heavy metal for base weight?!?

C

clover

New member
Hey,
I\'m converting my orc wyvern and I want to have him about a foot above the base on a carbon rod. Obviously centering the weight on the miniature is very important here but I also would like a super heavy metal for the base as a counter weight to guard against accidental tipping. Does anyone have any suggestions? Preferably it would be heavier than pewter so the weights can be as small as possible.

Thanks:D
 
O

Ogrebane

New member
I sculpted a giant that was over 30cm high. It was a balancing act. No mater how heavy the metal and I think lead is probably the heaviest and safest its going to be unstable.

What I did tho was had a mate who is a fitter and turner make the base extra thick and out of steel thith a 6mm rog extending straight up. It balances OK as long as you dont bump it.

Good luck post picks.
 
O

Ogrebane

New member
In the 5th edition rules when the giant fell over you could use the giant as the template. He could easily take out 4 units in one hit.
 
J

Javi Metal

New member
my 2 cents

Super heavy metal! wow that sounds awesome :beer:

Add details to your plastic base giving it volume, like rocks or even a small village to create the effect the flying guy is really high...dunno but make a bulky one. Then mould it and cast the base in lead so the whole is 100% metal. I don\'t know the mini you are talking about but also you can try to clone it in lighter materials than metal but if it\'s GW I\'m sure half of it is already plastic :twisted:

Hope it will be helpful :)

Good luck dude.
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
depleted uranium is denser than lead. Kinda hard to come by in a civian market though.
 
O

Ogrebane

New member
Well even pure gold is heavier than lead but its a mongrell to use cause its so soft. The uranium could be good tho. Youll be able to paint it in the dark.
 
R

Ritual

New member
Originally posted by Ogrebane
Well even pure gold is heavier than lead but its a mongrell to use cause its so soft. The uranium could be good tho. Youll be able to paint it in the dark.
Click to expand...
Actually, gold is lighter than lead! It\'s about 10 u lighter. ;)
 
M

markstorch

New member
It\'s not really about the weigh tof the base, but the center of gravity of the miniature in relation to the base.

What you need to do is make sure the center of gravity is always over the base, even if it tips to one side a little. This is much more important than the weight of the base. While adding weight will marginally increase stability, making the base bigger will make it rock solid.

For example, taking your wyvern, you could be a fool and pin the rod into a 60mm base with 2 lbs of lead glued to the bottom. It would be good and heavy, but your you model would have a life expectance measured in minutes, if not seconds as it would tip over the first chance it got. Now, consider instead using a circle 6\" in diameter as your base. If the mounting rod is stiff, you can do a little geometry and see that you hav to give the model a pretty good bump before it\'s going to tip. It doesn\'t matter if that base is made of balsa wood or depleted uranium so long as the base doesn\'t brea and center of gravity stays over the base.
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
this a game piece? need a certain size base? I like the 6\" or the CD sized base idea if it is doable..
 
C

clover

New member
Its the all metal orc wyvern from 6th edition and yeah I wanna use it as a game piece.

Markstorch, your idea about the 6\" circular base makes a lot of sense, I could glue the 60mm to the round base so it would still be usable in games. I could just put grass over the extra 6\" round so it blends into the table like a hill would.

Alas no I don\'t have access to uranium, anyone here from Korea!??lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back To Top
Top