"Franco Prussian War basing. Suggestions wanted" Topic

Hi all,
I just decided to sell my painted 28mm 1870 French from an aborted project. They are pretty good looking miniatures and it would be a shame if they never saw action.
I am finishing painting some zouaves and tirallieurs and then I have to base them all. I was wondering what size do you suggest I base them. We were planning to play Piquet, and I have the infantry mounted three to a stand 2"1/4 wide by 1" deep or 5,7mm x 2,5mm, four stands to a battallion.

I think it should be ok for most rules, but I was wondering if you can tell me which is the most popular 28mm rule set and basing.
Ciao, Vezio

For maximum flexibility, I suggest selling the figures unbased. The new owner can then base these figures to his own specifications.

I would base them either 3-4 to a base on Fire and Fury sized stands or on 4 to a base (2x2) on 40mm square bases. The safer option though is probably to base them individually on 20mm square bases. Definitly base them as they will look better and be more likely to sell.

Offer to base them to customer wishes or leave them unbased if desired. Winning bidder gets what he wants that way and you get more likelihood of a sale.

Personally, I always look for unbased figures as I want all the bases on my units to match in colour and appearance. If I have to rebase something it means I am less likely to bid on it, or will consider the time and effort to do so lowering the amount I am prepared to pay.

the problem with unbased miniatures is that they just look "unfinished" in picture without a proper basing. I am afraid thay won't sell as well as they could.

I'd sell them unbased or white glue individually based on "Warhammer" style round bases. That way if the buyer needs to rebase they are easy to remove from the base.

What Uesugi Kenshin said, and emphasize the ease of transfer. Check the various movement trays that take circular bases as well (Litko makes some) and reference those as well.

I agree about the look with bases, but if I was buying for a project I would expect to have my own base approach.

Anyway, can you tell me which are the most popular rulesets for the period in 28mm?
I only know of Piquet and HG2 (Zouave coming from mr Jones now), 1870 (Smaller scales probably) and, IIRC, Glory Enough for All (which I think we based the mianiatures for… it was a while ago) that I thought I had it, but can't find now.

What Pictors Studio said.

Erik

There aren't any really "popular" rulesets for FPW. The people I know that do (or did) FPW all used different rules in different scales with different basing.

My previous local group (before I moved) did it in 15mm using They Died for Glory. That uses a 1:50 figure ratio with 4 bases per battalion, so a Prussian battalion was 4 bases of 5 figures in 1 and 7/8" wide base (3/8" per figure). The Jackson Gamers play Chassepot & Needlegun in 28mm. That game uses 1.5" x 1 3/4" bases for the Prussians (4 figures in 2 ranks) and something like 1 1/4" x 1 3/4" basing for the French (3 figures in 2 ranks) but I think The Jackson Gamers use their own basing system with the figures all in 1 rank. You know what Piquet uses and the author of Piquet: Field of Battle uses 3 figures on 1.5" square bases (4 bases per battalion). I play FPW using Volley and Bayonet where 1 base is a regiment (2000-3000 men). In 15mm I use 2" square bases (10 15mm figures per base) but if I were going to do it in 28mm I'd put 10 28mm figures on the full size 3" bases.

A lot of the "modern" rules don't really care about base size – emphasizing game over simulation. Rank and File recommends 4 figures in 2 ranks on 40mm square bases. That should work with Black Powder and would work with Piquet:Field of Battle. So, IMHO, either don't base, or go with 4 figures on 40mm square bases.

Before you go basing them….how much are you selling them for???

I would wager that the majority of FPW 25/28mm gamers play individual castings ( not all I know)! So the temporary black GW bases are a very cheap and easy idea, just don't superglue anything!! White Glue!!

Thank you guys.

Mark they won't be cheap, I guess. They are very well painted, in my opinion, no drybrush, layers or dip. I wanted to base them at a high standard, so to improve their value. The are all metal miniatures and they are the first minis I am willing to sell in more than 25 years of gaming… I am pretty jealous of my work, you know ;)
I am thinking to have them on Ebay in a couple of weeks, as soon as I finish the Tirallieur (almost done) and the zouaves.
The minimum I was thinking to start the bid from was about an average 120€ per unit, including a prone and a casualty marker per unit on 40mm round (prone) and square (casualty, marked 1-2-3-4 on the sides) GW bases. They look neat, I think. I honestly hope that they will sell for more, though. Seeing what is for sale on Ebay and the prices they reach, I hope my miniatures look better and are worth more… I am actually a bit nervous about putting them on auction… what if they are not as good as I think :( I would be disappointed in myself ;)
I was thinking to have one auction for the whole division, instead of selling the units separately.
I am leaning towards posting pictures of some sample models based on a round 1" GW finished base, and leave the option to the buyer. It will only take a bit longer to ship them if he chooses to have tham based by me.

If it goes well, I have some more castings to be painted, enough for 2 chasseurs battallions, one line infantry and a two guns 12lbs Napoleon battery. So, I might decide to paint and sell them too.

I think I am leaning towards basing them on magnetic 20x20mm square bases (Gale Force9). I will provide steel bottoms 6x2 cm, so the buyer can either have a standard Piquet main rules 3 men stand 2.25"x1", or he can make his own steel bases (litko?) and doesn't need to rebase the whole thing. A 40x40mm base cna have either 3 or 4 figures magnetically attached with no prob, they should be easy to make and handle on the table.
What do you think?

I hope I can post a picture for you to check in the next couple of days.

Ciao