Tutorial - Basing with punched sheet

posted by roman, jarhead, kong

After i did recieve this question via email by Jimmy i thought this might be something good to write a quick article about. Here goes the question:

"My question is what is the material you use for some of your bases that looks like metal with holes in it ( dont really know how to explain it)  . It is most clearly seen on your dreadnought picture of yours that I have attached just in case you have no idea what I am talking about."

I'd like to call it Basing with punched sheet, because that is where i mostly use it. As you can see above on the WIP Cybot Conversion you can easily use punched sheet for a lot of things, depending on how thick it is you can use it for conversions too.

Now what is punched sheet? Punched sheets are metal plates with holes in it. You can get in different sizes with a different amount of holes in it. Pushing the search through google i for example did get this hit. Sure there are tons of other distributers around in the internet, make sure you keep our small hobby in mind, when buying different scales. You can also get some in your local do-it-yourself store, just ask one of the people working there, they should be able to order your wish. I often get those parts from Raffa or Robert, they've bought them in a local Hobby store, not the local Games Workshop i am talking about those where you can get ship or Airplane models. I hope it won't be a problem for you to get some. Here is a german online shop where you can get good prices and tons of different stuff, they ship worldwide.

Here goes an example on how easily you can build up a base with some punched sheet. Material check:

So i choose the parts i like to use and using this nail scissor to cut it out. I plan to build up the base on top of another great Sockelmacher.de Socket which i taped to avoid damaging and colouring it during the process. You can easily hit damage into the sheet by using a clipper or a small scissor. But take care of your skin, some edges will remain sharp like razors. That is why i use some sandpaper to make them less dangerous. Glued in place it looks like this:

Next i choose to bring a bit of extravaganza into it, i mean saving it from being a boring punched sheet base. I did cut out one area for raising it a bit later on.

Next i have used the common earth technique to add some more action to the base and some ducts into it to have a place where i can raise the planned area on top. I've also put the model in place afterwards.

Primed and ready for some paint...

Hope this article helps answering the question above...
Keep on happy painting!
Regards
Roman


Fallen Art?