On the underside of most minis is a short half peg that gets in the way when painting. How have you guys successfully removed this peg?

I usually blu-tac or tape over it, so that I can freely paint and it stays clear.

Just like with the wings, if you wiggle it a bit the glue tends to break and it slides right out.

I'm planning on painting all my bases black so I'm not too concerned about this. Have you thought about doing the same? Then you can add some stars, etc onto the base too to give it something a bit extra.

I jam a kabob skewer in there, secure it to the peg with blue masking tape, and then use it was a holder.

The problem with trying to remove the mounting peg is that it usually breaks in the process. Instead, I wrap some masking tape around it, carve a toothpick so it fits in the peg, and press the toothpick into a cork for an easy handle.

Paint comes off the mounting pegs really easily, at least the Citadel I've been using does.

What I ended up doing for a tie defender, tie bomber was basically drill a new home on top of the old one, cut a normal peg in half, and glue the hakf2-peg into the hole. It came out alright.

I tried to place tape over it as was suggested, but it didn't cone off easy enough so I ended up scratching off the paint around the tape. Or I put the tape on too thick. Either way there is a 2~3 mm ring around the peg that reveals the existing paint.