GHQ Models Forums

Low-denomination coins
Washers - available from hardware stores in a variety of sizes and relatively cheap; also, can be held in place by magnetic storage racks

I use pennies (1 cent pieces, for those not-of-Sam).

Advantages:
Cheap. I get them at 100 to the dollar.
Appropriate size. Fits 4 - 5 infantry figs in reasonable spacing.
Rugged. Last far longer than the card stock or plastic sheeting I used before.
Always available. Nothing more frustrating to me than being 2 or 3 stands short of completing a unit. With pennies I can always find a few more between the cushions of the couch.

Disadvantages:
Non-magnetic.
Hard to scale up in base size. I go up to nickels (5 cent pieces for those not-of-Sam) when I need a larger base (heavy guns, or mounted cavalry). But they cost 5x as much.
Hard to scale down in base size. I tried using Y10 or Y1 coins back when I was travelling to Japan a lot. But I haven't been in more than 8 years now, and so they are not available enough to me. I put 2 figs on a penney and it works. But a smaller base option would be nice.

Yep, I use pennies for many things as well. Tree stands, status markers for Fire & Fury and other games...I was using 1.25" square bases for infantry (MSH rules) but recently picked up Fistful of Tows 3 and am planning on doing more infantry bases on pennies myself.

As for magnetism, I use 'magnetic sheet' pre-cut into 3/4" round bits from Litko.

That ups the price per stand a fair bit, but given how cheap the 'bases' are, it kind of offsets it and it's worth it to me.

TJ wrote: Baphomet69 - do you find the Litko sheet magnets do fine for holding your stands in place? Sheet magnets oftentimes can be weak... but I guess we are talking about very lightweight minis here.

TJ

Yes, I also use full 8.5 x 11" sheets that I then cut down for the underside of my 15mm Fire & Fury, Napoleonic and Flames of War infantry. I even use them for my 28mm infantry, individually mounted on 1" disks, though the heavy duty magnetic sheet might have been a wiser option on those, I still haven't had an issue. They have all always stayed in place for me.

I line the bottom of my boxes (I use white 'document mailers' from Staples, approx. 11 3/4 x 15" x 2" deep) with galvanized steel sheets (shingles?) from Lowes or Home Depot (about $1 each). The infantry all hold perfectly fine. Granted, I try not to give the boxes the old shake and bake, and I haven't had any major accidents yet. They have worked fine for storage and transport, however. Note that litko also makes heavy duty magnetic sheet that they claim are 33% stronger, though I haven't used those yet. And remember, along with full sheets, you can order them pre-cut in different sizes and shapes. I ordered some hexagon ones for a project once. Be aware that most times it takes a good 3 weeks or more to get your order.

For vehicles (both 15mm and 6mm) I use rare earth magnets from K & J Magnetics, since I don't base vehicles. Well, with the 6mm, I can actually make bases (again using galvanized sheet) and then base the vehicles or remove them, as desired. That is how I made my infantry for MSH. I used a 1.25" galvanized square with magnetic sheet on the bottom (you'll need a stronger glue, the adhesive on the mag sheet doesn't stick to metal well at all). I then stuck the Bradley to the square (using it's rare earth magnet), glued the infantry to the stand around the vehicle and now, they can be either a 'combat team' with vehicle and infantry, or I can remove the Bradley altogether.

Sorry, I didn't intend to write a novel here...

TJ wrote:Mark, I did some searching and saw your matte medium gel basing suggestion... have you found that this holds up over time? Any peeling or loss of adhesion?

I've only been using the acrylic medium gell for about 2 or 3 years. Not long enough to give a long-term report. But so far, I've had exactly no units that have pealed or come apart.

I think my Romanians were the first of my infantry that I did using it. Prior to that I used white glue (PVA, or Elmers by brand), which has held up reasonably well, but is not nearly so easy to work with.

I learned it from ACWBill on this board. I am sure he has armies several years older than mine that were based using acrylic medium. With luck he might chime in, or you could ping him.

Hope that helps.

Has anyone thought about using those plastic discs that casinos use to separate and organize chips in the trays? They are a little bigger than pennies and just about.twice the thickness.

I use bingo chips. I got mine from a vendor in Grand Rapids, MI. I originally used them as counting markers for daycare kids. These are the thinner variety that I've been able to find in stores.

These don't have the metals sides that some do.

I got the idea from Ritterkrieg in his rules.

Joe

You can use sheet styrene .10" thick and cut it with stencil cutters found in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels. The one below cuts a 1" circle but other sizes and shapes are available.



The bases for these paras were done this way. They aren't finished yet but they look pretty good once you add some texture and flock.

It doesn't cut as cleanly on anything thicker than 0.10 because it is designed to cut cardstock, but the 0.10 bases hold up fine in use, at least for infantry. They are not very flexible when they are only 1" in diameter.

Cav Dog wrote:You can use sheet styrene .10" thick and cut it with stencil cutters found in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store such as Hobby Lobby or Michaels. The one below cuts a 1" circle but other sizes and shapes are available.

I don't know how many times I have wished someone made something (non-industrial) to do just that! I never thought of looking in the scrapbooking section...

Awesome, thanks! I'll probably continue with pennies for bases, but I needed something like this to make markers/counters.

Hello! I mounted all 500+ German/Russian infantry on punch-outs from a plastic Mead spiral-bound notebook cover. The effect was terrible, as no one wanted to individually move that many guys, so I made/am-making platoon bases with 10 spaces each for them to fit. I can remove casualties by platoon that way for easy reference. My pictures are on the "Show Us Yer Stuff" thread. Hope it helps for ideas!

~BaronvonFrank

One source I found for Wod discs are the bags of craft "Woodies" from Michael's. For about $3 you get a bag of 1.25in, 3/4" and 1/2" thin wooden discs. (130 total) They have similar packs for Squares and Rectangles that can also be trimmed for use. You can get a lot of unusable sizes in each pack, but they are still cheaper overall than the Litko route for similar stands.