03:52:54


 
   
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Lit By the Flames of Prospero





Edmonton, Alberta

For skirmish games I like using clear bases so I don't need to deal with proper bashing and looks good on any surface.




For war hammer fantasy I go over the top trying to base everything nice using cork, sand, multiple colors of flock, ect no pics sadly atm.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/11/19 15:31:23


 
   
 
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