Help wanted - Lego bases

[fsn]

Gentlemen.

I need to draw upon your collective intelligence - yes, I'm that desperate.

Lately I've been painting a lot of little aerplance from Tumbling Dice. I drill a hole in the areroplane, insert a length of florists wire, drill a hole in a small lego brick and attach.

The small lego brick can then be added with others onto lego plates to form flight bases of up to 6 aircraft. I use the spare pegs on the base for indicators of height and speed using other lego bricks.

Here's my problem. The bases look a bit nobbily. I'd like to cover them a bit, but retain the ability to add and remove bricks as required.

I was pondering covering each base with a thin material which will allow access to the pegs yet retain a modicum af aesthetics. I have tried cotton wool for a cloud effect which works, but everybody is flying over a cloud.

Any suggestions? 

[paulr]

perhaps dye the cotton wool blue / green / brown to match your base cloth

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Lego flats!

[toxicpixie]

Could you cut a piece of card with gaps for the wires, then slip it over the top of the base like a "hat"? If you need to add pegs on the back for status effects you can then take it off or use a smaller piece that doesn't cover the back?

[petercooman]

Lego flats!

This!

[Westmarcher]

Lego bricks? Nothing helpful to add. Just be very careful!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Well - nice idea if you need to indicate altitude. I use a card base, with a piece of paperclip glued and fillered to it. To that add half a cotton bud tube (the bud makes a shell splash for naval games), with a piece of paper clip drilled and glued into the aircraft. WRANING - this wont work with the H&R B52.....

[Westmarcher]

Ditch the lego. Use magnets or magnetic tape/paper to magnetise your bases & 'steel paper' for movement trays. Cut the steel paper to your required shape and paint it your desired colour (e.g., blue for sea, sand for desert, green for jungle, etc.). Stiffen bases with card if necessary. Magnetic Displays sell both plus plastic bases with tubes. Might also be ale to incorporate some of Ian's ideas using cotton buds, etc. See this link.

http://www.magneticdisplays.co.uk/accessories/basing/2%20-%20Plastic-base-20-25

Lego is vicious. Ask Thor. 

[O Dinas Powys]

Glue 2x1 (or whatever is most useful size for your purpose) Lego plates onto an mdf base and fill/sculpt terrain around them?

[toxicpixie]

Westmarcher, I get the impression you were badly scared by lego at some point in your childhood!

It's ok, it's safe now, it's all in the storage boxes... I hope...

[Westmarcher]

 

Just a healthy respect, Nathan!

Off to see the psychiatrist now ....

[toxicpixie]

Oooo, if they prescribe anything interesting do share

Makes the "knee deep in Lego and Num-Noms" aesthetic of my wee one inhabited front room much more bearable

FSN, just to come back on track, flat blanking plates in applicable colours sounds good - I'm probably preaching to the choir but you can buy cheap sets of not-Lego in the bricks required (or even actual Lego) from a variety of places on t'internet...

[fred.]

Glue 2x1 (or whatever is most useful size for your purpose) Lego plates onto an mdf base and fill/sculpt terrain around them?

I like this idea

[GrumpyOldMan]

Hello

How about a printed aerial view glued to an MDF base with a transparent Lego base plate glued on top?





You could even use the satellite image from Google maps and have them fighting over you house. 

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

[petercooman]

You could even use the satellite image from Google maps and have them fighting over you house. 

Cheers

GrumpyOldMan

i'm pretty sure there is a no-fly-zone over his house....