When I work on a project, I try to treat every aspect of the project with the same focus, though I do not always succeed. A vital element of this is the selection of a suitable base to go along with the project. For example, with regards to building a piece of armour, I think there is a time in all modellers careers when we progress from using a converted photo frame to something more suitable and bespoke to our project. For figure modellers, this is usually a plinth base of some description. However, when I migrated from the UK to Australia, one of my key concerns was from where I would source high-quality bases for my projects. Indeed, I purposely shipped my collection of unused bases in our shipping container. Extreme I know but worthwhile in my opinion. Moreover, in the UK I was spoiled for choice with suppliers of wooden bases with my go-to company being Oakwood Studies.

Despite my concerns, I have been lucky enough to stumble on a high-quality producer of bases right on my doorstep here in Brisbane. This is Jim’s Bases. I bought my first base off Jim Young when I attended QMHE last August, and I was quickly impressed. Then, when I joined the Queensland Figure Modellers group, I realised that Jim was a member of the group and came to meetings with several boxes of bases for members to peruse and purchase. As such, since attending my first meeting of the group, I have slowly added to my collection of bases! You can see the bases I have bought off Jim in the photos below, and I think the quality comes through quite clearly in these shots. I would suggest that the quality of Jim’s bases is as good as those I have bought off suppliers such as Oakwood Studios. Indeed, in the UK I was never really a fan of round plinth style bases; however, as you can see, I have bought a few of these from Jim. Jim uses a number of different woods and also does resin bases. You can see the types of bases that he produces by visiting his Facebook page here. All I can say is that if you are a modeller based in Australia who is looking for a high-quality base to finish off your project, then I can heartily recommend Jim’s Bases. Not only are the bases excellent but they are also very reasonably priced given their quality.



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