Use ‘push moulds’ to make 100s of themed bases, each unique, for about 30c each!
I have thought about making moulds to make bases for a while now, but had run into several issues. Cost and availability of moulding materials, difficulty/mess of casts, repetitiveness of having several of the same bases in the army.
Then I had an idea, and did a bunch of experiments/tests and while I’m not going to say this is the bestest method ever! It definitely works for me and might for you.
Concept
The idea was to make a large stamp, (15cm x 15cm or so) that you could then make individual bases from, offsetting each base to a slightly different place on the stamp so that no two bases are exactly alike. By making it a stamp, I could use the easier and cheaper ‘push’ method rather then pouring and casting with expensive and hard to source materials. Instead I would use polymer clay.
The Master
To start with you have to make an original sculpt to make a cast from. It works well if you have an idea of what kind of bases/location you want for your miniatures.
I am working on a stormcast army atm and I wanted them to be based on a stone ruins, in a city reclaimed by a red desert. I decided I would add the sand later, so its the stones I would be making now.
The base of the sculpt and the materials used in its construction will need to be resistant to force. Substances like plaster of paris, will crumble and crack and will not be suitable, but you can use whatever you think will work.
Myself I used a couple of sheets of mdf for the base, 15x15cm
For the stone work, I cut and carved ‘foamed pvc’ which is great stuff, costs about $4 per A4 sheet, depending on thickness. I used less then ½ sheet all up, a mix of 1mm and 2mm thicknesses.
I made roots from greenstuff and added skulls from GW, so maybe $1 worth of additional materials.
Total build cost for the master base, about $3.
Note, this master should not look like a 'scene’ it should instead be a collection of elements, thin stone, thick stone, level changes etc, so that you can get the most diversity for your bases in as little area as possible.
The Mould
This is the most expensive part of the build, costing $12ish for a 400g block of polymer clay. I used about $10 worth on the mould.
Worked the clay to 'condition’ it. Roll it out with a rolling pin to the depth needed to capture all the detail, do this on baking paper so that it wont stick to your surface and you can pop it in the oven after.
The highest point on my master was 7mm so I needed around 10-12mm thickness of clay to be safe.
You then coat both the surface of the clay and the master, in a releasing agent, cornflower in this case. Place the master on the clay and apply pressure, as much as you can muster. I went as far as placing it on the ground and standing on it with a little gentle bopping up and down. But try not to go side to side as it can deform the mould details.
Remove the master, and if you are happy with the mould, pop it in the oven to bake. Once cooled you have a mould.
Note, if the mould looks rubbish, just rework the clay and try again till you are happy with it.
Other materials:
I tried a few other materials before settling on polymer clay. Cold porcelain was terrible for details (and a mess to make) Air dry clay can get ok details if you really work it before hand. It’s cheaper, and if you use polymer clay for the final casts, you wont need much in the way of releasing agent as the two really don’t stick. But in the end I was not happy with the loss in detail with air dry clay.
You can also use talc as a releasing agent, but it can be slightly more expensive then cornflower.
The Casts.
To make each base you will need a small amount of polymer clay, a base of the correct size, baking paper, releasing agent, the mould and a 'cookie cutter’
Condition the clay, and then press a small amount onto the miniature base with baking paper between them (else it will stick to the base). Smush the clay around till it roughly covers the surface area of the base. Coat the top of the clay and the mould in releasing agent, pick a interesting spot on your mould and place the clay there. Push down on the clay using the miniature base as a convenient tool and applying a decent amount of force. Then separate the clay from the mould. If you have used enough releasing agent, the clay should lightly adhere to the baking paper and not the mould and should come loose by lifting the paper.
You can then use the 'cookie cutter’ to trim the excess and give you a sharp outer edge, but remember to coat the cutter in releasing agent also, or the clay will stick to it and distort.
Pop the cast in the oven and bake.
Once done, the cast is ready to be stuck on your choice on miniature base.
I made 40mm bases and they cost between 15 to 20c worth of clay each.
The Cookie Cutter
You will most likely need to make a custom cookie cutter of the correct size for your bases. There are many online tutorial about this. For me I took a plastic shot glass, and used a dremmel to cut the top off till it was the right size.
Final Costs
$3 for the original sculpt
$10 for the mould materials
20c per base.
This process really worked for me, and I hope it does for you also. I’m looking forward to making a jungle stamp for my lizard men next.
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Fitzhywels Fantastical Paraphernalia!
Maps, Game Aids, Props and tokens.
Physical/PDFs on DrivethruRPG
Digital on Roll20
Or hire me to make yours!
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