Smaller Scale Tree Stands: Basing Test

A few months ago, I made a large number of tree stands that work great with 28mm figures but not so well with 15mm and 6mm figures.  Since I've got a large convention game coming up this summer - I really HAD TO HAVE a solution.  At least that's what I've told my wife as she rolls hers eyes at me (again).  A long time ago, Ernie Baker made some really nice tree stands for me that have removable canopies as you can see in the first picture.

The removable canopies make it easy to move troops through the forrest and give a really nice look on the table top.  The tree trunks are nails.

My wargaming club also uses a similar style of tree bases which you can see here.

I made a similar set of tree bases for Curt during Painting Challenge VIII but now need some for my personal collection.

I've also stumble across new (to me) type of material call "PALIGHT" and wanted to test it out for the bases.  Palight is a foam version of PVC - think foam core with a flexible plastic outer shell rather than paper.  It' cheap and can be purchased in several colors - I got some black 1/8 inch thick sheets to experiment with.

Both Ernie's and the tree bases I made for Curt use nails with the points ground down as tree trunks.  Even with grinding, they're still sharpish and can poke through the form core tree canopies is some pressure is applied.  Thats fine for home use but too dangerous in a convention setting where there is always that one gamer how tries to support himself (in these cases it's always a guy) as he leans over to move a unit.  Rather than having to give yet another "impalement statement" to the authorities, I thought I'd go with wooden dowels for the tree trunks.  I'll also very them between 1/8, 3/8 and the occasional 1/4 to given the perception of different tree ages.

My first test involves cutting out the legally proscribed* kidney shaped tree base and then testing the adherence of my ground texture of choice - tile grout.  I had two types on hand:  Pre-mixed on the right (colored "sandstone") and non-premixed on the the left (colored "summer wheat").

In terms of application, the unmixed version was dead simple.  just spray a little water onto the PALIGHT and then sprinkle the grout onto.  The grout soaks up the water and that activates the adhesive.  The premixed stuff requires spreading with a tool and took a little longer to apply.  Both look great but I'm leaning towards the unmixed version.  I'm going to leave this to dry a few more hours and then do some bending tests to see how durable the adhesion is.

One thing I did do to the PALIGHT was lightly sand the face to give the grout something to adhere to.  Cutting and sanding PALIGHT does create a very fine dust (similar to MDF) so I wore a regulator to protect my lungs and you should to.  Scratch that - don't be stupid, wear a damn respirator when working with PALIGHT

* you should check out your local ordinances, I guarantee there's a legal requirement to have at least one tree base that's in a kidney shape.  Some counties in the US require more than one.  You've been warned.  California, of course, requires 4.