September 1, 2025
Description
A set of different sized grip bases with magnets that can be used to allow alligator clip painting sticks to hold miniatures better for painting. The pre-made versions are sized for 6x2mm round magnets, which should also allow easy use of 5mm. The three sizes of the pre-made versions are “tn" for tiny, “sm” for small, and “md” for medium. The “braced” versions have three extra legs spaced out for using multiple alligator clips in case a single stick is not stable enough.
I made these for using along with my base for painting sticks.
Note that these should be useful regardless of what kind of stick and base system you are using, as long as the tops of the stick has an alligator clip.
Select the versions that you want and then print using the provided orientation (top face down). These have been tested with 0.4mm and 0.2mm nozzles, and with different layer heights.
After the pieces are printed, use a drop of superglue to affix a proper magnet in the hole on top, making sure to use a consistent orientation. I like to have the magnets' north pointing up.
Or if you do not want to use magnets, some museum putty works well to hold minis and accessories on the top while working with them.
Clip one or three alligator clip sticks on to a clip, then insert into some holding base. Using three spaced out sticks can add needed stability for heavier miniatures.
If the miniatures have magnets in their bases they should be held right away. If they do not, then a little bit of museum putty works well to hold them in place.
To customize things such as base or magnet size download the FreeCAD source, select the “ClipGrip” object and change the properties:
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution
10
joncruz
