Base Stamps

[Laoke]

Hi guys,

 

I'm starting to think about doing some basing but I'l not really keen on static grass and the like:  yes, it gives stunning results but I'm really interested in producing textured dungeon floors and the like with relative ease

In all honesty, I could probably get away with two basic textures:

• Cobblestone / Dungeon floor
• Bare rock

I know that Happy Sepukku and the like have put out some base stamps:  does anyone have recommendations on which ones are any good?

[Mad Jack]

 For cobblestones or dungeon floors, almost anything will work just fine. I don't think there's anyone producing base stamps/pads that doesn't make both cobblestones and dungeon/castle floors...

 

(And honestly, if you can pick up a hobby knife without stabbing yourself in the back of the head with it, you can sculpt one yourself almost as easily.)

 

For bare rock, you'd have to check out the individual companies to see what they have...

[Baugi]

I use Happy Seppuku's flagstone pattern A LOT. Like 10x more than the others. I showed the results down in my basing thread a while ago on some Manor Orcs.

[dsmiles]

Depending on where you live, you might be able to pick up Basius 2 pads at retail, when they become available.

[Wren]

The Happy Sepukku pads are one uniform texture across the whole of the pad. The textures themselves are good, but if you're not making an enormous base, it seems a bit of a waste. The accessory pads are a very cool idea, but are poorly implemented. (Most have either mediocre traditional sculpting or 3D sculpting littered with printing textures. They are a handy way to use up spare mixed putty.)

 

The Basius pads have a variety of a themed texture across the pad. So one corner might be flagstone, then there are other areas that are more damaged looking, or covered with debris, or covered with treasure. The websites of both should show pretty clearly what the textures are. Basius 2 pads have a different set of textures on each side. So bang for the buck wise, I think Basius wins pretty handily.

 

The HS pads are a flexible rubbery material. (But thick and sturdy.) So you can use hard curing putties and then curve the pad back to pop out the base. The Basius pads are hard resin. Mine only just arrived so I haven't played with them yet, but I suspect that you can't leave hard putty on them to cure, you either need to stamp and remove, or use more flexible putties like Green Stuff. I also suspect that this means you can drop HS pads with impunity, and that this is much less of a good idea with Basius pads.

[vutpakdi]

Leaving epoxy putty to cure on the Basius stamps would be a really bad idea according to the Wargames Bakery.

 

I have both the Happy Seppuku and the Basius stamps. The Happy Seppuku stamps are more affordable and have decent textures. The Basius stamps are more expensive but have a wider variety and deeper textures on a given stamp.

 

Ron

[LittleBluberry]

I have Happy Seppuku stamps because the owner is reasonably local and they are therefore easy to find as well as affordable.  I'd like to get at least one Basius pad, but they are much more expensive plus a high shipping cost on top of that.  I don't know that I would want to commit to just one or the other, but the HS stamps were easy to start using with no problems. 

 

I second the notion that accessory pads from HS are not really worth it.  They're a good idea, but the quality is not quite up to where I'd like it. 

[Baugi]

Honestly... I ordered quite a few HS stamps, and I'm SUPER THRILLED with like 3 of them, and really underwhelmed with the rest.  The Basius pads sound fantastic... except that I'd be way too worried about breaking them or misusing them, especially at that price point.  HS pads are literally just big slabs of silicone, that seem to take to just about any material you care to use on them (I've stopped buying putties and just use hot glue for mine!  Awesome if you're gaming/painting on a budget.)

[Laoke]

Which three are you thrilled with, Baugi? I think I've pretty much settled on HS - not as high quality, but more durable fits my painting style to a "T".

[ub3r_n3rd]

Honestly... I ordered quite a few HS stamps, and I'm SUPER THRILLED with like 3 of them, and really underwhelmed with the rest. The Basius pads sound fantastic... except that I'd be way too worried about breaking them or misusing them, especially at that price point. HS pads are literally just big slabs of silicone, that seem to take to just about any material you care to use on them (I've stopped buying putties and just use hot glue for mine! Awesome if you're gaming/painting on a budget.)

Basius are pretty thick and heavy. As long as you don't drop on the ground they are perfectly fine for what we need them for. They won't break by using as intended.

[Baugi]

Which three are you thrilled with, Baugi? I think I've pretty much settled on HS - not as high quality, but more durable fits my painting style to a "T".

The flagstone pattern is a must-have. I also really like the 2 wood textures I have, both with deep grain so they take drybrushing well (one narrow planks, and one knotty planks or something). The graveyard one is cool for some purposes, like basing skeletons, etc., and if you do much sci-fi, the steel plate (sort of like ships hull plates) works nicely. They have several newer ones that I haven't used, but I imagine that "old world - castle stone" could be useful.

 

Ok, long answer. Top 3:

1) flagstone

2) narrow planks

3) graveyard

Runners up: steel plate, bricks (if you like Victorian/steampunk), knotty planks.