This blog is about the world of gaming miniatures, as seen from my perspective. I've been collecting and painting for over 30 years now, and while my primary focus is miniatures for D&D, I also enjoy many other games that use minis, so we'll be covering those as well. Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Do You Do Slotta?

Just wondering how many of you out there care one way or another what kind of base your miniature comes on. The reason why I ask is that I still see comments on forums and blogs where folks express a dislike for slotta-base minis. "Too bad it's slotta-based" is a similar refrain, and I'm not entirely sure if that's because those people don't like basing their miniatures, or what?

To be fair, I used to not consider slotta-base minis as a collecting option. Looking back, the reason was simple: I did not know HOW to base them! I was used to simply splashing some paint onto the Ral Partha or Grenadier or Heritage mini base and that was that. But slotta-base? Umm, there would be an ugly gap in the base of the mini, and since it wasn't textured, it would look...fake? Plain? I don't know. Years later, the "secret" of basing came to my attention, and it was something like "Oh, so THAT'S how you base a slotta-base mini!"

Now it's hard for me to NOT do extra basing work on whatever project I'm working on. At first, I simply glued the fixed-based mini (like the many Reaper DHL models I have) to the top of a spare plastic base, and then used spackle to blend in the terrain with the base. You know, so it didn't look like a mini glued to the top of a spare base.

But wait, there's more? You mean I can buy a base with edges higher than the bottom? Oh, so now I can glue the mini to the bottom of the base and use the spackle to level off the base, and everything is neat and tidy? Damn, what will these kids think of next, pre-formed custom bases so I can create my own little dioramas?

This year, I think I will have to go ahead and take a mini, hack the base off of it, and pin it to one of them there fancy new-fangled bases. I'll be sure to add that to the To-Do list, and hope to share the results down the road.

Now, if I see a mini I like, I'll add it to my collection regardless of what kind of base it comes with (or what scale it is, but that's another entry for another time). I mean, it would be a shame to pass up a perfectly good Remorhaz...I mean, Frost Wyrm or Erekose simply because they were slotta-based. Which reminds me, I still need to pick up the Frost Wyrm and paint up my Erekose sometime this year.

5 comments:

Michael S/Chgowiz said...

I use any mini - if I'm doing my own base with sculpey, slot tabs on the mini make it easy. If I'm using the slotta base, I fill it in. Doesn't bother me any.

Anonymous said...

Put me in the don't care camp. I fill in the gaps with liquid nails, and put minis with lead bases on squares of matte board.

Rick Anderson said...

Either works for me - if I have a pre-formed base like the Reaper DH line - then I use the Reaper square base - it's a metal base that's sunk a bit so that the top of the base matches the bottom of the shoe. If it's a slotta, I glue the figure in (after bending a bit to get a tight fit) just a bit higher than the base so I can coat the entire top half of the base which includes filling in the slot.

TopKat said...

Hi Rick and welcome aboard! I've become a big fan of those Reaper metal bases. Never again will one of my wobbly old minis topple over, once they have been properly Reaper-ized. And all the PCs that I paint up for my group in the future will get the same treatment.

Glad to see the comments so far are in the "I use what I like, regardless of base" camp.

Kiltedyaksman said...

I guess I'm a slotta snob.

I buy stuff with integrated bases, but only when it is a superior sculpt.