Another silly observation

[ZaPhOd]

Okay, so Rackham painters don\'t do the bases I assume so that the focus is entirely on the mini they are selling. Is it just me, or do Rackham figures here that do not have bases painted \"catch a break\" from the no base minuses that say a GW or Ral Partha fig get? I know that all of my quick Talisman figures (GW) have no basing and they all seem to get comments about finishing the base, but I see a hundred Rackham that don\'t. I think that is just stupid.... Oh well. Basing isn\'t the bee-all and end all of painting anyways IMO. It can totally make or break a mini but I judge minis mostly on the paintjob above all else. After all, it is not \"Cool Base or Not\".....

 

[Sturmhalo]

Can\'t say I\'ve noticed to be honest, though I\'m no great connoisseur of Rackham models (I just haven\'t paid that much attention to their figures).

The subject of unfinished bases is an age old gripe of many people. There\'s nothing worse than a base finished off with nothing more than a coat of grey paint (and the remaining slot unfilled!), regardless of the quality of the paint job.

I don\'t think that every model has to be based on a spectacular piece of sculpture. I prefer quite simple bases that look clean and neat so as not to draw the eye totally away from the model. They also look better en mass with units and groups of models. A whole unit of troops with highly detailed bases just kind of looks messy and unwieldly! Though sticking to this formula tends to result in me getting the now frequent comment \'great paint job but I\'d have given you a 8/9 if the base was better\' . Perhaps I should explain my views on basing with every picture I post?

Stop the base snobbery!

 

[Chrispy]

Actually, Glyn I\'ve had this problem with my Tanath... and he\'s from Rackham! When I put him up I kept getting comments and messges like \"If you do the base I would give you..\" I guess this kinda shoots that hypotheis.. unless of course, the artist somehow can hypnotize the veiwer into thinking the base is done... Hmmm..

 

[Bird]

Bases seem to be realy attractive for CMON users. I have also seen a lot of rackham models without basing who get comments on this topic. A huge scenic base can easily add 1-2 points to the rarting of a model. As for the question if basing makes sense or not, the rackham models are realy unrealistic sculpts. The painting of the rackham models supports this unrealistic style as they are extremely clean and pastellike. To mount them on a scenic base would distract from this, so it makes sense to display them on a black painted base. On the other side it does not make much sense to display realistic gaming models like ie Foundry on such kind of bases, nor does it makes sense to mount gaming models on this kind of bases.
Just my 2 cents.
Tom

Tom Weiss
http://www.twfigurines.de

 

[shris]

Why?

OK, so why don\'t you do anything to the base? Is it because you want to spend all your effort on the mini, spend all the viewer\'s attention on the mini, or what? Is it too late at night to do something with it, or is it that you\'re going for the minimalist approach? Is it because it\'s too much pain and suffering to sculpt up something special, fix it up with grass, trees, and water? Sturmhalo said he likes his units to look cleaner as a group (with simpler bases). What about you? Is it a deliberate choice or a default choice?

It seems to me like it should be possible to carefully paint a \'standard\' plastic base to look like something without spending a huge amount of time on it. Now, Reaper minis and others come with their own weird thing going on, that\'s a different story, but the plain old plastic bases should be relatively simple to do if you\'re so inclined.

Maybe I\'ll write an article about fast and easy paint jobs/mods to make a plain plastic base look better. Marbling, for example, doesn\'t take that long, and it works perfectly well for something flat and square.

Personally, I\'m not a gamer, I\'m just a painter/admirer. So my view does not reflect the views of players. After seeing how cool bases can be, I want mine to look good. That *doesn\'t* mean I necessarily want to spend hours on each base, though. I\'ve already spent hours on the mini, I\'m nearly done, I want to *be* done.

 

[GoatsDen]

They way I\'ve always done it is a really good base can add a point to a mini but I never take away for basing. Ok not entirely true, if the base is nothing more then a bunch of missed brush strokes I\'ll probably drop to a 6 if it was worth 6.5 rather then bumping to a 7.

As long as the base is at least a solid color I don\'t dock points.

 

[Lai]

all of my posted minis don\'t have a base.why?
because i\'m not so good with scenics and i prefer to leave the base clean and totally black than mess around with sand and rocks...
i\'m trying to improve but for now i keep the sand away from my minis!lol

 

[Sand Rat]

Basing

I dont base by and large either - but my reasoning comes down to this - gee senic bases are nice and look good on the shelf, but are hell when playing. I go for a neutral look to my bases because my figures are used and abused on the gaming table. I also try to get them to look somewhat similar, so I may use one color to paint the bases I am working on that month - usually grey or sandstone. Having said that, I have some that I am finishing up that have basing applied to them.

 

[Flashman14]

hmmm . . .

I\'m firmly in the camp of having a finished base. It seems to me integral to the work in question. It need not be a huge rock with the slottabase glued onto the bottom but a simple neat textured base.

And for the minimalists - take a look at this:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/?id=12177

... a perfect example of simplicity yet it still conveys a \"complete\" mini . . . ! (Actually, most of her recent figures have a similar ground motif)

 

[Lai]

mmm...i say i like that base!

 

[Errex]

Base Insticnt

Well, yes, that base is nice, although, simple. Now, don\'t get me wrong, but I\'m pretty sure Jen has to adhere to the guidelines imposed by the makers of the game, so, I don\'t doubt that she\'d have choosed to do something completely different where it not a commisioned work.

There is certainly clear differences between \"play\" and \"display\" bases, and most comments are in the vein of \"Great paintjob on the mini, ugly base\", rather than \"Great base, ugly mini\". All I want to say is that to get a decent score, a mini has to look like a finished piece, and more often than not, a mediocre base detracts from the result.

This is not dogma nor carved in stone, but it certainly explains why some seemingly plain-based minis get sometimes higher scores than the 40-hour scenic maquette you just finished.

 

[ZeCorto]

It seems from preview pictures of Rackham\'s newest game (Rag Narok) that they are starting to base their minis too. It might be too early to say that it\'s a change of policy...

 

[Lai]

where did you find pics of rag\'narok?