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I'm sort of tired of having miniatures on different styles of bases so wanted to make a push to put them all on a uniform similar base style. I can't decide what I like better so I'm curious as to what other people's preferences are and why.

I started with Beveled Bases because WH40K and Infinity tend to use them, they appear to be the most common found base types that make it easy to dress up with flock, etc. I found I liked these the most because it was easy, but not distracting to mark firing arcs on the bases. It also gave you just a bit of room for the small overhang that some miniatures would have.

Then Malifaux had round lip bases, I had a few of these because it seemed common to find asian style bases with a round lip. They have a certain visual appeal but also have a visual look of 'wasted' space because the lips seem like it has all this extra space when you compare them to a beveled base. They seem bigger when placed next to miniatures with beveled bases. Although for display pieces I like the round lip because it feels more like a show piece on a pedestal.

There are also a bunch of straight edge bases, mostly from Sedition Wars but a few MDF cut styles as well. The advantage with these is they mingle great with board game pieces without needing to rebase the board game pieces. There are also some newer games that use colored counter bases that slip around them easier than if you had a beveled or round lip base. Usually you get the most usable space with them, a 25mm base is typically truly a 25mm base unlike others that measure the bottom but the top because of the bevel/round lip don't have a full 25mm of space.

I added clear bases although I'm not a huge fan, but it is a growing trend amongst miniatures board gamers since it allows their pieces to mingle easily with different terrains. I usually haven't had an issue with that since I have often played with bases flocked on roads and other terrain without issues. I can understand the appeal though.

So what about you? What do you like and why?

Examples:

I like beveled edges personally, although I must say this is probably due to them being the only thing I saw until I was probably 5 or 6 years into the hobby and WM/H came along.

i like everything but clear bases...
beveled is my personal preference, unless the company chooses a different style...
rounded look fine if it is consistent across a range...
those Sedition Wars bases are the first straight edge bases that i have liked the look of, simply because the topper details are so incredible...

i voted beveled, without a second thought...

cheers
jah

I'm voting beveled, for two reasons.

I like having the option for model-overhang.

Also, they are handy when you have to use a blast marker to see what models are under it. You can base the top, but from a top-down perspective you can still see a black ring around the edge, which makes seeing through the translucent GW templates easier.

I'm happy with anything but a clear base

and what I like best depends on what I'm basing the minis for,
so I can't make up my mind what to vote

(it would be bevelled if it was based on what I use most, but a lot of that is down to fitting new minis into already done groups/units/armies so it's a bit forced)

I prefer rounded because they look nicer on painted models.

I prefer round lips for the same Vignette look the OP already mentioned.

Round lip. They look neater when complete and the basing is less likely to chip off and wear away at the edges.

It is interesting to see the differences and why people choose certain base styles.

 Dark Severance wrote:
It is interesting to see the differences and why people choose certain base styles.

honestly, for me at least, i don't actually choose a base style...
i go with what the company chooses to use...
it may seem strange, but a base style does have a visual identity...
for instance, when i see 40K models on round-lipped bases, it just doesn't look right, because the beveled edge is a part of the visual identity of GW minis...
i couldn't imagine using beveled bases for my PP minis, because the round-lip has become a part of their visual identity...
beyond my own notions, i use "official" bases because i sell all of my minis, and i don't want to put off a potential customer by using a type of base that is not generally accepted as being the right kind for the model range...

for a bit of nostalgia, my favorite square beveled bases were the Rackham ones...
i love that chunky look...
their AT-43 rounds with two bevels and a textured surface are cool, too...
surprisingly, they are the one company who could mount a studio mini on an undecorated black base, and have it not look unfinished...
they had established that as their visual identity, and it just worked somehow...

the psychology of bases is an interesting subject...

cheers
jah

Personally have moved to flat steel discs, round or square depending on the game - but either way thin enough they are basically something that plays no part in the game except when they need to.

My vote would be for clear if you could have a clear matt base, which as far as I'm aware is technically impossible

My preference is clear bases. The club I play at has green, brown and grey tables, so no matter how I base the minis, they're going to be wrong two-thirds of the time.

Mind you, my 40k and Warhammer armies are based on the GW bases they were supplied with, as I painted most of them before discovering clear bases. At the moment, my Infinity, Judge Dredd, Bushido and Mercs minis are on clear bases. For that reason, I really dislike the "Dark Age"-style round-lipped bases. If 30mm bevelled bases had been available in 2003, I'd have used them without hesitation for my Warmachine armies.

To me, the base is there to stop the miniature falling over, nothing more, so I want as little visual intrusion as possible. I'm not a fan of those display miniatures where the actual miniature is ... somewhere ... amongst all the clutter on the base. I really liked Rackham's " leave it black" look.

No real preference here tbh but definitely dont like the round lip style.
Never see that many clear bases myself but the few I have I like.

 Ratius wrote:
No real preference here tbh but definitely dont like the round lip style.
Never see that many clear bases myself but the few I have I like.

Why don't you like Round Lip bases?

No real preference for me. Haven't seen or used clear bases, but I can see the attraction in doing so. Most of what I have is beveled, though, largely because that's just what I happen to have collected over the years from so many GW purchases.

Round beveled bases. I can never get a grip on lip bases and have trouble picking up the figures.

Bevelled or Round lip. Round lip has that framing efect which makes a model feel like it's a mini display, which is nice for games like Malifaux where each model is unique sculpt. Bevelled is fine as well.

Really dislike straight edged bases. Feels board gamey and cheap. While I don't really have strong feelings about clear bases one way or another, I really don't understand the reasoning a lot of people use for them, so they 'match every board'. You're already suspending disbelief playing a game, I don't see how models with desert bases on an urban table ruin immersion any more than rulers, cards and dice lying on top of buildings while you play. At least a base can finish that look you were going for - urban camo on a model that's on an urban base just looks so much more finished.

Whatever's to hand.

Bevelled. Square edges and round edges usually look unnecessarily chunky to me.

 -Loki- wrote:
While I don't really have strong feelings about clear bases one way or another, I really don't understand the reasoning a lot of people use for them, so they 'match every board'. You're already suspending disbelief playing a game, I don't see how models with desert bases on an urban table ruin immersion any more than rulers, cards and dice lying on top of buildings while you play. At least a base can finish that look you were going for - urban camo on a model that's on an urban base just looks so much more finished.

I am getting the feeling that the clear bases are coming more from the 'board game' and 'RPG' players, than miniature wargamers at least that is what I'm starting to see. I see a lot of them used with Battle Systems terrain, quite a few with AvP but I'm noticing it is more from those players that are more into board games and rpgs.