Special Project - Custom Resin Bases

So a few weeks ago The LeadHead did up a really nice tutorial on creating and casting your own resin bases.  See that tutorial here.  That tutorial really inspired me, and may eventually lead me to adding something on the BJC MiniStudio site with selling custom bases, though I have no desire to fully entire that world or compete with one of my favorite producers of such bases - Dragonforge Designs.  So in otherwords, don't count on me entering the custom resin bases business anytime soon.

So this isn't a tutorial, and this isn't a plug for my site, and this isn't me telling ANYONE it's okay to copy someone else's work and make money off of it.  THAT IS ILLEGAL!!! 

Now that being said.

I love the look of a well based army, especially if said bases AND said army are fully painted.  Good resin bases can get very costly.  Lets face it, the average cost of 5 MicroArtStudio bases are $6.99 for a pack of 5.  And let me tell you I've paid it, and probably would/will continue to pay it.  Their products are simply stunning and the quality is superb.  Similarly Dragonforge Designs products are equally superb, and of course you get more bang for your buck so to speak at 10 bases for $10.00.  There are of course other sites out there producing most are fairly simple - add some sand to a blank, make a mold, Viola - custom resin base for sale.  Some produce a better quality, bigger rocks, cork rocks, sculpted rocks.  BaseContacts does some nice bases and resin terrain there you can get a pack of 10 25mm bases for $6.99.  Still I prefer the Dragonforge or MAS bases.

That being said, custom basing for your army will get costly no matter whom you choose to use.  So LeadHead's tutorial led me to experiment with casting my own bases.  Yes I DID RECAST some MAS bases to finish out my army.  I paid for their bases, they were my property to do with as I saw fit, and I DID recast a couple as a test for the process and to finish out MY army.  I WILL NOT offer these bases out to anyone whom I do commission work for as a custom base option.  That would be ILLEGAL and UNETHICAL and takes away income from them.  However, the process of  creating a mold, and then casting the resin bases, DID show me just how EASY it is to do your own.

Now that doesn't put down any of the companies who make quality resin bases.  the MAS and Dragonforge bases are of superior quality, and though the casting process is fairly easy, and once the molds are done resin is REALLY  cheap.  The process of making the originals can be pretty time consuming, ergo costly to the designer in time.  So while I don't like the over all cost of basing an army with MAS bases, I can see why it adds up.

Still, I can say this.  I will be making my own originals probably from now on because overall process is pretty easy.  Check back for updates to "Special Project - Custom Resin Bases" for the progress on my own designs.

-BJC