"Basing 6mm for Lasalle and Black Powder?" Topic

I've recently picked up both Lasalle and Black Powder, and have been thinking of how best to base my 6mm naps so that I can use them for both rules.

Lasalle seems to recommend a 40x20 basing, while Black Powder recommends 20x20. So if I simply go by their recommendations, it would seem best to use a 20x20 basing, with double bases if really necessary for Lasalle.

But my problem is… would they look good?

I personally love the massed look of 60x30 or 60x60 bases that seem to be the "norm" when it comes to 6mm. But on the other hand, I like the idea of using groups of 20x20 bases to change into various formations (March Column, Attack Column, Line, Square).

Has anyone tried basing 6mm in 20x20? It would be great if I could see some examples before I commit myself.

I don't like the look of 20x20 so much & if you look at some of the photos in the Lasalle book, the 6mm with miniatures from Baccus are mounted on 60mm x 30mm. Go with what looks good!

My 6mm are based 40x20. I still get a massed look because I fill the base with 6 Baccus infantry strips. When the bases are touching each other you can't see the 'join' in the figures – only if you look at the bases.

I find it a very adaptable system.

Hmm Cerdic, do you have any pictures of how you based them?

I'm using Baccus too; If I recall correctly, a Baccus infantry strip is 20mm wide and 5mm long.

So if you're placing 6 strips on a 40x20 base, I assume that you're using 3 rows of 2 columns? (Or 3 rows of 8 figures)

That sounds like a good idea… I'll have to try a mock-up using blu-tack!

I keep meaning to get some pictures up. Must get round to it……

Yes, they are 2 strips wide by 3 strips deep. It pretty much fills the base. Of course, if you like 'little diorama' type bases it is not so good as there is no room left!

I'm basing my Lasalle 6 mm units on 40x25 bases with 2 strips wide and 2 strips deep. So it's possible to include terrain on the bases.

I base at 20 x 25 which is close:

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Michael.

I went with 30mmx20mm for 6mm (the old HFG 'standard'). Generally 12 figs on each, either 6x2 or 4x3. Irregular strips are 30mm wide, which makes things easy.

The Baccus mega bases are fine if that is all you want to do, but I prefer to combine my various strips of figures together for different sets of rules. For mega-base type rules I just put multiple strips on temporary base covered in steel paper (the strips have all got mag strip on the bases).

30mm wide works fine for POW and Shako.

I love the look of 60mm x 30mm with the color party in the middle.

For Lasalle as the armies are small this doesn't cause to much trouble space wise.

I play Black Powder and have my 6mm Napoleonics based in 60mmx30mm bases. (1 base = 1 unit). I place a small counter next to the base to represent the unit formation; this kind of bases look very good, just like mini-dioramas but are not so practicall while gaming.
I have my 6mm ACW armies based in 20mmx20mm bases also using the Black Powder rules (4 bases = 1 unit). This bases do not look so good but are a lot more practical in a game.
So, I would recommend, if you are more interested in "looks" go for the 30x60 bases; if you are of a more practical mind-set then go for the 20x20 bases.
Hope this helps.

I agree that 20x20 vs 60x30 is something of a "looks" vs "practicality" consideration. Would 40x20 be a good compromise?

I did a mock-up of 20x20 bases, and didn't really like how "gamey" they looked. So I'm currently torn between 40x20 and 60x30…

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I know this is a bit extreme compared to the usual blocky 6mm bases, but I actually prefer 2 ranks on a 20x10 base. The linear look is very convincing with 6 base units (even 4), and the formations look right.

I'm going to use 30 x 20.

I like Age of eagles but I don't like the "vertical" 20 x 25 base. I use adler, and I mount 2 ranks of 4 marching and the front one advancing. Adler base is about 26 mm, this way I don't have to clip it (though I have to clip the 4 advancing).
30 x 20 allows me to put more figs on a base: 12 infantry, 2 guns or 6 cavalry (30 x 30 or 2 30x 15) giving me that mass look I was looking for but also giving me a base size that I can use for different games and still keeping that feel of "unit" (could be a battallion or half battallion and therefore be used for Lasalle or Napoleonic Command.
RK

Krau.. I know a picture paints a thousand words..

Scroll down my blog a ways and you can see my 6mm Russians Based for Lasalle.. can also be based for Shako like this, although Cav is different for Shako/Lasalle.

Hope this helps,

warandpaint.blogspot.com

Cheers,

TW

Robert

Metric AoE infantry bases are 19mm wide x 25mm deep (0.75" x 1") as you know. Units with an odd number of bases only need one single base so double width bases are the way to go. A base size of 40mm wide x 25mm deep (or 20mm deep – it doesn't make much difference in the game) can accommodate a decent number of figures in 6mm scale.

- Allan

Hello Kraussian!

For many years my 6mm figures were on bases that were pretty close to 20x20. They are just too small and make the figures look drab. Changing formations is nice but is really a waste of time. On the field the units were mostly in line, some in columns and a few might on occasion be in square. Not really worth basing your entire army for the exceptions.

The 60x30 base has pretty much become the standard for 6mm for a reason. They look good and give a reasonable impression of a unit. If you base your units this way you will also be able to play Polemos, Grand Armee, V&B and a few others. Should you ever want to sell your figures you will have a wider market.

To properly show off 6mm figures you need some spacing to allow the light in. More light in, more light (detail) out.
My 60x30 units look a lot better then my old three 20x20 (60x20). I was also able to make more units.

I know some people use three 60x30 bases for a single battalion and it looks great. Bumping it up to four would look good as well. You can do a lot with groups of 60x30 bases as long as you are only playing small battles.

Best regards,

Glenn

The only problem I have with the 60mm frontage bases is that it caps your ground scale at a maximum of about 1" = 50-60 yards (average battalion frontage = 150 yards), even if you are playing with 1 base = 1 battalion and giving up the ability to represent any sort of formations. If you use two bases per battalion to be able to represent formations, then you are down to 1" = 25-30 yards. You can't fight any sort of large actions at that scale, and you need a 1" = 100 yards ground scale to be able to recreate the largest actions.

So, from that practical point of view, a 40mm base (or 2x 20-25mm bases) is the best way to go IMHO. However, if you're aiming for smaller actions, then the bigger bases do look really nice.

@CATenWolde: After playing around with the mock-ups, I am of the opinion that 20x20 and smaller bases would take forever to move around the table! I think 40x20 will be the minimum size I'll be comfortable with.

But I do agree that 60x30 bases will severely limit the ground scale I can play with, and will tend to require rather large tables…

@Theword: Your bases look interesting, but rather smaller than 40x20. How do they measure?

@Glenn Pearce: Yes, if I'm going to go with 60x30, I'll have to either use each base to represent a whole battalion, or accept that I won't be able to play the bigger battles with them.

My bases are 40 x 15.. 40 x 20 would make columns look a little better, but you're going to see big gaps in your squares (depending on how they're formed).

Having said that I think the push my end is to re-base 1 battalion to a base in anticipation of Blucher coming out and maybe using larger scale figures for Lasalle.

In terms of table size.. build a bigger one = )

TW.

CATenWolde – You are of course correct except some 6mm rules include dead ground in their bases so the area they cover is larger then your 150 yard frontage. Some other rules are actually scale free and look at the bases as playing pieces not scale models. LaSalle is for small battles so he could really use any base size he likes unless he has a really small table.

Kraussian – It's really up to you what a base is. It can be a battalion or part of one. I think in LaSalle it's part of a battalion but in Blucher (the next rule set) it's a battalion. I paint all of mine as a battalion with their own flags etc. but on the table I can call them anything to fit the size of the battle or rules that I'm playing. I think this is the basic idea behind these two games a base can be either a battalion or part of a battalion. If size becomes a problem simply reduce the number of bases. If I ever play LaSalle or Blucher I will use my 60x30 bases with possibly a few minor adjustments.

Best regards,

Glenn

Just got my LaSalle rule book today, and now I'm trying to decide which base size to go with.

Baccus sells 60x30 bases for their 6mm minis. The rules say it doesn't really matter as long as they are rectangular, but I wouldn't mind knowing if anyone else has come up with something better?

here is a pic of 40x25 (ready for lasalle) on this page,
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and if you look around the site you will see lot's of 60x30

I base my 10mm stuff on 20mm by 20mm bases. They are thin steel bases, so I attach them to some magnetic sheet cut the size I want for the unit. In this case, the size of 5 bases, so I can move the whole unit as a single block, but can still rearrange them on the magnetic sheet if I need to go into march column.

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For Napoleonics, I think something rectangular(at 2:1)with either 2 or 4 bases per unit might work better for making forming square easier.

My French army on 40mmx20mm bases – 2 bases per battalion of infantry – 1 base per squadron of cavalry. Artillery are on 40mmx40mm bases.

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With 2 bases per battalion I can represent column, line and square formations.