WFB Hobby: Galeforce 9 Magnetic Bases
Hey guys, Col Festus here to talk to you today about Gale Force 9’s wonderful selection of magnetic bases and how they work with GW’s modular movement trays.
So I know most Warhammer Fantasy players have experienced the frustration of sliding a movement tray full of plastic minis only to hit a small piece of flock on the table and have them fall every which way. This can be especially frustrating if it causes model damage. Just such an event happened in my last fantasy game. A skeleton near the table edge fell and was crushed by a passer by. After cursing the fickle flock gods and assuring the skeleton smasher that I could fix it I decided there had to be a way to improve my movement trays.
Enter Gale Force 9. Down at my local hobby shop the owner stocks numerous “game aids” from this company. While checking out their website I quickly came across some magnetic bases. I decided to give their “20mm magnetic bases” a try on a skeleton unit I was painting up. I mounted a few of the skeletons on the bases and fiddled around with them for about 5 minutes. That was all it took, I placed an order for 100 bases the following day at the store.
Now what makes them even better in my opinion is that it seems they were designed with GW’s modular trays in mind (if not they were extremely lucky). Each package of bases comes with a magnetic sheet that you simply trim to size with scissors and stick to your modular movement tray. The bases are the perfect size as you can see here on this unit of skeletons.
Another bonus to these bases is the fact that they are solid. They weight down heavy miniatures like banners or oddly posed champions. Being solid they are also fairly strong. They have just the right amount of stick to keep most models (including some metals) stuck to the movement tray.
Now I think I`ve sung their praises enough and would like to give you a few tips when working with these bases. First off the way these bases are made is by gluing a plastic sheet to a magnetic sheet. This leaves a seam on some of the bases. This will require some flash removal. Simply cut them flush with a nice sharp exacto and you will never notice the difference between one of these bases and GW’s standard bases. I even used them on show pieces like my Blood Dragon Vampire. As you can see it looks like a normal base.
Last but not least I like to flock my models with super glue before I undercoat them. This is especially true with these bases because for some reason regular old white glue does not like to stick very well to them. Here is a quick summary to highlight my points.
Pro’s:
- Heavy bases help to weight down the models
- Just the right amount of “stick” to them
- Blends in seamlessly with GW’s modular movement trays
Con’s:
- May require some flash removal
- Need to use super glue when basing them
Overall rating 8/10
~ So there you have it folks. I’ll never build an army without these again. They come in all shapes and sizes including circular for anyone looking to make a giant movement tray for their 40k armies. As always any questions feel free to drop me a line. [email protected]. Until next time!
