"Bolt Action support base size?" Topic

I don't have the rules yet, just some of the armies. You get bases for most of the rank and file but not support bases; mortars, light mortars, HMG, etc.

Does anyone know what size they should be/recommended? By eye it looks like 2 man support bases are 2 1/2 inches wide. Can't tell for the 3 man bases in the photos I've looked at.

I don't believe the rules state recommended base sizes for Team weapons – this because having singularly mounted "crews" can help to access casualties by removing individual figures (otherwise you'll have to "cap" casualties which are mounted rigidly together on a single base). The operative game mechanic is to maintain figures 1-inch or less apart from another figure of the same unit, so this is an important consideration when considering how you might want to mount the crews of team units/weapons.

By default, mounting figures individually on bases close to 1-inch in size works well for maintaining the 1-inch rules limitation. If you want "team weapon bases", where you can permanently attach your hvy. weapon to, perhaps consider having the crew members on their own bases, so they can be placed on top of the greater weapons base, and then removed for attrition purposes. All this I think greatly depends on your collection, the look you want to achieve with your basing methods, and/or keeping flexibility with your figures for skirmish gaming, as opposed to more "element-type" wargaming.

I put two man teams on 40mm round and 3 man teams on 60mm round.

A friend mounts his crewmen on magnet sized to the rule's recommendations. He has the weapon mounted on a steel plate and leaves gaps in the flocking for the crewmen.
I mount my support weapons on a steel plate large as my friend does. But I permanently attach two of the crew to the plate with the weapon. Where there is a third crewman, I mount him on his own small plate. I used skull shaped beads to indicate casualties among the permanently mounted figures.

I based my support weapons like Mr Elmo. If I need to 'detach' a team member I use a marker for tracking purposes and a stand-in figure.

Suggestions appreciated.

No required base size from the rule book. I use "usa" quarters (coin) size washers for individual soldiers bases and 40mm wide+ meatl bases for my crew served weapons.

Not the best photo but you can see the Sov mortar near the Bldg.

Good luck with the basing…

SFC Retired

For MMGs, mortars and AT guns we fix crews to bases and keep the bases as small as possible. The PBI get stuck on 2 pence pieces apart from my wife's MG42s which are mounted as laoder and firer on the same base, which – at some point – I shall copy for my Brits.

This approach works well if you want to remove casualties easily. It also enables you to use the crew elsewhere if preferred, such as manning a different type of MG.

link

(Sorry, haven't yet figured out how to get this formatted correctly…)