Precut bases are an increasingly popular miniature gaming accessory. They come in metal, wood, plastic and even Masonite. The newest entrant into the market is R and J Game Bases -- owned by Great Lakes member Richard Hartley.

Rich utilizes .040" white sheet styrene plastic and sells them in bags of 20-36 squares or packs of 6-10 rectangular strips. One immediate advantage I can see with Rich's choice of material is you won't have to worry about warping. Many gamers (like me) affix flocking to their bases with a mixture of glue and water. This can warp wood or thick cardboard. I have always used 3/32" bass wood myself, and I occasionally have this problem for light infantry types (with fewer figures per stand to weight it down). I have used plastic styrene before, and can vouch warping is not a problem with it.

R and J bases are packaged two ways: bags of 20-36 square bases (eight choices in sizes, from 1/2" to 50mm square); or in 5" long strips (nine widths, from 1/2" to 60mm wide). With the strips, the purchaser then slices off sections to the size he needs. For example, a 15mm DBA player needs 40mm wide bases for his elements. However, the rules specify widths of 15, 20, 30 and 40mm depending on the type of troops. Rather than having to purchase multiple packs, Rich's customers buy one bag of six 40mm wide strips, cutting the depths for each individual base.

Rich says the strips are "easy to cut with a hobby knife or sharp pair of scissors." Since he'd provided me with a variety pack for review, I decided to try it out myself. I took my somewhat dull X-acto knife and made one pass along the plastic. I picked up the strip and bent the plastic slightly. It separated easily along the cut like it was perforated paper. Next I tried my not-too-much sharper scissors. No problem here, either, although I found it harder to control the straightness of the cut as the plastic moved. My X-acto knife cut was neater.

R and J's bases are an inexpensive option for the miniature gamer. All packages cost $3.25 -- the smaller the base size, the more you get in a pack. For example, 40mm square bases (that I could use for Chipco games) come 24 to a pack, while 20mm square bases (usable, say, for Warhammer Ancient Battles) have 36 per pack. R and J Bases are available at The Soldiery (get your 10% discount on them there!), or direct from Richard Hartley, 5538 Cary Lane, Columbus, OH 43232 (e-mail: randjhartley@earthlink.net).

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