Et voila! Black resin casting with a 20mm washer popped in.
Here is a side by side comparison to the regular round base. I can actually go higher in profile but countersink the top.
I am thinking of making the next prototypes using a 3D printer to get the little features I want such as a slight lip with countersunk top and a weakened groove for slots. I was thinking I may try a 25mm round as well as a thirty, since Skulldred is honeybadger on base sizes.
Base coated citadel barbarian on prototype base.
So what do you think so far?
Great minds obviously think alike! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've been doing the same sort of thing:
http://www.joethomlinson.com/trade/index.php/Bases
The main difference is I use a rare earth magnet in the base as I'm looking at armies as well as skirmish. The movement has a .5mm steel sheet for the bottom for a solid magnetic connection.
Sigh! That should be 'The movement tray has ...'
ReplyDeleteHa, hah! Vindicated! Another brother in arms on Basequest!
ReplyDeleteThose are great! Looks like your sides are getting concaved- perhaps more edge loops will fix that?
I had a magnet slot in my original design, but found my minis snapping to each other and picking up filings- so I am going the washer route for mine.
I just came up with a ring that snaps around the edge of a 25mm washer to turn it into a 30mm base. This will protect the sides from scratching, and can be retro fitted to existing washer bases. A small lip holds it in place.
I have to think of a dozen more things I want to 3d print to make postage worth it.
Maybe if we get the perfect base we can crowd fund it!
The concave edge base was only a test, it's because the to disks of plasticard I used had bevelled edges and I did a lousy putty job. The snap on ring sounds like a great idea if you use washers, I need to have mine in movement trays for army level actions so magnets are a must. Combined with movement trays, they make play, transportation and storage that much easier.
DeletePostage on 3D prints is a killer, Shapeways is bearable @ ~$20 but you have to print everything as one object like a plastic kit 'sprue' otherwise the overhead costs kill. www.ponoko.com are far better on lots of small items but the postage is outrageous at ~$90!!! I got round this by getting them shipped to a mate in Canada for $15 and then on-shipped to here. (as far as shipping goes, we really do live at the 'arse end of the world')
Some tips on 3D prints if you haven't done them before:
. When designing using something like Sketchup which doesn't use true curves, you need to make sure you increase the segments in any curve to get good results. Otherwise your bases will end up looking like the bastard love child of a 50c piece.
. Using the best detail material from either Shapeways or Ponoko, the bottom of the print will be noticeably corrugated, so when you glue it down on a flat surface to make the mold, you will need to seal tiny gaps between the 3D print and the base board, otherwise the mold material will sneak in and create little 'dags' which will show on subsequent casts.
I'm probably going to get some more masters printed in the near future, so if you want to get some done and share the postage etc, let me know.
Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson
jthomlin
(at)
gmail.com
Sorry, forgot to add a quick pick of an actual mold made from 3D prints and some test casts:
Deletehttp://www.joethomlinson.com/trade/index.php/File:Bases09.jpg
Still need to work on getting the bottom of the casts flat, if you scrape a flat edge over the mold to flatten the casts they tend to loose a little more material and end up concave. As my inset designs are only 1mm thick in places, additional loss of thickness is problematic as even the hardest resin will tend to flex. Not good for something that's meant to be a solid foundation!
I'm currently testing the idea of using a flat surface to cover the mold and make for a flat cast, but air bubbles are a problem. More experimentation is required, and mold release! Definitely mold release, my first try was with a sheet of glass, but the bloody resin sticks to it like you wouldn't believe!
Cheers!
Joe Thomlinson