Looking for miniatures without bases

[tkdco2]

Are there any companies that produce miniatures without bases? By that I mean there's nothing under their feet rather than some flat piece of plastic to help them stand. I'm a fan of Litko's clear bases, so I will attach the miniatures to those.

I could use the figures with slotta bases (which I never liked) and cut the sprue that attaches the figure to the base, but a lot of those figures become unstable because the feet are too small to properly support the miniature, even when glued to the base. I have done this with Heroclix miniatures, but fantasy figures for these aren't easy to find, and the ones I've seen are getting a bit expensive. I don't have a 3D printer so that's out. I don't like resin anyway.

Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

[Desparil]

I don't know what they make nowadays, but even if they don't there's a HUGE second-hand market for Warhammer figures. At least in the mid '90s through the late '00s, their entire plastic infantry catalog came with unattached bases that you had to glue on; cavalry and metal minis had slotta bases. Metal figures for large monsters also came with non-slotta bases, though some relied on a 'stability peg' with the intention that you drill a hole in the base.

[hamurai]

Fireforge Games has some very nice and very affordable miniatures I use for Saga (e.g. Foot Sergeants and Mounted Seargents) which come with small (optional) plastic base, so you can easily use any other base you like. Northstar also has good-looking and affordable minis for Frostgrave (search for their boxes, not the single minis), which are more in the fantasy niche - cultists, barbarians, wizards, snake men...).

The Kings of War miniatures are similar, I have built some dwarven rangers and king guards and while those models didn't always fit nicely, they look good in the end.

That said, I've found Etsy shops which deliver some nice minis at good prices as well. I guess it depends on whether you want to enlist an army or a group of diverse adventurers.

[asaki]

I saw one website where the guy will take the slotted ones, and take off most of the slot, leaving little pegs under the feet. Then he just drills two holes in the base and glues them in there.

[tkdco2]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm going to check out the websites.

[blackheadedgull]

Reaper Bones would be a quick solve. They are cheap, light, easy to cut and am sure would stick easily to the clear bases you want with super glue. I've 'rebased' all my Bones kobolds on dungeon tiles and they stayed together even when tossed in a plastic tub for storage.

[hamurai]

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the Reaper Bones minis. Some lack detail (for my taste) and with several I've had issues that my paint just wouldn't stick to the mini no matter what I tried. That said, I do own several because they really are cheap. So when you lack a mini you don't need every day, these may be a good idea. I mainly use their oversized models like giants, minotaur skeleton, giant, as the lesser grade of detail is not so apparent on them.
As blackheadedgull said, they're easy to modify to suit your needs which makes them a good option for customization (and for getting parts for customization).

[tkdco2]

I have a bunch of Reaper minis. I have removed a couple from their bases. I have to be really careful to avoid damaging the feet. I don't like the cauliflower bases, so I may just do that.

As for painting Reaper minis, the website recommends not thinning the paint when you basecoat the mini. I'm not sure how thin Reaper paints are compared to Vallejo or Citadel, so YMMV. My paints are pretty old and a bit dry so I have to water them down a bit. Otherwise I haven't had too many problems painting them.