Well actually, I started last weekend by biting the bullet so to speak, and deciding to re-base a lot of my earlier sci-fi minis to gain a measure of uniformity. I had originally used mdf bases that were 15mm in diameter, but my more recent figures have been on 20mm bases. Somehow, this made me dissatisfied with the initial strategy, so I set about whipping off the bases of 78 minis-45 of which were painted- and starting again. It was a labour of, well, not love exactly, but definitely a labour! Having finished though, I was completely satisfied that it was worth the effort. For some reason I was much happier with the appearance of the miniatures. My wife suggested that it probably had something to do with proportion- I believe she was right.
This is a gathering of minis from several manufacturers, cobbled together as part of a light recon unit (can you have a heavy recon unit?). From L to R: Splintered Light, Critical Mass, Oddzial Osmy, and The Scene.
Since the last photo showed The Scene's figure bearing a striking resemblance to 'Dutch', here is one of Khurasan's Holiday alien minis. Sorry for the indistinct photos by the way- not really my forte.
Next up, some of Khurasan's Exterminators. I'm not really happy with the colour scheme, but it isn't awful, and as I, like most of you, have a significant pile of lead to besmirch with paint, I won't be starting again on these!
Armies Army miniatures on the advance. These have been stripped and started again due to my ongoing varnishing incompetence, although I think I may have worked out that I have simply been too heavy handed with the spray can!
Here is a picture that hopefully gives a better representation of the new colour sceme.
The mini in the foreground is from GZG- an armed colonist I think, taking a potshot at the Alien with a woefully inadequate hand gun. He's probably going to regret it......
This is a nice mini from Khurasan-Jaka Walsh I believe. Of course, I lifted most of the colour scheme from the website, but I like these colours!
I'm just going to chuck on a few more pictures, some from the past, because my very clever son has just shown his very dull father how to put pictures on the blog in a much simpler fashion than I did before.
This is a commander figure from Oddzial Osmy, from one of their more recent packs (I love the kneeling sniper-see below). I have just received more figures from their Vistula Legion, and I really like them. Mind you, I like minis from most 15mm manufacturers!
Here are a few selected minis from recon again-L to R: The Scene, Splintered Light, Oddzial Osmy, The Scene, Oddzial Osmy.
Khurasan's Rebels with Rockhopper- as noted before, you can see these minis are on the original 15mm bases, but if you screw your eyes up really tightly, you might be able to spot them in the first picture of this post on their lovely new 20mm bases (all bases from Warbases).
Well that's it for now. I'm currently finishing off my Exterminators and Sepulvedan Riflethings, both from Khurasan, various single minis from several manufacturers, and I've got a batch of figures from Rebel Minis based and undercoated, so I had better get on with it. Thanks for looking in, and any helpful criticism is welcomed!
They all look superb. whats the difference between the warbases 20mm mdf and using a 20mm slotta?
ReplyDeleteHi Brummie. I guess there really isn't much difference, except the mdf bases are only 2mm thick, whereas I think the slotta bases are probably twice that? As all my vehicles are on 2mm thick bases everything is more or less on the same level, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. Perhaps I'm a bit too fussy!
ReplyDeleteBrummie got it right there truly superb work! As for myself I use 20mm steel washers....I'm cheap lol
ReplyDeleteI'm cheaper, I use pennies ;)
DeleteThanks very much Don. I must admit, I originally used washers before the 15mm bases, but you must have found a good supply because the mdf bases from Warbases are less expensive than any washers I could find, so you're definitely not cheap!
ReplyDeleteCheers I was going to get a few 15mm figures to have a play with and was wondering what to mount them on. I have a few 20mm slottas so perhaps I'll give those a go
ReplyDeleteI often want to tr different basing, but I got burned early on using 18mm mdf rounds then switching to 20mm slotta. Now I've gotta stick with it...
ReplyDeleteEvrerything is looking great here, lovely work!
Thank you kindly Spacejacker. It was a bit of a pain, especially when I had visions of tearing the paint off the minis near the base, but as it turned out, I only had to touch up a couple of pairs of boots, if you'll excuse the expression, and static grass hides a multitude of botches! Your minis would look great even if you based them on drain covers!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting look at it... I never thought much about the proportionality of base sizes. I've based some 15mm minis on GW 25mm slotta bases, and yes, without something on the base to give them scale, they automatically look "short". Is this "proportionality", or are hobbyists just conditioned to see 25mm slotta bases as being for 25-30 mm scale figures?
ReplyDeleteI think 25mm slotta bases have been a standard for so long that people instinctively are drawn to use them. I was quite sure having based my minis on a bigger base (than 15mm) that they somehow had a bit more 'presence' ( perhaps that sounds a bit pretentious) but I personally like the appearance of the models, and if this looks more 'right' then that will do for me!
ReplyDeleteDamn you've been buys Gunrunner. They look great!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brian. The re-basing took a while, but I'm glad I did it. I've also been cracking on with the terrain hexes, and had intended to take some pics last week along with a 5150SA Batrep, but it didn't happen- No.2 son had fiancee problems to sort out, so the game never got to be played!
ReplyDeleteLooking really good!
ReplyDeleteYou're too kind sir!
ReplyDelete