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Post by uptrainfan89 on Jul 17, 2015 12:18:46 GMT -9
I was wandering what you guys do for flight bases for 28mm flying Vehicles, for example Topos Chickenhawk or some of Mels flying models? Trying to get a few ideas of what's out there and maybe something that can be printed/built that fits in roughly a 4in x 4in space or so but can support a variety of models and possibly be build in different heights (not necessarily adjustable, just determine a height during the initial build). I know some of Mels models have shadow bases but I think they take up a bit too much room for a war game.
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Post by squirmydad on Jul 17, 2015 13:06:22 GMT -9
I was just going to suggest those shadow bases...an alternative is the clear acrylic bases from Litko with a hole in the center to accommodate a flight pole. The acrylic poles are available in a variety of lengths and they also sell "pole toppers", basically an acrylic ring on top of the pole to create more surface area to glue the model onto the pole with. It's what I use for my 1/600 SGOM models.
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Post by wyvern on Jul 18, 2015 3:32:54 GMT -9
uptrainfan89: I've been experimenting with some of the small low-cost clear hard plastic drinking cups over the past year for flying stands. The most useful seem to be shot glasses, which are about an inch and a half tall, with a similar open end diameter, and a base diameter of about an inch. Inverted, one works for a single 28mm-scale miniature, two or three together with their open ends glued to a thicker card base (you can easily top the base with a texture sheet first, like those freebies from One Monk in the various base textures) work for larger miniatures (dragon, air- or spacecraft, for example). This would fit within your four square inch base requirement, certainly. The cups are reasonably stable on their own, but adding a card base like this makes them very stable, while still light in weight. If the height's more than you need, it is possible to cut the cups down using a modelling saw or a craft knife, but it's been quite a challenge to maintain a new level edge (or maybe it's just my cutting...).
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Post by berneart76 on Jul 18, 2015 8:18:32 GMT -9
Great idea wyvern! A suggestion for helping to make a straight cut is to take a scrap piece of wood a little wider than the shot glass, cut to the same angle as the side of the shot glass and put a "V" notch in the center to keep the ends straight up and down. I'll try to work one up later a post a picture to show what I am trying to get a cross a little better. Made a quick jig for cutting shot glasss... Less than 5 minutes to make (once I found my craft saw). Attachments:
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Jul 18, 2015 10:11:42 GMT -9
Nice! Definitely some great ideas here, wouldn't have thaught of a clear plastic cup lol, think I'm gonna have to try some of these out lol. Also I was thinking, would something like cardstock cut and folded into a triangle/tube mounted to foam core work or would that be too light?
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Post by wyvern on Jul 18, 2015 13:05:21 GMT -9
Also I was thinking, would something like cardstock cut and folded into a triangle/tube mounted to foam core work or would that be too light? I first tried the simple option of square section folded-up card tubes/"boxes" (but with open ends). These do work up to a point, but it's a bit tedious experimenting with different tube lengths and cross-sectional sizes to find what works best for different sizes and weights of miniatures (I wanted something to work with cast metal minis as well as card ones). Attaching a card base is certainly more stable for tabletop gaming use than just one or more open-ended tubes (partly depending on the tube size involved - a single low but wide square is very stable even without a base, for example). I've not used foamcore however, mostly because thick card is a cheaper option from what I can buy locally. The plastic shot glasses seem weirdly close to the ideal method for a lot less effort overall!
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Post by uptrainfan89 on Jul 18, 2015 13:40:52 GMT -9
I actually use these for minis (like for Adam Souza's MAD drones) cardboard-warriors.proboards.com/thread/4506/flight-base-request but they are a bit too short for bigger flyers to show them a ways off the table to make it look like they are flying and not hovering over the terrain. The clear cup idea sounds like a really neat idea (especially cause it's a cheaper route to go, short of plastic bases and magnets) and I imagine you can just sit the model on top the cup when it's flying and off the cup when landed.
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