If you're willing to follow the proper steps, creating your own resin bases can be surprisingly easy. Hopefully you can learn from my experience and my mistakes to get started on your own bases.
First, you'll obviously need to make base master copies. I got a cheap roll of thin cork from Staples and with some odd bits, sand, and PVA glue, I made some simple scenic bases. Next you'll need a container to hold your mold - I used plastic egg containers (the flat side).
In the first batch I used wall-tac to affix the base to the plastic but the mold-mix seeped underneath the bases causing complications. The best thing to do is to glue the base down so no mold-mix can penetrate.
Once the bases are glued down, seal the entire container with a gloss finish. I used Krylon Crystal Clear... I learned the hard way that not sealing them will leave all of your fancy base work stuck in the mold.
Now you are ready to pour your mold. Be sure to use Silicone rather than Latex if you intend to make more than one batch of bases. I used the One-to-One Express from Micro-Mark: http://www.micromark.com/one-to-one-and-express-mold-rubber-32-fl-oz,11755.html
I used water to get the measurements correct so as not to waste any mold mix, marking the plastic cups accordingly. Once the mix was poured and cured, I gently pealed it off...
In this picture ^^ you can see the flash around some of the base molds - that is because I didn't glue this batch down and the mix got beneath the base master -- make sure you glue them down and make sure you seal them!
Now you're ready to pour some resin... I used Smooth-On Smooth-Cast 300; but you can use Alumilite, Micro-Mark or whichever is your favorite type of resin.
Make sure you mix and pour before the resin cures... in this picture ^^ you can see how the resin started to cure before I was finished pouring - these bases were trashed.
Again, I used water to get my measurements correct before pouring so as not to waste any resin... once I got the timing down the rest came easy:
I painted one base so that I can re-base Commander Dante (who usually falls over on the smaller base), but I intend to re-base all of my jump-infantry and my newer Tactical squads.
Once I got the technique down I was surprised how easy it actually was to create nice looking resin bases. I hope this article will help some of you create your own bases; feel free to leave questions or comments!
What flock did you use on the base?
ReplyDeleteHmm not sure, just a generic green grass one I think.
DeleteHow many castings do you think you could make with these moulds?
ReplyDeleteWell I haven't really pushed it that far, but I've done at least 6 or 7 casting on each and they've shown absolutely no sign of wearing yet. I've already ended up with more bases than I can use so I stopped.
DeleteI think though it also has to do with your resin pour; if you over pour and it spills over it might cause the mold to warp; if you under-pour, you can always just wait for it to harden then add more.