"Microarmor, to base or not to base?" Topic

I've taken the Microarmor plunge and purchased enough forces for a smallish game for both sides. The GHQ rules stae that the miniatures, all of them, should be based on 1 in.sq. bases. But in all the pictures I see on line, their catalogue, etc., I see no bases. So, do I base or not?

TIA
Big Joe Duke

Base. Looks good and protects the model.

I always base

The GHQ rules stae that the miniatures, all of them, should be based on 1 in.sq. bases.

In that case they need to be on bases.

I tend to base. Used to do it on 20 x 40mm but just recently switched to 30mm square for AFV's.

When I first got into micro armor over 20 years ago, I based. A year or two later, not only did I no longer based, I pulled the figures off the bases.

A base does help protect the figures as the base can extend beyond the end of the barrel. I have not had any issues that I can think of. I can put more in a drawer or a tank trap/bunker box, etc for protection and transport.

I certain rule, where a vechile represent a platoon/company or larger unit, the base represents the area that the specific unit is occupying. Hope that helps.

A nice, flocked base looks good plus it helps with storage and handling. Base 'em!

when I assembled my BKC forces in 10mm, I couldn't decide so I just over-engineered it and prepared bases for every AFV, but I didn't glue them on but just stuck a tiny neodynium magnet on the underside of the vehicle and the middle of the base. Now I can use em with or without bases :)

And now, I haven't even played one single game using these miniatures -_-

Infantry based.

Vehicles, nyet!

Base.

Base. Looks good and protects the model.

I don't base 1/285 vehicles. Heck I don't base 1/600 vehicles either. :)

I've never based tanks or larger vehicles – will base jeeps with trailers and sidecar/motorcycles and such.

I think they look better based.

base

I only base infantry, guns, or small vehicles (jeeps, kubels). Anything else, not based.

Try the game first – just tack the minis onto appropriate squares of cardboard.

Then decide if you want to go with permanent bases or not. After all, you might decide to use the minis with some other ruleset!

Personally, I base my microarmor.

Like Striker, I only base the small stuff that would easily get lost otherwise. But for big vehicles, basing is a distraction from nice terrain and paint jobs.

Why would a tank drag its own parking lot around with it?

I recommend you base your micro-armor tanks. For years I did not use bases, but when I started playing Spearhead, I started using bases and I found they protect the model and they make the model easier to move. However, at the end of the day the choice is up to you.

With the exception of infantry and a few really fragile items, I do not base mine, and haven't found it to be a problem with respect to protecting the miniatures.

I always base mine.

I base mine on small FOW bases.

In this scale when troops are on a 2mm thick base not basing vehicles can result in 'people' standing taller than a tank.
So by basing vehicles you increase them by the same thickness as the infantry and maintain the illusion of scale.

Not basing just makes vehicles look shorter than they should be.

This disparity is furthered by the fact that miniatures of infantry in 6mm are not right anyway.
Let us assume that 1mm = 1 foot.

On this basis it is fairly easy to get a vehicle to be the right size.

However infantry can be the right height but not the right width.
6mm infantry always look too big when placed next to a proper scale vehicle.
I have just measured my forearm and it is just over 4" wide.
Which is 1/3rd of a foot.
Sooo using the assumption that 1mm = 1 foot the arms on a 6mm figure should be about 0.33mm wide.
This is simply not possible.
I have just measured some of my 6mm troops and they are about 3mm wide at the shoulders.
I am not aware of many people that are 3 foot wide.

So we have the situation where in order to make 1/300th figures robust they must be bigger in 'chunkiness' than their vehicle counterparts which can be the right size as they are essentially just chunks of lead and be 0.33mm smaller without compromising sturdiness.

As such infantry already look bigger than they should next to a vehicle so basing the vehicles helps to redress the balance a bit.

That was a bit of a waffle, but hopefully you get what I am trying to say!

Michael.

I get it AB, makes perfect sense to me!

I would put the magnet strips sidewise, otherwise no bases for the individual tanks.

I would base and write what the model and manufacturer is. Because twenty years later when you get them out of the box you wont be able remember what the tank is or who the manufacturer was to buy some reinforcements from.

In this scale or size of figures I would consider basing the tanks and other vehicles if the game was at platoon level or higher. Then the stands would show appropriate formations. On a more 1:1 scale game I probably not base the tanks because the actual model traversing the terrain would give me a better feel and look for skirmish type gaming.

Mike

I generally don't base vehicles( I play Command Decision), but when playing Spearhead, I'll tack them to bases. Infantry and guns definately need a base.

Don't base. A tank model looks ridiculous with a flocked based on a bridge or a road. But that is 1:1 scale. On a larger scale the base is the formation and is needed for the game.

So we have the situation where in order to make 1/300th figures robust they must be bigger in 'chunkiness' than their vehicle counterparts which can be the right size as they are essentially just chunks of lead and be 0.33mm smaller without compromising sturdiness.

Not for sturdiness alone. Much of the design is made to be seen and pick up paint. For example the bolts on any GHQ tanks are always much larger than scale. That in order to be seen. The rim bolts on the Tiger are as big as helmets.

I never based my Micro Armor tanks. As for infantry, I just use Die-Cut counters for troops and old Squad Leader counters for thier equipment. I play one to-one-scale tho…

as a rule, I don't like basing because I think it gives a much better presentation without. Especially if you have really nice terrain.

Of course you do base, which I do for infantry, AT guns, towed AT guns, etc. then I think it's much better to use the thin steel bases rather than the thicker ones that are made of wood or plastic.

Of course that makes it harder to pickup but I solved this problem by gluing some small washers underneath the base to elevate it slightly. I don't think the elevation takes anything away from the look.