Hi all,

As the subject says, I'm brand new to 6mm wargaming (though not wargaming in general) and have been covetously scrolling thorough the Baccus site for a few months now. The small scale really appeals to me, since I don't have much space to store or play miniature games (which hasn't stopped me from buying far too many 28mm minis...). I've been looking at rulesets (Warmaster, Lion Rampant 2e, and Hail Caesar 2e in partucular) and have decided to take the plunge.

My question is about basing.

I understand how you bas your miniatures depends largely on what rules you're using, but also that many rulesets are flexible about basing so that the same miniature can be used for several different games. II also understand that a unit's frontage is often more important than it's depth. I'm leaning towards using 60x30 bases, just so I can order everything from Baccus and save on shipping cost (I live in Japan, and international shipping is expensive).

While browsing the website and other 6mm wargaming blogs, I've noticed that some miniatures are on significantly larger bases (60x60 and possibly even 60x90) with most of the miniatures arranged along the back edge of the base. What's the reason for this?

Is it purely decorative? A way to turn the base into a little diorama? Some long rectangular bases have skirmishers, casualties, or other decoractive bits towards the front. Is there a game rule reason for it? Do deeper bases confir some sort of advantage, or do certain types of units need deeper bases? Or is it a practical choice? Larger bases are easier to pick up, harder to knock over, and protect models with long pikes better.

Thanks for your help.

As you write it does depend upon the rules you are using and the level of abstraction (i.e. how many men does a single figure represent) and the period. You seem to be looking at the Ancients period (good choice) and formations (at a tactical level) varied in shape, especially depth. At a more strategic level (e.g. if you were using DBA rules) then depth is not so important.

It also depends upon whether you are going to play solo or against others. The first gives you complete freedom whilst the second might direct you in a size to choose.

Just to confuse you further I use 25mm frontages for my bases.

You'll pay your money and you take your choice... in fact 6MM is for me the last frontier... before going to boardgames without minis at all... let me expliain the heresy:  1.- 6MM let you field Armies; 2.- in my experience (humble... lol) the bases are a lot like "counters"; 3.- once you realize that what is really important is the FREEDOM to use as much or as less minis per base... aesthetics count a lot... (at least for me)...; 4.- it is really not expensive at all to experiment in your period of choice... 5.- specially if you play solo or do your own home rules... so... simply enjoy to the maximum the possibilities of the scale.; As long as contending Armies are similarly based there is no function problems at all as SPACE is a BIG bonus of 6MM. Just to confuse you further there are periods (specially colonials) where I do not build the enemy at all... just markers or puffs of smoke... Peruse some other threads in this forum they are a source of inspiration. Enjoy!

Basing has a number of factors affecting it.  How many different games do you want to play with the same minis?  Do you want to use how they are based to differentiate different unit types?  Will bases need other info on them, etc.

It sound like you are looking at medieval / ancients period?  I would advise the very first thing is to get the rules you are interested in and some thick cardboard.  Cut out the base sizes in card recommended and see how that plays with no minis at all.

Once you are happy with that look at how the minis can work on the base.  In general there are two approaches - copying 28 mm (eg 1" square) or a vignette on a larger base.    I would say the vignette appraoch probably looks better and lets you distinguish between different troop types more easily.  Figures are hard to identify from 2' even with different poses and colours.  Different "layouts" are more easily distinguished.  eg light infantry could be more spread out or in skirmish type formations.  Heavy infantry in 3 or 4 compact rows, light horse wheeling around, heavy horse in an arrow head formation, etc. 

Re basing, I think choice of period is important.

I use 40x20mm bases for ancients, but 60x30mm for ECW and WSS.  The bigger bases just make more sense for the two later periods, as they allow you to field battalions on a single base that look right - for ECW, a central pike block flanked by muskets, and for WSS an extended line.  Of course, that extended line is in reality still far too short relative to its depth, but it looks acceptable.

With Ancients, I am frankly sticking to how I started basing them many years ago on 40x20mm.  The arguable advantage with smaller bases is allowing more sensible of small niche elements, such as chariots or elephants.  A phalanx or legion composed of several bases would of course look good with either size of base.

One last thought - the problem with a lot of rules designed for 28mm is the bonuses applied to multiple ranks, especially phalanxes.  Eg, four bases deep being the optimum.  If you think about figure to man ratios, this does not work well in 6mm, unless you are working on a very low ratio.  Personally, I tend to assume for my purposes that a figure represents 20 to 30 men.  If I have a 40x20mm base with two ranks of 6mm hoplites on it, that actually already means I have a formation that is probably about eight or twelve men deep, which is, on current thinking, around the typical depth of many phalanxes.  Two bases deep gives sixteen to twenty-four men deep - more than enough for a Macedonian unit.  Go four bases deep to exploit the rules, and you have a positively Theban column...

Hello HyveMynd!

Good choice, the 60x30 base is what I call the Swiss Army Knife of basing. You can play pretty much any popular rule set as is or with a few minor house rules. Also as you have noted it matches the way Baccus sells their figures so no short or over figures. 

The Polemos rules and a number of other rule sets today don't use figure ratios. They use base ratios so it does not matter how many figures you put on a base. So yes figure placement is purely decorative. Although gamers are often trying to mimic a formation of some type on the base to make the mini diorama look more impressive. 

Deeper bases 60x60 etc are used by some people to try and create the illusion of even larger formations without taking up too much space. Some people simply use two 60x30 bases. Which gives them more flexiblity. 

You should carefully examine the basing required for your three rule sets Warmaster/Lion Rampant/Hail Caesar to confirm you can use 60x30 for all three. If you can your all set.

Hope this helps you. Should you need anything further, just ask. 

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Baccus miniatures coming on 20mm strips is a major factor in my decision here. International shipping is expensive, and I don't want to end up with too many or too few minis.

Hearing that deeper bases are largely for visual appeal also helps. It's what I suspected, but getting confirmation is always nice.

After reading the replies, checking around on the internet, and flipping though my rulebooks, I've actually decided to go with 40mm wide bases. Two ranks of two strips each on a 20mm deep base for infantry units mimics the suggestions in the "Hail Caesar 2e" book. It's also just a little smaller than the 60x30 bases, which means less space to store the miniatures.

Thanks for your help. :D

Welcome to the wonderful scale of 6mm.

Deeper bases do not necessarily have to be purely for visuals but they can protect leveled pikes as well. But there are raised pikes too.

40x20 sounds good. You can adjust the ratio of command vs line strips if you want a single base to represent a single unit.To get the command strip in the middle, you can simply cut one of the line sprues in half.

Good luck on your hobby journey!
 

Usually I'm using 60x30mm, but für Medieval and Antiquity 40x40 - for example:

That is some impressive looking stuff, rsjahn. Is everything in that photo based on 40x40 squares?

(Also, how did you attach images? I tried, but couldn't figure out how.)