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Glue a coin to the underside of the base in order to add weight. who has bothered to do this ?

I can see that having a hollow base means that the model still can be placed flat on surface covered with tiny lumps and granules (that fit under the hollow base)
Thankfully An English penny still leaves a mm of clearance. (20p also fits, is weightier , but just reminds me each models costing me 300 pennies...lets not go there )

The tiny extra weight of the penny , being at the bottom makes the model stable, (feel more expensive ) and less delicate to grab...unweighted models feel like they want to fall over & ask you to handle them like a princess ( rather than a commander in chief / 'Kasparov' slamming his rook down hard in the name of a queen side advance) Waaargh!

Mind you , everything that seems to come you of Games Workshop seems lightweight & plastic, ( & im not talking about the miniatures here lol )

Banning lead i can live with , barbie doll weight war miniatures has me reaching for the pink codex...if you get me


Alternative weight ideas to coins ? Anyone got a good one ? ....i think steel washers could work well

Now if some genius was to start producing Metal bases with hollow undersides ( at a reasonable cost ) that could be a neat addition to the ecosystem

Don't use a coin, use a steel washer.

Magnets stick to steel washers. They don't stick to coins.

With a washer in place, all you need is a bunch of magnets and a metal case and you can attach your models to the sides of the case, no need to glue them into the base or anything.

English copper penny coins are NOW magnetic ! ....and so are the 2 pence pieces ! ( high copper prices, they switched to some kind of copper plated steel alloy )



they have been for years , ive got a 1994 penny and a 2001 tuppence both magnetic so it goes back at least as far as that....where have you been all these years ? lol

....after decades of being used to non magnetic copper..i was like do what ! when i retrieved a magnet from my odds n ends box with copper coins attached


http://www.metaldetectingforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10848&start=10

1p pieces are cheaper than steel washers if you have to buy them...

I use lead shot ballast.

http://www.leadshotballast.co.uk/

Paint PVA glue into the base.
Fill with the shot.
When dry, tap off the excess.
Level and seal the bottom of the base with Plastic Padding or resin.

Cheap and effective.

Kilkrazy wrote:I use lead shot ballast.

http://www.leadshotballast.co.uk/

This is also similar to fishing sinkers. Glue a couple of them to one edge of the base to help counterbalance those odd models. Since they are lead, they can easily be squeezed into a more accommodating shape for the job at hand. They can get pretty heavy, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_sinker


Ghidorah

I used to glue coins on my bases. I used Nickels and Dimes

I have been using washers lately, because im a mechanic i have a Million of the things laying around.

Using a 20 pence is great, is weighty and I only do it to the models that would perhaps fall over, thus saving me some cash too ;P The best I've used so far is the 20 pence peice.

I've been using pennies for my Tyranids, but that annoying slot on the bottom of the base makes it, well, annoying.

I used to use coins. Now I use magnets*.



*That is to say, I used to use magnets, before I had to ship my army overseas and the Japanese post office demanded I rip every magnet out of the bases.

My rich friend happens to do this to many of his top heavy models.

I use 2p pieces. Stuck in the bottom of the base with Blu Tac. Works fine for me, and what else can you do with a 2p piece these days anyway?



N.B. coin and base are exactly the same diameter, so you get a height raise of about 2mm

I find coins to be a simple, cheap, and effective counterbalance to awkwardly posed plastics. I could see using washers if you had plans for magnetic storage/transport, but as sad as it is, washers cost more than equally effective coins, so why put out the money and effort to use them when there's a nickel handy, unless for that specific reason?

I used to do this. It gives you the feel of a metal mini that I've always liked.

Kr'aag wrote:
N.B. coin and base are exactly the same diameter, so you get a height raise of about 2mm

They're not though, as quite clearly demostrated by the pic you just posted. The difference is somewhat miniscule but it ruins the aestetic IMO due to a "staggering effect" it gives to the model's base.

I glued a US penny inside the base of every nearly every single plastic figure in my IG army. Not as nice as lead base, but still adds a bit of stability and heft. Also, I didn't want to add any height to the bases and a penny fits inside quite well though if you use a slotta you have to cut out the slot sides.

For a few figures with slottas, I glued small fishing weights to the bottom. Fishing weights are nice since they come pre-halved and a pliers or hammer will flatten them enough to fit under the base.

I now keep a selection of fishing weights around also for metal figures that are prone to imballance.

The fellow on the left for instance.

Originaly intended for a 50mm base, I wanted him on a 40mm base. However, the result was quite a bit of tipsyness due to his flailing arms and leaning torso. Several lead weights under the back side of the base and he's perfectly stable.

I used to use spare 2c pieces (old bronze coins since retired as currency) as they fit perfectly under the plain GW round bases (no slot).

I ran out of them and switched to washers for a while - they cost the same. Now, I'm using punched discs (about 23mm) that I have a bag of (around 1000 pcs) that I got from a brother-in-law (he works in a metal fabricator plant). They fit perfectly and glue in easily. They also drill easily so I can pin through them.

Grimtuff wrote:...it ruins the aestetic IMO due to a "staggering effect" it gives to the model's base.

Seconded. Even if it was EXACT, there will be an obvious line between base and coin/washer that bugs me, aesthetically. You could hide that line by basing the sides of the base, too, but I hate that even more. lol



Ghidorah

Penny, even a U.S. Nickel (which fits perfectly btw) are both less expensive than washers, lead shot, etc...

I have found that nickels are not cheaper than washers we have a discount hardware store in my town and I purchased steel washers that fit perfectly into the bases by the pound. I think I got 50+ per pound at about 1.59/lb I bought a kilo for 4 bucks and their are easily a couple hundred washers in there. I found these necessary for my Assault Marines and decided that when I have time I will add these to all of my bases.