I have about 100 plastic bamboo and palm trees based on 25mm fender washers. I was using a system of magnet-in-hole forest bases (printed), but in the end I wasn’t happy with how those turned out.
Wantingg bases that could conform to moderate undulations in the underlying terrain (I use a fur mat), I purchased a roll of ~2mm thick rubber intended for gasket making from Amazon. I know from building a set of roads a couple years ago that this material is heavy enough to lay flat and resist curling even after the application of acrylic ground paste, paint, etc.
A couple minutes in Blender yielded a “socket” that could be printed and glued to a piece of rubber.
After printing a handful of sockets and cutting out two appropriately round pieces of rubber, I commenced construction of my test pieces and was pleased to find out that they performed exactly as I had hoped they would; the trees fit tightly enough that a magnet is not required (although I designed the socket to hold one). Granted, the edge of the washer will be stripped of paint over time due to the low tolerances, but the lip of the socket and flocking will hide that while in play.
Spurred on by success, I cut out a table’s worth of bases and glued on the pile of sockets I spent the last week printing. I used Vallejo’s “Brown Earth” earth texture paste to cover the bases and blend the sockets in. After they dry, I’ll paint the socket interiors (ugh…), shade, drybrush, and flock.
