I get the feeling that the stems for my bases are over time going to crack. Is there an issue with replacing them with brass rod and magnets. The current tournament rules say

Ship bases cannot be modified to alter their size or shape. Weight may be added to a ship base if it does

not alter the size or shape of the base.

Which is not exactly explicit either way. The base size is definitely not altered.

--------------------

If I do it I think the best way is to find some washers that fit the brass rod precisely, Then Araldite them to the underside of the base. This I feel should stop the base cracking when I'm drilling through, and give me even more support for the rods. Then fill the rest of the base with Silicon and smooth. Then I should be able to glue a magnet into the washer, into the ship and onto either end of the rod to allow hot swapping. It would also allow me to have extra long stems for when I need to raise the ship to stop bumping.

Does this all sound reasonable?

The only part of the ship that trully matters rules wise, is the base.

As long as the base is exactly the same size and shape, then I don't think anything else matters. The rod hight for example doesn't actually have any impact on the game.

I think as long as you're using the orginal base, have only modifed it with wasers and such, you should be fine.

Hmm... what if you put padding (i.e. mouse pads) that increases the height of the base? Is that considered illegal?

Yeah man, do it. The base size and shape impacts game play, the rest is eye candy.

Hmm... what if you put padding (i.e. mouse pads) that increases the height of the base? Is that considered illegal?

The hight of the base shouldn't matter, as long as it's not too extream. a 16th or even 8th of an inch wouldn't have any impact. 3-4 inches would make it a bit more difficult to accurately measure though.

Hmm... what if you put padding (i.e. mouse pads) that increases the height of the base? Is that considered illegal?

The hight of the base shouldn't matter, as long as it's not too extream. a 16th or even 8th of an inch wouldn't have any impact. 3-4 inches would make it a bit more difficult to accurately measure though.

The base is raised, but the maneuver templates still fit within the guide nubs.