New Bases for old Metal Magic figures

In the 80s and 90s, Metal Magic released many great sci-fi and fantasy figures. The quality and sculpting were quite good, and many of these figures are still available today from EM-4, Mega Miniatures and others. These figures were cast with a 15mm wide integral base, as seen on these Sarday'kin Legionaire miniatures from the Spacelords line.

These bases fit into a round cavity on a 20mm by 20mm square plastic base that was supplied with the models. This is a good system and still works well for fantasy figures, as 20mm square is still a very common basing convention for 28mm fantasy models.

For sci-fi figures, it's a different story, as nearly all sci-fi infantry is currently based on 25mm or 30mm bases, Thus your choices when working with these old Metal Magic figures are either to cut or grind off the base, or landscape the basing to hide the rise

Enter Mantic Games. A couple years ago, Mantic arrived with a figure/base system that looks very similar to that used by Metal Magic. Their newly released Warpath sci-fi system includes round bases with circular indents!

What you really want to know is "Do they fit Metal Magic ?"

The short answer is no.

The inner cavity is almost exactly 15mm in diameter. The metal magic figure bases are just a smidge (perhaps 0.2mm) wider than 15mm. However, with a minute or two of filing I was able to make a figure fit nicely into the base.


Another option might be to use a circular Dremel tool to quickly widen the plastic indentation on the base itself.

As someone who is planning a major Spacelords project for 2012, I'm very pleased with these very affordable bases. The miniatures are just about level with the base, and I can flock the base the same as any other figure.

The bit of work required to fit the figures into the base is no more than it would take to remove the intergral base. Also, the resulting connection between base and figure is much stronger than it would be if the round integral base were removed and just the feet were attached to a base.

Of course the option still exists to glue the whole figure on top of a regular plastic base and hide the transition with plaster, but not much time is saved — and you end up with a very tall base. I've been collecting miniatures to build a Sarday'kin Legion Platoon (currently buying if you have any...) and I'll be using these bases exclusively.

Here's a bit more information on these Mantic bases:

Base size: 3mm high x 25mm wide, which is the same as a standard GW slotta-base, but with straight sides rather than sloping.

Price: 10 for $3.50, 50 for $9, 100 for $16.50 (plus $4.50 flat rate shipping to the USA)

Can be ordered from: Mantic Games

Metal Magic figures are available from:

• EM-4 — Currently selling a limited range of the original Spacelords line
• Mega Miniatures — Currently selling a limited range of Metal Magic fantasy figures. Many of their own proprietery miniatures use the Metal Magic basing system as seen in the individual model pictures.

— Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member