I’ve been displaying some big-based units in the Baccus display case for a couple of years.  I am sure that many of you in the UK have seen them at one show or another.   They were designed to show off the mass effect of smaller scale figures, but were also an attempt to better depict how their historical counterparts were actually formed up for battle, with company/troop distinctions and representation of the correct place for supernumaries in the formation.

Wargamers have become used to the convention of a single or double rank of figures representing a battalion or regiment, and these being deployed shoulder to shoulder to form ‘curtains’ of figures.   This may work practically, but loses sight of how the units really functioned.  This in turn feeds into game play where  wargames units perform manoeuvres which make perfect sense to a body of a dozen 28mm figures but would be impossible to the six hundred soldiers that they represent.

In addition to that, I wanted to show the basic mechanics behind the working of English Civil War foot battalia.   Answering questions on various groups and forums over the years and still seeing such gaffs as the pike sections of unit formed deeper than the equivalent shot persuaded me to make a practical model of actual practice.  The end result was the units shown in the photographs.

Further to all of that, these are not just display pieces – with a base measuring 2:1 in frontage to depth ratio, they are perfectly practical for use with area based rules such as Polemos ECW, Twilight of Divine Right and For King and Parliament.   With a footprint less than a standard 24 strong 28mm unit, they are eminently practical and make spectacular forces.   However, this is not an option that really caught on.  That is, until the last couple of months, when I’ve had lots of enquiries leading to me now supplying big units for a number of Big Base project.

 As a result, I’ve decided to actually offer these units as part of the Baccus ranges.  Naturally enough, I’ve started with our ECW/TYW range, but I would like to expand the offer to our Sun King’s War, WSS and GNW ranges over the coming months.

You can find details of the Big Base WEC units here:

I’ve also prepared a couple of brief notes on these units which you can find here and here.

To bring up a very old strapline of ours, ‘Think Big and Go Small!’

Sorry Peter, I didn't spot that you had already opened this topic in the forum.

Well, better two Posts or Topics than none!... congratulations on the overall effect and aesthetics Peter!... I won't indulge in that at all for the moment but excellent work!

These are excellent. One of the problems I have always had with "reenactment" (I was a Loudoun for many years) is that the small sizes of units on the field looks silly at times and I am fairly sure that one reason why small formations were acceptable is that a lot of the people involved in reenatment were wargamers so a "regiment" of a dozen figures/soldiers fitted their mindset. Hopefully people will take up this idea of 6mm figures giving a better impresseion en masse than the tiny units used by larger scale wargamers.

I know exactly what you mean about reenactment units.  This is what I was always a proponent of forming the four individual regiments of a brigade into a single (reenactment) battalia.   When this was done the resulting unit was spectacular, but sadly it met resistance as regimental pride proved hard to overcome.

The big bases look stunning. Definetly something on my wish list, if not as gaming pieces, as display pieces. 
 

I love the look of the mass effect, it what appeals to me with 6mm.

I'm doing War of the Roses on big(ish) bases of 10cm frontage with about 50/60 figures for a Bill and Bow unit.

Big based ECW/TYW is very tempting!