Transparent Bases ... Has anyone used them?

I'm planning to do my Defiance (and as a result, my Shasvastii for Infinity) on transparent bases. I have bought Customeeple's transparent bases with LOS markings.

But i'm also interested in other persons feedback.

There are a few problems:
1) You cannot magnetize the bases, so you have to use foam to store them.
2) it's generally not recommended to use superglue to fix the minis to the bases, as that can fog the clear plastic. And at the same time some Infinity minis have quite small contact points... I'm planning to pin mine. That might be slightly visible, but I hope not too much, and I'll use a stronger "wood glue".
3) The minis doesn't look as nice in the display cabinet.
4) The transparent bases can cause glare, so they become "white" instead of transparent.


On the other hand:
1: They (mostly, except when the glare strikes) fit on any table surface.

I have heard a recommendation to paint the rims black to make the area they occupy a bit more obvious, and the sides aren't really transparent anyhow, so I'm going to make a test. It might also help with the glare effect somewhat.

 

To avoid freezing with super glue, a common tip is to keep a air fan running as it fog is due to glue's fumes that dry on the surface.
Still not a 100% guarantee and you still need to avoid any misplaced glue drop that is quite impossible to clean.

 

Not tried it for bases but when I've been gluing acrylic scenery together I've used canopy glue which is a strong PVA.

 

Or use resin, the usual cheap clear 5-minute epoxy will not fog up, and since these bases are clear i suspect you could use UV resin too.

I'd say a pin is pretty much unavoidable for many Infinity minis, specially the ones standing on tiptoe, no glue alone will be enough with those. But i use the little tab from the mini for that, no better or more solid pin that one that is part of the mini. Here's a gallery tutorial i saved from a now defunct website explaining the method. I use it with non-clear resin bases, and should work with these too, but of course the pin would be visible.

 

I initially did my Aleph with clear bases. I never really liked it in application though and have happily swapped them all out now.
I pinned them with brass rod and it held them fine, but the look just wasn't as clean as I had envisioned. Part of the problem was due to painting LoF arcs, which were just a pain to see on the table.

 

Best way I’ve found to glue models to bases (and anything for that matter) is cosmetic fingernail glue. You can find this at any supermarket or drug store that has a cosmetic section with fake nails.

1- it ALWAYS cures crystal clear
2- it cures fast
3- it’s a more refined CA glue and has better adhesion to smooth surfaces
4- it’s more temperature resistant
5- it’s more moisture and weather resistant
6- it’s more shock resistant and as a high shear tolerance
7- some come with a brush inside for precision application

 

From a practical standpoint, my opponents have had trouble determining LOS to my models with transparent bases. From across the table they can be difficult to see.

 

More than the color, it's the engraved marks what helps. Which you can probably fill with paint to make even more obvious.

You could also paint the edges with transparent paint, specially in the case of transparent acrylic, to get Augmented Reality or videogame look. And satin or matte varnish for the main surfaces, to reduce glare.

 

I've used clear bases for my Ariadna and I'm going to use them for my Combined as well.
Have regular painted bases on my ALEPH.
If you decide to get them go for 2mm in thickness as it will look better. Going below that might be to thin on metal minis especially the bigger pieces.
And buy more bases than you actually need since you are going to mess some of them up when gluing the miniature on them or if the come on sprues removing them from the sprue.