Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey, I thought I would ask you guys for some advice. I've got an army where a good majority of my tactical marines are from Dark Vengeance. I recently bought a good number of Sector Imperialis bases and I was wondering if anyone knew a good way to cut the bottom of the slot from the base cleanly for transfer.

Best idea I had at the moment is a wide razor blade and attempting to slide it under the full figure. If anyone has a better idea it would be appreciated.

It's more difficult with plastics because of the nature of plastic cement (which melts/bonds plastic surfaces together).

With slotta bases on things like metal miniatures I simply clip the outside edges of the slot itself and the base folds in half and snaps off. This may work if you used super glue on you original figures.

You can see what I mean here in my blog post:

http://myminiaturemischief.blogspot.com/search/label/Hobby%20Tips

If they were glue with plastic glue you're probably better off just cutting away with clippers and carefully clipping/cutting off the bases --- then sand down the remaining stub/feet.

Get a hobby saw that is used for plastic such as a Xacto saw kit.

Its plastic. just Clip the slot tab off and glue them directly on the bases

if you are really wanting to secure them even harder then clip the tap so that you leave a peg on both feet. then drill a hole, sand the pegs to be a circle and slip it in. that what i usually do for metal models at least.

Desubot. I was referring to slot models that are already glued into slot bases and moving them.

Thanks elbow, that sounds like the plan. It just looks like it might be a pain in the neck considering I have probably 35-40 marines on slot bases.

Ah if thats the case. are they glued with ca glue or plastic glue.

easy to just clip the thin edge where the slot is and rip em off if super glued

if plastic glued then you could take a chisel excato blade and VERY carefully cut them off.

if its already based with sand and stuff then you might have some more trouble with that.

In addition to what's been said, sometimes it's easier to take a pair of clippers and cut the base from around the feet, leaving the top of the base glued to the feet itself. Clip off as much excess as you can without damaging the feet then use either a large woodworking file (look for a "Mill/Bastard" file, about $3 most places) or a disc of DA sand paper (the kind meant for palm sanders), something relatively coarse like 150 grit works great but make sure you get a good quality paper like 3M or Sunlite, they're a dollar or two per sheet but the adhesive they use to hold the sand to the paper lasts MUCH longer than the cheap stuff and works fine for plastic and metal figures. Don't actually use a palm sander, just tape the sandpaper down to the desk so it's flat (or use "sticky-back" paper that has a light adhesive on the back), hold the figure upright and work the feet bottoms across the paper until you've removed the base. Works great for times when it's difficult to cut them from the base as others have suggested, it all depends on the actual figure and how well it's stuck to the base

 Kalamadea wrote:
In addition to what's been said, sometimes it's easier to take a pair of clippers and cut the base from around the feet, leaving the top of the base glued to the feet itself. Clip off as much excess as you can without damaging the feet then use either a large woodworking file (look for a "Mill/Bastard" file, about $3 most places) or a disc of DA sand paper (the kind meant for palm sanders), something relatively coarse like 150 grit works great but make sure you get a good quality paper like 3M or Sunlite, they're a dollar or two per sheet but the adhesive they use to hold the sand to the paper lasts MUCH longer than the cheap stuff and works fine for plastic and metal figures. Don't actually use a palm sander, just tape the sandpaper down to the desk so it's flat (or use "sticky-back" paper that has a light adhesive on the back), hold the figure upright and work the feet bottoms across the paper until you've removed the base. Works great for times when it's difficult to cut them from the base as others have suggested, it all depends on the actual figure and how well it's stuck to the base

When i was rebasing all my skaven i used a belt sander. man that was not fun.

Yeesh, I bet, though I'm assuming it wasn't because rebasing was difficult so much as the constant worry of taking your flesh off with only a stray bump. I've actually used my palm sander in the past despite recommending not to just now, but that'll just scrape your skin a bit raw if you're not careful, belt sanders are no joke. I've got a little 4" hobby table saw that is only secured with cheap suction cups and the bed just rests on top of the motor so it shifts a bit during use. Even clamping it down to the desk, it scares the utter crap out of me every time I use it. Fun with power tools

It's never a fun task removing models from bases, I am a complete Neanderthal though and use a combination of a very sharp knife to try and jimmy models out and a saw when that fails.