Falldog Hobby Works' Custom Acrylic Bases - A Guide

As some of you know I’ve started making custom acrylic bases for Gunpla and other models. I wanted to put together a quick guide to them that answers questions with more detail than I can throw into Etsy. 

Everything I do is geared toward folks who want to add something special to their kits. Acrylic bases, etched or otherwise, add a custom look and feel. In addition the added weight makes displaying kits in lofty positions a lot easier.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check my Etsy storefront!

Acrylic Basics

All my bases are custom laser cut as orders come in. Assuming my laser doesn’t take a shit on me (knock on wood, there are tons of ways for it to become a giant expensive paperweight) I can usually cut and ship orders within a few days. This on demand process makes it easier to adjust to specific requests and offer any combination of colour and designs. 

There are two main types of acrylic, extruded and cast. I used cast acrylic. It may not have the glassly, flame polished edges, but takes to laser etching way nicer. 

Cast acrylic also comes in multiple colours, a large selection of which I try to keep in stock.

In addition to the clear colours, there’s also translucent material. Translucent acrylic is closer opaque, but still lets light through. 

I also like to get my hand on specialty and veneer sheets when I think it’ll be a good fit for someone. This includes mirror, fluorescent, and veneer wood/patterns. 

I do purchase from multiple vendors so colours can change slightly between manufacturers. 

Masking/Painting

All of the materials come with masking already applied. This is primarily to protect the acrylic from scratches, dirt, and scorching (the laser literally burns away acrylic, and that vaporized material likes to catch on fire). What I found though is that the masking also holds up really well to paint. This means it’s super easy to paint any etched pieces. 

To paint an etched base start by masking the edges and any holes to prevent overspray. After that, just do what you usually would for any ol’ kit. I’ve had good luck with spray cans and air brushes. Hand brushing should be good too, though you may need a few coats. 

One thing to note is that the etching will leave a slight pattern behind. The laser moves left-to-right as it works and the net result is a bit of a rough surface, almost like a teeny tiny washboard. Because of this I don’t recommend metallic paints as the metallic surface accentuates the lines. 

If you do go heavy with your spray, cleanup is easy. The acrylic is stronger than my fingernails, so I just go back and carefully scratch along the edges with my nails to clean them up lol

One thing to note, with some bases like the Ver Ka, I will run a deeper etch. This is to get a finer detail on small text which the ver Ka bases have a lot of. Because the cut is a bit deeper, when painting, you also want to make sure to get the sides for the best look.

Hex Bases

My Hex Bases were designed to work with Bandai’s Action Base 4 and 5 sets. It’s a single piece of 1/4 inch acrylic with a single peg hole, either in the center or offset in the back. Take the arm from the Action Base set, put it on the Hex Base, and Bob’s your uncle. 

What’s great about these is they offer a much cleaner look than Bandai’s offering, come in various colours, but best of all they weigh 3x more (0.6 oz vs 2 oz). This means I can take a Master Grade kit, give it a pose high up on the stand, and not worry about it tipping over. Okay, yeah, still need to keep it centered, but I have MG Wing kits displayed up high and the base is the most stable part of it (looking at you HiRM Wing kits).

Custom Sandwich Bases

The “sandwich” bases are highly customizable display bases with tons of potential.

Each piece is custom cut from 1/8 inch acrylic, 7.5 by 5.5 inches, and has a pre-cut hole for the Action Base 4 and 5 arms. When you combine two pieces together you get a thick base that will hold nearly every kit you could throw at it. If the Action Base stands could hold up a PG kit then the base could support it too!

To put the stand together you need at least two pieces and four standoffs. You can get standoffs from pretty much anywhere as long as the screw is no less than 1/2 inches in diameter. 

Personally I like to use these thick guys available both in Black and Silver from Amazon. I’ve also used these shiny gold ones. 

Here’s where things get fun, because they’re available in nearly every colour of acrylic I can get my hands on, you can mix and match to customize the base to fit the look of your kit. 

Clear with black base? Clear and translucent red? Mirror and fluorescent green? So many combinations. 

But wait, it gets even better! Since it’s two pieces of material sandwiched together, you can come up with a custom design, print it out on a piece of paper, and put it in the middle. If your kit has a custom theme, custom name, or custom paint scheme, you can easily match the look of the base to your kit. 

These bases come in as many different colour combinations as I could possibly manage. When checking out make sure that at least two piece are in your cart per base. A single piece might be good for a 1/144 scale kit, but I’m worried it might sag over time. 

Start planning by referencing some of the available colours below. 

Ver Ka Bases

Ver Ka bases are simple bases with text drawn from the ver Ka manuals/boxes. It started with the Wing Zero ver Ka and has two pre-cut holes to fit the Action Base 1 stand that comes with the kit. The other ver Ka stands all follow suit for general simplicity/cohesive design.

Note that the ver Ka bases have a bunch of fine text which requires a deeper cut. When painting these bases take extra care to make sure all of the vertical surfaces are coated for the best results. 

These bases have been designed in partnership with the fantastic GoodGuyDan, who has a ton of great tutorials too, along with some of the cleanest builds around. 
 

Colour Samples

As with everything, colours are subject to change slightly depending on the manufacturer I can get supply from. 

If there's something below you like, but not in the listing or style you'd like, feel free to reach out and I'll see what I can do!

PS. I left a bit of masking on the backside with labels so I can keep track of samples. You can use that as a quick reference of what it would look like if you had a piece of paper up close against the material. 

 

Clear Acrylic

Clear

Clear

 

Clear Blue

Clear Blue

 

Clear Red

Clear Red

Clear Light Blue

Clear Light Blue

Clear Orange

Clear Orange

Clear Teal

Clear Teal

Clear Green

Clear Green

Clear Yellow

Clear Yellow

Clear Gray (Smoke)

Clear Smoke

Clear Purple

Clear Purple

Clear Pink

Clear Pink

 

 

Translucent/Opaque Acrylic

Translucent acrylic tends to be somewhere just shy of full opaque. They let a bit of light through, and for most purposes, might as well be considered opaque. Like the colours, the level of translucence will shift depending on manufacturer. 

Clear vs Translucent

Translucent Red

TL Red

Translucent Orange

TL Yellow

Translucent Yellow

Yellow

Translucent Blue

Blue

Translucent Light Blue

Light Blue

Translucent Green

Green

Translucent Purple

Purple

Translucent White

White

Translucent Pink

Pink

Opaque Black

Black

   

 

Florescent Acrylic

Forescent acrylic has a depth to it that is hard to capture with a camera. If picks up UV light and, well, fluoresces. 

Florescent Green

FL Green

FL Green

Florescent Orange

FL Orange

FL orang

Florescent Red/Pink

FL REd Pink

FL Pink

Florescent Yellow

FL Yellow

FL Yellow

   

 

Frosted Acrylic

Frosted acrylics are basically like everything else, but with a matte surface. 

Frosted Black

Flat Black

Frosted Blue

Flat Blue

Frosted Clear

FR Clear

Frosted Green

FR Green

Frosted Lime

FR Lime

Frosted Purple

FR Purple

Frosted Red

FR Red

Frosted Yellow

FR Yellow

Frosted White

TBD (Hint, it's white)

 

Mirror and Specialty Acrylic

These are specialty acrylics that I will try and keep in stock pending interest. Some of the stuff like the mirror colours are readily available. Some of the other ones come and go, it might be hard to get more of when I run out. 

Note that the mirror acrylic has a gray backing.

Mirror

Image TBD (Hint, it's a mirror)

Shattered Mirror

Shattered Mirror

Mirror Blue

Image TBD (Hint, it's blue, but a mirror)

Mirror Purple

Image TBD (Hint, it's pruple, but a mirror)

Mirror Red

Image TBD (Hint, it's red, but a mirror)

 

Pearl

Pearl

Blood Splatter

Blood Splatter

Oxidized Copper Swirl 

Copper

 


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