This article was originally posted on MFC
I purchased Gothic Night Asuka knowing full well she was missing the base and would likely be a bit roughed up. Surprisingly she still ran me $8.50 USD… but alas. I’ve done repaints before and intend to save that for another time. The main focus of this custom and article is the base. I’ve made clay bases for my Haikyuu managers figure set but this is my first time making one from wood. The base er.. base was a 99c wooden 4x4in plaque from Joann. Not bad.
This article will be half tutorial and half ramblings about my process. Since there is no wooden base tutorial on the site thus far, I figure it’s fine to label it as such. Feel free to take bits and pieces from this article to fit your needs, the “recipe” below is highly customizable.
Wooden base
Drill bit & drill
Sandpaper
Mr. Surfacer (or primer of choice)
Paint
Mr. Super Clear (or sealant of choice)
Color Printer & Cardstock paper
Mod podge
Felt
Embroidery thread and needle
Hot glue
Lace/trims of choice
I started with sanding any rough bits sticking out. I don't really mind the wood grain showing through on this base but I imagine you could use some filler to smooth it out if you wanted. I primed using gray Mr. Surfacer.
I then painted it with black acrylic. Anything will do, I used Delta Ceramcoat since it’s what I have. Then I sprayed it with matte Mr. Super Clear to seal it. (I love you Mr. Hobby)
Now time to make the peg hole, starting with marking the spot on the base. Since I will be covering the top of the base I just sloppily penciled in where I think it should go while holding the figure in place.
Next comes sizing your drill bit. I did it in a pretty roundabout way, but I’ll detail regardless. While playing around with some bases I have, I found that prize Dalian’s base has pegs of the same size. I picked a drill bit that fit snugly inside the peg hole. Another way to do it would be drilling some holes in scrap wood with bits near the size you expect the peg to be, and seeing which one actually fits.
I practiced on some scrap wood first to make sure the hole was the right size, testing the fit and making sure she stands straight. Then drilled into the base. Success! That's the most stressful part done. I had no issues with the placement and size of the hole. Measure twice, drill once. If you have two peg holes, practice the spacing on scrap wood and use those measurements as reference.
Next I created the top of the base. I wanted a checkered ballroom floor and found a nice one online. I recommend looking at flooring sites, a lot of them have topdown pics of flooring patterns in decent quality. You could go really crazy with the floor, anything goes! I really like the look of flocked grass bases, I’d love to try that someday. For my first time though I just played it safe and went with a nice tile.
I went through a couple iterations of the floor print. First was a test print to make sure I actually liked the colors and pattern with Asuka and to get the final print size and scaling down. Then I figured out the actual size of the top of the base, it's not a standard size. Use a compass if you have one, you could also try to trace the base but I found that a bit difficult. Anyhow, I then printed out the floor pattern on cardstock 2x. I tested on one of the prints first, just to make sure everything is in line before sealing the final print. I just cut it to size and made the hole, at this point you should be able to put it on the base and get an idea of what the final base will look like. This isn’t necessary, but a good final test step.
The final uncut print got taped to cardboard and sprayed lightly with Mr. Super Clear to seal, I did 2 layers to prevent ink smudging from handling it and whatnot. I cut it out, then set it to the side because I have some additional decoration steps to do. If I had decided to go ahead and glue it on here, I would have used mod podge, then sprayed with another layer of Mr. Super Clear to seal and cover any differences in the finish from the mod podge.
My test and final print at various stages of completion:
For the top of the base, I wanted to add some lace and bows to spice it up and fit with the theme of Asuka's outfit. I mocked up a couple lace configurations, and ultimately decided on black lace under the floor with a small red bow. I glued the lace around the top edge of the base before hot gluing the floor print on top. I mentioned mod podge earlier for gluing the paper top but since it wouldn't be able to be glued flat due to the lace, I figured the hot glue would help fill the gap better. I hand stitched the bow to the front of the base, just in case I ever want to change the placement or remove it.
Finally, I added a felt layer to the bottom to prevent the base from scratching my shelves and to make it feel a bit higher quality. My Yomiko Readman cold cast scale has a velvet layer on the bottom and I think it's a great touch and makes the figure feel premium! I pinned a paper template of the base onto some felt to cut the circle. I embroidered it with my TT initials and the year, since it covers where I would otherwise write this. I just hot glued it on, working quickly or in sections to avoid the glue getting lumpy and throwing off the balance of the figure.
Well, that’s it! Here’s my final pictures of the base and Asuka together.
Like I mentioned, I have plans to further fix up this Asuka by repainting, trimming down seam lines, and varnishing some areas. Whether I write anything about that depends on how it goes, but it likely won’t be very different from my Pajama Baby Rei repaint. Thanks for reading!