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Hail fellow wargamers.

My space wolves are on old 25mm bases and I think it's time to update them. I love the idea of transparent bases so they are at home on any table. I don't have alot of money and have a lot of bases to replace, so I'm thinking about making my own. I can make molds but need to work out what I can use.

Any ideas?

Clear resin. Just search Amazon.

But seriously, for the cost of the resin & the effort? Consider this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401612640452 or similar. What you want already exists & for cheap.

ccs wrote:
Clear resin. Just search Amazon.

But seriously, for the cost of the resin & the effort? Consider this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/401612640452 or similar. What you want already exists & for cheap.

Thanks for the tip
Considering how many I got to do its much cheaper to make it.

I would look pretty heavily into what you need to make them transparent and bubble free before you buy anything. I would doubt that with capital expenditure you'll break even, unless you have literally thousands of bases to make.

What's your budget and what materials do you have? How many bases?

Not sure what your experience is in mold making but they're not "make one and forget". Molds needs to be remade after certain number of casting.

I'm not sure if it's worth the effort, or if you'll really save any money making your own. I recently bought 20 clear acrylic bases for about £3 including delivery on Ebay.

 harlokin wrote:
I'm not sure if it's worth the effort, or if you'll really save any money making your own. I recently bought 20 clear acrylic bases for about £3 including delivery on Ebay.

Well he seems to be saying he has sweat equity to spend, but not monetary currency. But he seems to be overlooking/underestimating the raw material costs for the endeavors.

maybe a good epoxy clear resin, but tis pretty pricey.

do you know anybody with a 3d printer, bonus if resin, if not a FDM could work. there are clear filaments and resin just make sure they are made with 100% infill

 G00fySmiley wrote:
maybe a good epoxy clear resin, but tis pretty pricey.

do you know anybody with a 3d printer, bonus if resin, if not a FDM could work. there are clear filaments and resin just make sure they are made with 100% infill

1. 3d printer would be more expensive than lasercutting
2. optic quality clear materials are pricy, and they have good amount of post processing (which again, $$)

I think he was asking if he knew someone whose 3D printer he could use.

Transparent resin from greenstuffworld. Dries in natural light or under a uv torch

I need to make atleast 50 bases,
I have a young child and student income so $30 is hard enough but possible.
I'm in New Zealand so also of the sites referred to me charge alot for international shipping.
I may try resin even a cheap one with bubbles would be preferable to starvation while getting the job done. Also means I can make other base sizes and movement trays etc.

Google to find a maker space near you. While the top hit on google seems to be a business using the term maker space to catch traffic, there are more results with the actual communicty places the term referrs to.

Contact one that is not too out of the way for you to find out if they have a laser cutter that you could use or that they'd cut something for you with. If that works out, all you need is a sheet of acrylic - they will be able to tell you what works best - and a vector file with your cut circles.

Have you seen a model on a clear base that looks good? Also what do you do when the bottoms get all scratched up? And... with a flat bottom your model will have new instability issues that you currently don't have.

I've purchased from this seller before, he's in Sydney so shipping shouldn't be too bad for you. I'd also check out the 3mm version.

 Brunius wrote:
I've purchased from this seller before, he's in Sydney so shipping shouldn't be too bad for you. I'd also check out the 3mm version.

I bought some from him as well. Definitely reasonable prices and shipping.

 ulfhednir86 wrote:
I need to make atleast 50 bases,
I have a young child and student income so $30 is hard enough but possible.
I'm in New Zealand so also of the sites referred to me charge alot for international shipping.
I may try resin even a cheap one with bubbles would be preferable to starvation while getting the job done. Also means I can make other base sizes and movement trays etc.

Good quality clear resin isn't cheap, probably more expensive than the clear acrylic sheet that the precut ones are made from (just a guess, haven't checked) and the time it'd take to cut circles and polish the edges if you bought your own clear acrylic sheet, you really are wasting time compared to just buying them.

Also I think most resin products have the risk of yellowing and clouding over time, acrylic is one of the few clear things that's reasonably stable over time.

You'd probably get a better return mowing lawns or babysitting for neighbours and using the money to buy the clear acrylic bases rather than trying to make them yourself. It's one of those things that costs almost nothing to make if you have the right tools, but the right tools cost a lot more to buy so it doesn't make much sense trying to make them yourself.

Look for food products with clear lids or packaging, see if there's anything out there which you can upcycle into bases. That way you get to eat, get bases and save the planet all at once!

Also 1+ on getting a sheet of acrylic laser cut. it'll be very quick and a lot of places, if you go in and ask really nicely (maybe say it's for a student project) will only charge you for materials (they will be pumping out hundreds of pieces for high-cost contracts, their profit from a 1-off sheet of acrylic would barely register, so a lot of places are quite generous if you supply the material and are happy to wait for a convenient slot).

I've not seen clear bases on models before, I will be interested to see what you end up with!

 some bloke wrote:
Look for food products with clear lids or packaging, see if there's anything out there which you can upcycle into bases. That way you get to eat, get bases and save the planet all at once!

Also 1+ on getting a sheet of acrylic laser cut. it'll be very quick and a lot of places, if you go in and ask really nicely (maybe say it's for a student project) will only charge you for materials (they will be pumping out hundreds of pieces for high-cost contracts, their profit from a 1-off sheet of acrylic would barely register, so a lot of places are quite generous if you supply the material and are happy to wait for a convenient slot).

I've not seen clear bases on models before, I will be interested to see what you end up with!

Cool thank you for the advice. Will let you know how they turn out