Mini Stands

Atrox7 · Post by **Atrox7** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:39 am

Does anyone do anything to give the bottom of the plastic mini stand more weight?

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:42 am

If the mini needs it, I epoxy small lead fishing line weights (which I pound flat with a hammer) into the bottom recess. Others epoxy heavy steel washers to the bottom of the stand.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 5:04 am

I have been known to add lead weight to the bottom of some of the stands for balance issues. As with Will, I used to use lead fishing weights for this... but now I've found a better solution. The local tire center will give me a box of their old, used wheel weights. I cut a piece of these off, pound it flat, and glue to the base of the stand.

Another thing I do, is to fill in the underside of the stands with Testors brand contour putty to provide a flat surface and then I cut a hex-shaped piece of "Presto-Felt" and glue to it.

* Presto-Felt can be obtained from any local hobby store and is a sheet of felt with an adhesive coating on it.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 1:45 pm

One other thing I have done:
Quite often, I have acquired Battleship or Dreadnought minis through ebay that have not come with the metal stands. On these, I have been known to use the standard plastic stand - but hen glue the whole unit to a Battlemech hex base. The lead hex bases for the 'Mechs has a recessed area that is exactly the same size as as the standard, plastic stand from ADB.

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 4:13 pm

I've used plastic stands on Fed DN miniatures, both the one from ADB and the more generic circular ones from that unnamed British Company. I find it very useful to drill into the stand (if you're careful you don't need to cut off the top thinner peg that goes in the hole-just drill right through it) and pin the mini to the stand. It actually doesn't even require glue if you make the hole on the mini a bit deeper. That way the mini stays on the stand and you don't have to glue it and run the risk of it breaking off.

Mazza · Post by **Mazza** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 12:44 pm

Whenever I have a model which can't stand up on its base, whether it is a ship or a figure for other games, I glue an Australian 5 cent piece to the bottom. They're a good shape because they can be pushed into one corner but still cover most of the bottom of the base.

A dab of superglue on the echidna on the "tails" side works nicely. I couldn't possibly put superglue on Her Majesty's face on the heads side!

Try small coins. At first it might sound insane but unless you already have some appropriately shaped weights, it is probably cheaper than going out and buying them. And just think of how much you are spending on miniatures in the first place.

Post by **Steve Cole** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 3:13 pm

When I need the balance, I just glue the stand to a big thick steel washer. I have to go to Home Depot or Lowes and dig around in the bins to find one the right diameter and as thick as I can find.

jmt · Post by **jmt** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 4:01 pm

To address tipping issues, I've found that gluing a piece of stiff clear plastic (like that found in the blister packs) to the base and extending it in the direction the mini tends to tip to work well. Being clear means it doesn't affect the look and doesn't require the sacrificing of legal tender or bits of metal to be glued under a base.

Mazza · Post by **Mazza** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 4:13 pm

The coin or washer under the base is under and inside the base and thus doesn't affect the look of the models either.

Reading your post I think you mean some plastic which extends out from the base of the model, but which is transparent? Don't you find that gets in the way especially when you use the miniature for gaming?

CyrDraconis · Post by **CyrDraconis** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:33 pm

I've done the same thing as Scoutdad for some of my wobblier ships - stick the regular base to a Battletech hex with a bit of filler in the hollow. Had to go back and paint the extended bases, but if it keeps a front-heavy BC from nosediving on the table, I'll take it. Probably going to do the same thing for any monsters I pick up.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:05 pm

The Battletech hex bases also work well for the larger minis... Battleships, Andromedan Domintors, etc. Anything wiht a lot of lead that gets a bit wobbly when that much mass is lifted up and over a light-weight base.

One other things I've done...

I picked up some flight bases from a different company (I dumped them all in the base box, so I can't remember the company name) that were constructed identical to ADBs hex base... but the shaft that supports the mini was 1/2 the length of the regular flight base. Using this shorter base with the heavier, larger ships also gives a bit more stability.

and, you can put two minis in adjacent hexes w/o them bumping if one is on a short stand and one is on a regualr stand.

jmt · Post by **jmt** » Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:37 am

Mazza wrote:The coin or washer under the base is under and inside the base and thus doesn't affect the look of the models either.

Yes, you can; depending on the type of base and the underlying plastic.

Reading your post I think you mean some plastic which extends out from the base of the model, but which is transparent? Don't you find that gets in the way especially when you use the miniature for gaming?

Yes, and no. The plastic is thin enough that you can actually slide it under another miniature w/o toppling over the second mini. Given the area of the base, there usually isn't that much sticking out (maybe a 1/4 inch on one side).

markgeorgetwo · Post by **markgeorgetwo** » Sat Jan 05, 2008 6:29 pm

There is, a few i use steel washers about the same size has the base. this is handy has i keep some miniatures in a box file and use magnetic strips on the bottom of the box. also there is a firm that supplies both in the uk but i can not rember it.

I also use fishing leads and where i fish for carp i use like a lead putty that also does the same job.

malleman · Post by **malleman** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:14 am

I was wondering how do you prepare you mini stands?

1. I sand the flash off first. Next I superglue the base to the T peg, leaving a little bit of the T peg above the stand to sand down.

2. I then sand the top of the stand smooth.

3. Next I use Tesors plastic cement to coat the base. The plastic cement melts the stand to the T peg nicely.

4. Finally, I sand it down again and wash the stand. After that I give it a nice coat of Wal-mart black.

5. If the stand is not smooth (no visable seam) at the top after the spray, I repeat processes 2-4 until it is.

Sometimes I do use greenstuff in order to fill in any gaps if there are any (whcih happens mainly with the metal T pegs).

Using this process, I can get my stands to look as though it is all one piece without seams.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:52 am

I should be more elaborate like that, but I'm not.
I epoxy the T-peg (metal or plastic) into the stand base. Once the epoxy cures, I dremel it and the legs of the T-peg reasonably flush with the base top. If there's really bad gaps or holes, I'll through a little 2-part putty in them, but not all the time. I'll also sand a little bit if there were any really bad scratches or other problems but again, not always.
Once it's attached to the mini, I brush-coat the stand in flat black acrylic (which also gives me the opportunity to hide any excess epoxy glue on the mini's stand hole area.

Federation Commander

Mini Stands

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