Just got my French 1806-1812 Napoleonic starter army.  Awesome.  Looking at the French line infantry I see that there are 10 line infantry units.  Among those units are mostly line with shako and pom, but I have 10  4man strips of infantry with a small plume.  Does anyone know if these are supposed to separated into units on their own (5 plume strips with one reglular command strip), or divided up with one for each regular infantry unit as plumed grenadiers or something?  They almost look like elites, but the starter army isn't supposed to come with any.

As a seperate unit they may be light infantry?

Not sure, any help would be appreciated.

Hello tdumontelle!

Great choice, I'm sure you will enjoy painting and using them.

Any line units that include a strip of elites are intended to be the grenadiers within a battalion. So each unit will have 1 command stand, 1 grenadier and 4 line. It is assumed that the lights have been detached for skirmishing. Some people buy skirmishers and mount them at the front of the base to represent the lights. While others simply ignore them (I do). They also normally mount the grenadiers at the right rear (back row of two rows), assuming your using standard Polemos basing 60mm x 30mm. Others paint two of the figures as grenadiers and two as lights, cut the stand in two and mount the grenadiers on the right and the lights on the left. You can of course if you want seperate the grenadiers into their own units. Most people who build those units simply buy a bag of elites.

I only use skirmishers for my light infantry units and mount 8 figures on a 60mm x 30mm base. That makes it easy for all the players to identify them from the line units.

Does that clear it up for you?

Best regards,

Glenn

Yes, that makes sense.  I am using two units on one 60X30 base as a brigade.  I thought those guys might be grenediers.  First test unit is mostly done...these paint super fast. 

Thanks for the help!

Hello tdumontelle!

Your more then welocme.

Are you putting two units of 24 (48 figures) on one 60x30 base? I know they will fit but that might look a little crowded. Part of the secret of 6mm is not to crowd them. More light in, more colour out, etc. Most people who want to use 60x30 as brigades (and battalions), simply use two of them together back to front and only mount 24 figures on a base.

What rules are you going to be using?

Yes indeed not only do they paint up fast but they also look fabulous.

Best regards,

Glenn

I am playing Blucher by Sam Mustafa.  I debated about mounting two 24 man bases together.  I mounted one at the front and one at the rear with a pretty good gap between.  Here is a French Line and Line Chasseurs brigade.

http://i1212.photobucket.com/albums/cc444/tdumontelle/195d6b7e-310a-4554-9d32-d64a73c43ec8.jpg

Makes for a nice formation and easy movement. I used minimal glue so I can remount later if I want.

Hello tdumontelle!

Yes indeed they do look very good. However, 6mm is about understanding how your eye and brain work. Once you have a number of bases together you will lose the effect of having seperate units on a single base. They will just look like a blob of figures crowded together.

To help get the colours and figures stand out a little more it's very important not to over crowd them. As I said above, more light in, more colour out. It's also important to be able to put some terrain effects on your bases, a sort of mini diorama. Use some static grass, earth, rocks, bushes etc. It works as a contrast to your figures and helps make the colours jump out even more. It also simply makes your base look better. So you need some room to dress up the base a little.

The other thing is pure economics, and time. If you only mount 24 infantry or 9 cavalry on a single base you will be able to double your collect of bases at half the cost and half the time.

To play Blucher almost any basing system will work so you might want to consider trying to be as flexable as possible in case you might want to play other rule sets. To meet that goal simply use the standard Polemos style of one unit on a base. That will open the door to almost any rule system out there. Should you hook up with other 6mm Napoleonic players it's more then likely that they have based their figures this way. You can also often buy these bases already painted and mounted on ebay, etc.

Some people who play Blucher with these bases use them in two ways. A single base is a brigade or to give the look of more units they simply use two bases together back to front. Some even use the bases side by side to represent a wider formation.

Obviously basing is a personal choice and you have to mount them how best suits you. I'm only offering you my experince.

Best regards,

Glenn

Rearranged my test bases and I have to say, the Polemos basing is pretty good.  Plus, even 24 figs on a single base can easily be a full brigade for larger battles.  And I played around with 4 bases for brigade which was pretty cool too (for smaller points battles).  Luckily I tried this before I glued down my whole starter set.

I always add sand, gravel and various greenery to my bases as the final step.  I just have to adjust from my usual 28mm and 15mm basing style.  Don't want the French dodging boulders.

Thanks for the help :)

Monty

Hello Monty!

Your more then welcome! I'm always glad when someone is able to use my experience to their advantage.

The key to 6mm is simply understanding that the 60x30 is the basic building block for playability and looks. I'm certainly delighted to hear that your already playing around with formations. You can do a lot with this base. We have used them to represent exactly what they are a battalion or a cavalry regiment, or parts of. In some of our smaller scale games they have been used as part battalions (2 or 3 for 1 battalion or 1 cavalry regiment). As you have already noticed they can also be a single brigade or part of one. There is no real limit on how you can use them.

I did notice that some of your larger figuers were detailed with terrain and looked amazing. I'm sure your finished 6mm stuff will look just as good. Post some pictures when you can.

Best regards,

Glenn