Help Rebasing MInis

By Annette Soleil, in Mansions of Madness

As I'm pretty sure most people who've attempted to paint any of the MoM miniatures probably decided, the bases that come with the game are kind of terrible. So before preparing to paint them, I wanted to buy some new bases and rebase everything before I move onto priming and everything else.

These were the bases I bought a couple months ago, albeit in a few different sizes depending on the mini in question: https://www.amazon.com/Litko-Game-Accessories-Circular-Miniature/dp/B00MNMPCZ6/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=litko+clear+bases&qid=1587923681&sr=8-5

The problem I ran into, however, was that I couldn't get them to glue to the minis properly. The glue I had took forever to dry and I had to sit there for minutes trying to hold them in place, just hoping they'd be secure when/if the glue dried properly. (It doesn't help that I don't have especially steady hands) It is glue specifically designed for miniatures, (I believe a Citadel brand I picked up at one of my local stores) and it worked fine for trying to glue together minis with multiple pieces, but I'm sure there are better options available for rebasing. The other problem is that I'm really not sure how to handle especially delicate minis like the Witches or the Zombies. Even with the glue I currently have, I was able to get most of the cultists in place for example, but I must've spent half an hour desperately trying to get one of the witches in place with no luck. Worse yet, even the cultists I glued in place, I'm unsure if the glue will actually hold up over time. I really don't want the minis to accidentally come off their bases while I'm in the middle of painting or during the middle of a game or something.

So generally, any tips/ideas would be greatly appreciated. As well as some recommendations on specific glues to use.

I use Gorilla Super Glue Gel for just about everything and have never had a problem.

This is the stuff you want. It's super glue that dries fast and (this is the best bit) it doesn't fog. After going through many types of glue for my clear bases, this stuff was the winner:

POLY ZAP CA (Blue Label) Medium Viscosity

Scroll down on this link: https://www.zapglue.com/specialty

It'll glue tiny feet really well to the clear bases too.

I'll be sure to try it out. I ordered one off of Amazon but it'll probably take at least a week to get here (not that I'm in any rush, I have plenty of IA minis to paint, books to read, and games to play while I'm stuck at home). The fogging isn't really an issue, since I'll be spraying the primer on after gluing the bases. It's a lot easier to paint that way.

Personally I drilled my clear bases, as I am not sure if i'll ever get round to painting them. That is another option will save you from super glue clouding on the acrylic.

I'd recommend Craftics #33.

https://www.amazon.com/Litko-Game-Accessories-Craftics-Acrylic/dp/B00M1UB6BY

I didn't replace the bases of the ones that just stand on their own, but all the smaller ones were glued to the Litko bases with the above acrylic cement. It has been awesome. Dried fast and has held them together. I just kind of shove them all into a Plano box, but none have come off.

I primed and painted first, then used Dullcote to seal them. Then I used clippers to remove the tab on the bottom.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RW8VTSX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm still relatively new to the whole miniature thing, but this was all pretty easy and effective.

That Litko Craftics #33 was the second last one I tried before settling on the Poly Zap.

For me it was gooey, and the list of warnings on the back was massive, including: "shown to cause cancer in certain laboratory animals." That freaked me out - I mean, how do the creators 'know' that it can cause cancer, unless it's been through testing and the tests proved this. Anyways, I wore gloves and had heaps of ventilation and tried never to let the stuff touch me. But in the end, it was too annoying to get it to work, especially on little feet and the time to dry was too long. When it did work it stuck really well, but you needed to give it at least 24 hours for the full bond.

Please, of course, use whatever works for you. My only mention after the Craftics here is because of all the warnings on the package.

Link: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1408/9874/products/Craftics_33_Thickened_Cement_02_1800x.jpg?v=1484341113

I ended up settling on the Poly Zap and it worked great. Much better than the old glue I was using. The stuff gives me a massive headache when I used it though so I couldn't do them all in one sitting, even while wearing an N95 mask. But I finished the last of them today and hopefully the glue holds long-terms. I'm going to prime all of them in the next week or two just to get them all out of the way at once.

On 4/26/2020 at 2:01 PM, Annette Soleil said:

The glue I had took forever to dry and I had to sit there for minutes trying to hold them in place, just hoping they'd be secure when/if the glue dried properly. (It doesn't help that I don't have especially steady hands) It is glue specifically designed for miniatures, ( I believe a Citadel brand I picked up at one of my local stores ) and it worked fine for trying to glue together minis with multiple pieces, but I'm sure there are better options available for rebasing.

One thing to note about Citadel or any other "plastic" glue / cement is that it only works on specific kinds of plastic. It "melts" the plastic a bit and when it sets the two separate pieces are now fused. The benefit of that kind of glue is the strong bond and while it's not good to get on your bare skin, it won't glue your fingers together like superglue will. It will also give you a little more time to position the separate pieces as the plastic melts and fuses; superglue tends to bond quickly. The other upshot is that if you're using something like Tamiya's Extra Thin cement, you can get really fine control as it's thinner than superglue.

If either your mini or your base are the "wrong" kind of plastic, plastic glue will NEVER bond. The glue WILL melt the kind of plastic it reacts with, but if you're trying to stick it to the "wrong" type of plastic, all you'll end up with is a mess and a potential loss of detail where the plastic melted and you tried to bond it to non-reactive plastic.

The upside of using superglue is that it will stick all types of plastic used on minis. The downsides are it's generally kinda thick which can make it less than ideal super fine work (generally not a problem with Mansions of Madness minis, compared to some Warhammer minis or something like the Battle Droids for Legion), it "fogs up" on clear plastic when it dries (again, not a problem for Mansions unless you're using clear bases), and of course, it can bond your skin very easily if you're not careful.

That said if you're going to be gluing a bunch of models that react to plastic cement, I would absolutely recommend Tamiya's extra thin cement as the container / applicator are significantly easier to use than the Citadel "needle." Just use it in a well ventilated area; the fumes are potent.

Edited by KalEl814