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Broccoli Bases - what's the deal?


Nathan Caroland

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I'm curious what folks think about broccoli bases in general. Quite a few miniature companies seem to do this, right off the top of my head Reaper, Dark Sword and Olley's Armies just to pull some out of the ether.

Me - I can't stand premolded bases, though granted, a lot of fun detail can be put into some of them, but generally they are made to just look like ground, grass or a big hunk of metal that you've got to work around. I cut, or disquise amongst a base and ballast, these included bases.

It also seems like a chunk of extra metal when it comes to casting, adding costs, etc.

What are your thoughts on these in general? Like using them? Don't really care? Cut them off all the time?

What bases do you prefer - me, I'm sold on the round premium ones (such as we use here at Wyrd) - they just look better overall to me. Squaure and round bases without a bevel just look 'blah' to me. Is it even something you really consider when doing a miniature?

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Hate em.

The number of easily avalible quality plastic bases out there have really made the brocolli base obsolete. But it seems to be one of those old school mini conventions that refuses to die.

I can count the number of attached base minis I have bought on 2 fingers, and the number I have actually painted on zero.

I don't mind a sculpted base that fits the theme of the mini, but at least make it a seperate piece so that I can decide if I wnat to use it or not.

Unless I need a perticular base for gaming purposes amost all my models get put on to the round premium style bases nowadays.

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Generally hate built in bases, but Olley's armies are normally small enough not to matter, I tend to use display bases and disguise them easily enough. Reaper bases annoy the hell out of me but not as much as their poor castings :mad:

I've got loads of bases, mostly display (round with a lip) but I like resin bases (sci-fi etc) too.

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From a sculptors point of view... Cast on bases can be easier to sculpt as you have more freedom of foot placement especially in relation to other objects touching the floor.. It doesn't need to be in one strict line like it does with a slot. Also cast on bases alow for easier add on of sceneric elements. Like a twig, a chest near the characters feet, or whatever you want to have go with the mini but not nessecairy touching it. Also slots dictate the how the mini goes in the mould a hell of a lot more. Meaning as sculptor you know the direction it's likely going into the mould and you need to have enough knowledge of moulding to have it all workable from that angle in the mould as there is less flexibility to turn it by the mould maker. (or so i heard)

I have some new Waggamaephs on the way for Crunch waffle. 1 doesn't have cast on base as the fig alone stands firmly enough (no slot either, it's more like my Mabel sculpt for those who know it) so I decided against one (even if Crunch waffle usually has all cast on bases), 1 does have cast on but would not nessecairly needed one but made sculpting it easier. The 3th and last I would not have been able to do like this without the cast on base.

As a painter: I definatly prefer the not attached bases and at times (more then not) curse the cast on ones. I prefer slots and even those I cut off pretty much all the time. If the cast on base is nicely detailed I'm ok with them. They will do on their own or get integrated in a bigger base. But those random dented bases which don't look like anything... those just get in the way. But generally I will always prefer non cast-on to cast on.

About making them as seperate base instead of cast on. Not economical. It takes away the sculptor advantages of cast one and is basically an extra mini to cast (with according costs)

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I have always been a bit of a Reaper fan myself. I have liked the variety of the line and its ease of availability (at least for me). The bases are pain in the keester though. I rarely leave them as is. Initially, I would bury them in greenstuff and flock/ballast. As of late, I have began clipping off the base. It takes some additional time, but since I paint at a snail's pace, what is an extra 15 minutes? :)

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i guess for me, the answer is, it depends on the amount of broccoli we are talking. I have some that the base is small and not much hinderance, then I have others where it makes a standard sized fig sit on a cavalry sized base and usually touches the mini in several places. Those are the kind that annoy me.

I have a hard enough time trying to cut them off when they are only touching feet, but when you get these that have huge bases, they are darn near impossible to cut off without risking major damage to the lower portions of the mini with it.

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I have some new Waggamaephs on the way for Crunch waffle. 1 doesn't have cast on base as the fig alone stands firmly enough (no slot either, it's more like my Mabel sculpt for those who know it) so I decided against one (even if Crunch waffle usually has all cast on bases), 1 does have cast on but would not nessecairly needed one but made sculpting it easier. The 3th and last I would not have been able to do like this without the cast on base.

Sweet more Waggamaephs. They are one of the few prebased mini I actually own. I mean how can you resist. :) I really need to get the one I have painted one of these days.

You pointed out crunch waffle and I think they are a great example. They are putting out some very cool looking minis, but the fact is I probably will never bother with them becuse of the bases.

Incidentily I remembered 2 more prebased minis I have bought, and I have actually painted both of those. I guess in the end a prebased mini has to bring a lot to the table to help me get over the base, but it is not imposable

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While I rather dislike broccolli bases, it's not all that difficult to flock over them. I do rather like "scenic" bases though. Honestly the real advantage to the brocoli base vs a slotted base is that the average gamer can pick up a mini, not even need to touch it and be able to immediately play with it.

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Honestly the real advantage to the brocoli base vs a slotted base is that the average gamer can pick up a mini, not even need to touch it and be able to immediately play with it.

Yep, and I suspect that's why some companies, Reaper in particular, stick with the integral base. As a painter, I find them annoying. It limits my basing options to something naturalish I can bury in flock, or much more than 15 minutes for me trying to get the thing off. As a person who works in a game store, I am 100% sure that we would sell far fewer minis to RPers if the Reaper Dark Heaven line didn't have integral bases. There are a lot of people who won't even buy a mini that just needs an arm glued on. A lot of RPers don't seem to be that fussed about the artistry of the paint and the base and so on. They are concerned about how much the mini looks like the character it's meant to represent, or how hard it would be to convert it to look like that character.

:goodbad:

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Ok, I need someone to post a good VIDEO tutorial on using dremels and such.

I popped open a box of minis over the weekend and set about cutting off the slot bases and lets just say that while trying to complete the job with a brand new dremel that I also just bought... Well, half of those minis are now either footless or they might as well be for the beating they took from me and the dremel.

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I popped open a box of minis over the weekend and set about cutting off the slot bases and lets just say that while trying to complete the job with a brand new dremel that I also just bought...

You don't need a dremel to cut the tab of a slottabase mini. Pinceurs/grips (what ever the correct term) are great, fast, and safe for you and the mini.

For broccoli bases (I only had one mini in that case ... can't believe people still buy those) I sawed it off with a metal cutting hand-saw.

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Ok, I need someone to post a good VIDEO tutorial on using dremels and such.

I popped open a box of minis over the weekend and set about cutting off the slot bases and lets just say that while trying to complete the job with a brand new dremel that I also just bought... Well, half of those minis are now either footless or they might as well be for the beating they took from me and the dremel.

On slotted minis, just use your side cutters to remove the slot. Then file down the rest. I use miniature rasps to remove most of the slot remainder, then the files to smooth it out.

I also do not like the intergral bases. I am also confused as most of those type bases I have seen will not stand up on their own, having flash or miscast. So I find it strange that a gamer will not take time to glue a mini to a base, but would have enough time to file down the base.

Now having said that, there is a point that you pretty much want the integral base, and that is on the small scale infantry models, say 15mm or smaller. I couldn't see pinning 300 little mens feet to a stand.

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As a painter I hate integrated bases. The broccoli texture is the worst of all. The only exception would be when they aesthetically add to the composition like this:

2986_G.jpg

Ordinarily I cut it off and pin the figures, too, even if they are tabbed for slot bases. Tabs are way easier to cut off than integrated bases.

As a sculptor, I'll put a figure on whatever someone pays me to. For my own things, I am in the premium round slot-base camp.

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I've cut off more than a few of the bases and tabs and would say the biggest one that I had to do what Ghravark (sp) the Ghoul King from Reaper (that big fat bastard). I have a pair of side cutters that are great for stuff like that and I cut off huge chunks of the integrated base before I even got out the dremel - by the time I actually got out the dremel all that was left was ragged chunks of metal under the feet.

First and foremost. get some clamps and get that bugger stationary so that it doesn't move and then go to work, if you try to hold it in hand while your buzzing away at it, there is very good chance that your going to hurt yourself. Also allows for better control so that you can hold it with two hands if need be when you hit a ragged edge of metal and the dremel starts jumping about on you.

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For me, the question of a broccoli base or tabbed/slotted is usually not much of a consideration. I look at the mini and pay little or no attention to what it's standing on. Sculpted bases are a different story. If they enhance the mini, so much the better, unless they are so huge and odd that it will make painting difficult.

Now, that being said...I dislike broccoli, wherever I smell it. ;-) I generally just spend the time to bury it or cut it off, but I'd prefer it not to exist at all. Tabbed/slotted may somewhat limit poses and basing options in some cases, but they tend to be the lesser of two evils. Still evil, but, hey, whatcha gonna do about it?

I understand why broccoli and tabbed bases exist from standpoints of marketing, consumer usage, sculpting, moldmaking, casting and final materials. For me, each mini purchased depends on the intended application. I look at it and think about the possibilities for RPG, tabletop skirmish or armies, leaders, the intended game system (limiting final base selection for size & shape), display, competition, gift, diorama, etc. If the mini passes muster, then I look at the base. The base alone is never the first consideration, seldom the deciding factor one way or the other, and never limits me to one manufacturer or avoiding another.

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You should all be supporting Revelations Miniatures then.

The one I have has pins already on the bottoms of his feet designed to insert in the holes in the base, but there's no reason you would have to use that base, and theres' nothing to cut off.

The minis are not my style, but here's the link. http://www.revelation-miniatures.com/

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