doc069 wrote:Other than technic pins, etc - are there other ways to create stable connections?
Heh, I've found that Technic pins really aren't that good for large scale modules. Lining up series of technic pins is very difficult, and in the end, they don't really hold much weight. If you've got modules that are on the order of maybe 16x32 baseplates or smaller, technic pins work ok to hold things together-- but I've found that anything bigger can get knocked apart very easily, and is very tricky to fit back together. Improvised connections are probably better. Think on the scale of latches or something.
For my
hoth base, I used studded-down connectors that plugged into the landscape. So, effectively, I had a few 12x12 (roughly) bricks that snapped down and sealed everything together. If I had to do that over again, I probably would've made it lock together without actually studding down. That way, it's easy to remove the locking mechanism, while still providing a large degree of fastening strength.
A good module size (I've found) is somewhere around 48x48 or 64x64. I've done 48x96 modules a few times too, which worked excellently when they were just flat landscape, and not so well when they were substantial. The biggest one I did was a vehicle with one "floor" that was about 64x110, and that was just too big and awkward (and heavy!) to move around easily.
doc069 wrote:How do you keep the structure from ripping off of the baseplates when moved?
Heh, don't use baseplates
I think of baseplates as decorative playthings. They're meant to provide kids a quick-and-dirty way of creating all-brick floors. They're not meant for serious displays. If you plan on using baseplates, it's probably a good plan to:
1) cover them in a couple layers of brick (or more) to give them stability
2) don't attach them to your MOC-- think of them as the fluff that surrounds your MOC. Decoration to add to what you've built, but not part of the MOC itself. Effectively, build a castle (or whatever), and use baseplates as filler for the exterior and courtyard, but don't transport your castle on the baseplates.
Baseplates are really flimsy when they're protruding out from a model-- you'll have a tendancy to accidentally bump into doors and things during transportation, and they may fall off. Similarly, they'll give you a false sense of security when lifting your model. You won't be able to get a good handhold, because you can't as easily judge where the base of the model sits, since there's a smooth baseplate panel all around it.
doc069 wrote:Hints on how to keep baseplates with minifig armies on them stable for transportation?
Again, don't use baseplates! Actually, I should rephrase that. Use baseplates with a couple stacked layers of brick on them as landscape. Baseplates actually work quite well in that capacity, because they'll work as sort of a "shield" to prevent bricks from breaking off when you slide your model around on a display or transporting surface, or when just lifting the display with your hands.
Plain baseplates are particularly bad here, because they have that tendancy to bow when there's weight on them. Especially disperate weight like minifigs. That will also cause your minifigs to bend around and be slightly more likely to fall off due to collisions with each other and a looser connection to the ground they're studded on.
If your display consists largely of tons of minifigs, expect to spend a long time setting up, (because) there will be lots of tweaking during setup thanks to downed figs from transport. Usually, I think I often see people bringing in displays and putting on the figs after the main model has been set up. So, the figs aren't as often a part of the model itself.
DaveE
:
...although for BrickFest '07 I did learn ALOT transporting my 
...I needed a sturdier base to begin with, the baseplates really don't cut it, protruding like that. This section is 64x80 studs (2x2.5 BPs) I should have made this be two seperate sections. Not only was it difficult to manage being so large, tall, and rather flimsy, but two sections would have made 
