Introduction
Recently I got asked about the cheap stands or bases, and whether they were a real viable alternative to the more standard bases. You can often, if you shop around, get 3 or 4 of the cheaper bases for the price of one of the standard ones.
The standard ones look like this (or some variation on this):
The cheaper options normally look something like this:
Both sets of bases can be purchased in a variety of colours. I’ll admit I favour clear bases as I can always paint them if I want them a different colour.
The “Standard” base
There are loads of reasons to get one of these bases. They have a nice aesthetic to them, and if you want one, they aren’t crazy expensive. They have the attachments to allow you to connect them to a variety of models with no fuss. But this isn’t an article about those!
Unbranded Base
However, despite the reasons for getting a standard base, there are other options, and they can be just as effective. The generic unbranded stands normally comes flat packed, with multiple screws and parts to put together. As in the image above these are normally assembled with the grasping arms on the end. However these can sometimes cause problems where the models like to split. The torso and upper part goes one way and the waist and legs go another. This can be a real pain when trying to post a model. So what can we do with them.
Total Custom Base
As you can see in the images above I used the arms and grabber from the cheap base to provide the hold for my Zaku. The whole process for making that base can be found here.
Use it as is
As you can see from the images above the two pieces along with the grabbing arms allow me to elevate the model and provide a lot of options for poses. However, these still have the issue that the model will often have a tendency to come apart at the waist while tightening the arms of the stand to hold the model.
Remove the Hands / Grasper
As you can see from the images above, I only used 1 of the two arms, and then rather than connecting the graspers, I used the adapter that goes into the grasper to go into the hold in the under side of the model. It was, I admit, a tight squeeze, but it did go in without any filing. This again offers a whole range of dynamic poses.
Conclusion
If you like the standard bases, or one of the more scenic bases then go for it, they are lovely. If however, you want to make the most of the cheaper bases then as you can see above, there are a lot of poses you can get with them where they will look awesome. I’m going to have a look and see if I can do more around the options to use them with other models. I may put up a post on that after I have had chance to look.
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