Bases

[martin goddard]

I think we all use a lot of 3x3 bases.
The finishing touches (after attaching the painted figures), can make a  visual difference.

I clip off the corners in order to break up the temptation to "rank" them in the game.
I am considering making the outer base area plain (same colour as rest of base) so that the base effect and figures form a patch within the base.
Tufts. I usually restrict it to one tuft or one rock , so that the figures remain recognisable from distance.

I tend to space the figures out. I do not put them on one edge, which might give more random spacing but does not appeal to me. Crewed weapons such as bazookas, MMG etc. are bunched up so they are interacting.

I don't often write underneath bases as I change my unit structures for each game for PBI, SB and AK.

Prone figures get less/no  tufts etc. as they might become hard to identify.

Round bases would work well for  my line figures but would be less easy to label for weapon teams. This is because I paint across a  corner.

What do you do with your 3x3 and 3x4 bases?



martin

[Colonel Kilgore]

I paint (colour code) the base edges so that I know which bases/casualties belong to which unit for PBI.

I texture and paint the full base, but try to keep the edges neat, and not to spill over.

I'm not a great fan of ready-made tufts, as they can often appear out of scale and dwarf the figures. But I use them (as bushes) to identify command bases in MOCB.

For 30 x 40mm bases, I rule off the last 10mm, do not texture it but stick on a printed name badge after painting and varnishing.

Simon

[Leman (Andy)]

I like texture, rocks, tufts, bricks, bushes, 2mm static grass, snow where appropriate, but not pictures of sad doe-eyed girls from Malaga. I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[JohnWyatt]

Over the years I've experimented with various basing options, not always a good idea as I sometimes ended up with different units in the same army exhibiting slightly different styles if they were done at different times. I'm terrible for flitting from project to project, though most things get finished eventually. (I think my longest time to paint a figure, start to finish, was 14 years.)

In recent years basing has been a bit of texture and a modest amount of static grass, but no large or distinctive scenery items.

I tend to use the bottom to write things like the colours I used or the date the base was finished, to make it a piece of my personal wargaming history. I'm sure I picked up that idea from someone but I can't remember who.

[Moggy]

The current army of Vikings I am fielding in shield wall or as close as the poses allow. Don't look too shabby like that. Only stuck on painted bases and a few more units to do yet but getting there.  I do try tyo put them in what I feel is the most realistic positions I can and it seems to work for me.

Derek