In several of the repaint threads I've seen where people have painted their bases and pegs black. I love the look, but was wondering what to use. My pegs already can be a bit of a tight fit on some bases, so wouldn't adding a coat of paint just make them stick together even more? Or is the idea to just keep the base and pegs glued together like a permanent stand and you just take the ships on and off of them? Any advise is appreciated.

go to any hardware store, grab the black spraycans, and spray away! sprayed paints tend to have thinner layers, and these "industrial / home use" spraycans tend to have paints that stick to the surface much better and are more resistant to scratches (as compared to hobby brands eg. citadels or tamiya)

go to any hardware store, grab the black spraycans, and spray away! sprayed paints tend to have thinner layers, and these "industrial / home use" spraycans tend to have paints that stick to the surface much better and are more resistant to scratches (as compared to hobby brands eg. citadels or tamiya)

Just to add my 2 cents here, an enamel will really hold up under heavy use. I am not sure if gloss is the only option for an enamel but if you can get a flat or matte black in an enamel then you are golden. The auto parts stores have a high temp engine block enamel and, as Duraham stated, you can get some very thin layers applied with some practice of the technique.

Nice, I was just worried that the coat of paint would cause the pegs and base to get stuck/glued together, thanks guys.

If you're particularly worried about the pegs being a tight fit, I'd also suggest wrapping some masking tape around the connecting parts (that you're not going to see anyway when they're together).

I have painted all of my bases flat black, then a gloss coat to seal them. I haven't had any problems with the pegs getting stuck, but some of the ship tokens fit pretty tightly on the base. You have to be careful when removing them so the cardboard doesn't split.

Aren't painted bases and flight sticks illegal for tourney play? I know the rules state the ships can be painted, but doesn't it say the bases can't be modified in any way? I hope I'm wrong... I'd love to paint my bases and flight sticks if it's 'tourney legal' to do so.

Cheers

I put all pegs and bases together then sprayed them flat black.... worked great no sticking problems, because the joints haven't been painted

Aren't painted bases and flight sticks illegal for tourney play? I know the rules state the ships can be painted, but doesn't it say the bases can't be modified in any way? I hope I'm wrong... I'd love to paint my bases and flight sticks if it's 'tourney legal' to do so.

Cheers

No, it says that you can't modify the base in a way that affects size or shape (unless I missed something).

On a somewhat related note, does anyone weight the bottom of their bases? Tapping ships and having them slide around is definitely annoying, weighted bases seem like they would solve the issue...

@Baphomet69: Thank you for clearing that up for me. I know exactly what I'll be doing tomorrow... Time for me to buy some washers and some black paint and gloss varnish!!!

Cheers

On a somewhat related note, does anyone weight the bottom of their bases? Tapping ships and having them slide around is definitely annoying, weighted bases seem like they would solve the issue...

Glue 1/2" washer under. Then fill with silicon. Heavy and stick to the mat

Excellent thread.!!!!

I painted my bases matt black and they look so much better than the clear plastic. I didn't paint the pegs though.

I painted my bases matt black and they look so much better than the clear plastic. I didn't paint the pegs though.

I did the same with a few of my bases, but I didn't do them all in case someone took offense with the fact that the black "blends" into the game mats. Not saying anyone would care, but in a formal tournament setting I'd use the regular clear bases.

On a somewhat related note, does anyone weight the bottom of their bases? Tapping ships and having them slide around is definitely annoying, weighted bases seem like they would solve the issue...

I originally did the washer-and-silicon thing, and it worked quite well, but you have to be careful about letting the bases sit on top of any cardboard for any length of time, because it stays a touch sticky for quite a while and can peel the top layer off a ship token.

This spring I've switched to squares of thin mouse pad material glued inside the hollow base. Lighter, but resists bumping quite well and no issues with stickiness.

I painted all my Rebel bases black, but my Imperial bases are a flat grey... I like how it turned out, makes them very different.