If you remember in the first assembly step I drilled a hole in the bottom of the Thunderbolt so that I could mount it on an acrylic rod in a base. The easiest way to make a base is to go to a craft or hobby store and find a piece of unfinished wood. Preferably round and at least eight inches across and 1" thick. This will help keep it from being top heavy when the place is attached. Don't buy bass or balsa wood as they are very soft light woods that will not work very well. Mark the very center of the base with a pencil. Using the same bit that you used to drill the bottom of the Thunderbolt, drill a hole into the very middle of the wood base. Try not drill straight down so that the hole does not become too loose for the acrylic rod. You can drill all the way through if you plan to glue the rod in place. If not it's better to only drill part way in. Now try fitting the rod into the hold. If it feels to loose I would then recommend that you glue the acrylic rod in place or use wood filler to make the hole more snug.

The fully built Thunderbolt ready to be painted and the base ready to be decorated. You can make your base now just like you would any model in your army. You can use two part epoxy to make the ground more rough if you like or put a ruined building on it. I recommend that you prime the wood with a water tight primer before you being work on it or the wood might warp from any water you use. If you don't do this and it does start warping you will have to clamp the base down to something flat and let it dry flat. The following page is a gallery of Marc Raley's painted Thunderbolt.