Review: Dragon Forge "Lost Empires" bases

Dragon Forge are one of the many small companies making sculpted resin bases for 28mm wargaming.  I recently picked up a set of their Lost Empires round bases, since I was fed up with waiting for my local games store to get in more Micro Art Urban Fight bases, and didn't want to order online in case I got duplicates.

Plus I'm terrible at sculpting hexagons.

And you know what? They're not half bad. 


Material:  The resin used is soft enough to easily work with a blade or drill, but doesn't feel bendy or weak.  There was only a small amount of flash on the bases I received, thin flat pieces extending from the bottom rim that were easily broken off (though the edges still need to be trimmed a little)

Sculpt:  While not jammed full of tiny details like the Micro Art or Scibor bases, the sculpts are varied and interesting.  Each of the ten bases are unique and have their own points of interest, like carved patterns or pieces of raised detail.   There's also a nice contrast between the chunky hexagonal paving stones and the gritty rubble around them.

Practicality:  The bases have enough flat surfaces that attaching miniatures shouldn't be a problem.  However, figures with wide stances* might be more difficult to pin down without significant overlap.

Price:  At $1 US per base, they're on par with most other base companies.  $5 shipping to the UK seemed a bit steep, but again that's on par with other online retailers.

Painting:  I've never been happy with the home-made base on my Lasiq, so this was the perfect opportunity to upgrade.   Of course, this would mean removing him from his current base, but how hard could that be?

 

About this hard I guess.

When mounting figures to sculpted bases, I cut away the middle of the slot, then trim down the pieces under each foot.

HOT UP-SKIRT ACTION

After cutting away the remains of his old base, I selected a new Dragon Forge base and marked in pen where the feet slots would be positioned.  

Holes are then drilled and cut/carved out for the slots.  The one on the edge of the paving slab is a little too close to the edge for my liking, but it should be okay with a little greenstuff.

If the slot fits, you must acquit.

After making sure the figure fits snugly onto the base, it's time for painting.  I use a spray black undercoat, then successive drybrushes of Codex Grey (Dawnstone), Fortress Grey (Administratum Grey), and Skull White (White Scar) for the paving stones, making sure to concentrate the lighter colors towards the edges of the slabs.

The loose rubble/gravel gets an undercoat of white to make sure it's nice and bright, then a base coat of Dark Flesh (Doombull Brown).  Watered down Dark Flesh is painted into cracks and low edges to represent regolith being blown or tracked onto the concrete.  A couple of drybrush layers of Blazing Orange (Troll Slayer Orange) brings out detail and represents more windblown dust, with a final light drybrush of Elf Flesh (Kislev Flesh**) on the gravel for a highlight.

This still needs some greenstuff to fill in around the foot-slots, and a clean coat of black around the base ring, but it is already a vast improvement over the old base and shows off how good the Dragon Forge bases can look when painted.


Conclusion:  If you're looking for sculpted bases, Dragon Forge are pretty damn good.  While their bases aren't as eye-catching as some other companies, they're competitively priced, easy to work with, and look great when painted up.  Can't ask for much more than that.






* Make your own Larry Craig joke here
** Don't trust the conversion chart, Kislev Flesh is yellow based, Elf Flesh was far more pink.  I'm already looking for a replacement.