"How Deep is your base?" Topic

Apologies to the Bee Gees:

BLUF is What depth base looks best for 15mm figures, individuals and combat teams?

With my 25+ mm tall figures I use 3mm deep Litko bases of various size (20mm and up) and shape (usually square or circular.

With my individual and combat teams in 3mm I use .8mm deep basing.

With 15/18mm I want some feedback.

Because I have lots of fantasy (Halfling, Gnome, Dwarf, Goblin, Elf, and Orc,) and SF humans/aliens that vary in height and heft I find myself torn between circles and squares 0f either .8mm or 1.5 mm deep.

I have Rebel Minis, Khurasan miniatures, Splintered Light miniatures, mostly and Clear Horizon Miniatues, GZG, and "others" to a lesser degree.

If you had to choose either .8mm or 1.5mm deep bases for consistency which would you choose?

EDIT post first answer…: And why you chose one over the other, please.

Thanks in advance.

When basing non-aerial figures, (Yes, I do mostly planes, starships, spaceships or watercraft,) it seems much clearer than land based forces.

0.8mm.

"How Deep is your base?"

I think you must be talking about the thickness of the base rather than its depth!

All my 15mm figures are mounted on bases cut from mount board, which is about 0.75mm thick.

MajorB,

I am talking about the third dimension of how a base (or a room or a dresser) might be described, such as the cavalry base is 25mm wide by 50mm long by 3mm deep. It can also be called height. Thickness is another term I hear occasionally.

You seem to be a expert on thickness.

link

Dictionary
1dimension
noun di·men·sion \də-ˈmen(t)-shən also dī-\
: the length, width, height, or depth of something : a measurement in one direction (such as the distance from the ceiling to the floor in a room)

<snip>

1
a (1) : measure in one direction; specifically : one of three coordinates determining a position in space or four coordinates determining a position in space and time

I am talking about the third dimension of how a base (or a room or a dresser) might be described, such as the cavalry base is 25mm wide by 50mm long by 3mm deep.

In most wargames that I know of we talk about base width and base depth. Depth being what you refer to as length.

For example, see DBA v3.0 p5, Hordes of the Things p9, Hail Ceasar p.14 and Black Powder p12.

"…is your base, how deep is your base, I really need to know.."

MajorB,

Now I remember why I stifled you before I unstifled everyone.

Arrogant Pedantry without a reasonable cause.

Though you did miss my exact meaning of being an expert on thickness.

Back to being stifled for you.

I've gone over to 2mm MDF for everything. 28mm and 15mm

It doesn't warp, it is thin enought to be fairly unobtrusive, and it is thick enough to stop bases riding up over each other. It is also very cheap. I get mine in 2 x 3 foot sheets, in a pack of 5 sheets, for less than £25.00 GBP, and that is a lot of bases! You get it from picture framing materials suppliers – they use it for backing picture frames. It cuts with a Stanley knife.

All my bases are 3mm thick. The width (frontage) and depth depends upon the rule set and the amount of depth needed to base the minis with some terrain, etc.

Primarily I play Impetus, so 3mm thick bases, with 120mm frontage, and the depth is usually 60-100mm depending upon the unit and amount of terrain/landscaping I wish to add.

Greetings

I use 2mm mdf for almost everything. However I use Peter Pig plastic bases for multi-based 15mm WW2 which are somewhat thinner (can't tell you the exact measurement as I am on a different continent from my Wargame stuff this week) – only because I clip the corners off the bases.

Regards

Edward

Thin crust for me thanks :) the 'thickness' of my gaming bases in 15 mm are normally done on mounting card and sometimes floor lino tiles thus round about 3 to 5 mm which is not really an important dimension in 15 mm to me, if metal I like .4 mm SS or galvanised but have been thinking of adding the card on top for a bit of 'chunkyness' to the bases. Any ho, what works for you is the important one.
Cheers and happy gaming

"Definitions of depth:
a dimension taken through an object or body of material, usually downward from an upper surface, horizontally inward from an outer surface, or from top to bottom of something regarded as one of several layers."

I suppose OP was taking first part of this definition, but I think most wargamers (and rule sets) think of the second definition, as Major B was suggesting. Perhaps it's a transatlantic thing- two peoples separated by a common language? (So OP's dig at Major B was really unnecessary, but I am sure Major B doesn't give a flying one)

To answer original question- I prefer 1.5mm thick modelling ply, thick enough not to warp and easily cut with a modelling knife or even strong scissors. I usually use 20mm or 40mm frontage (= base width) with front to back (= base depth in my language) varying between 20mm and 30mm depending on troop type, formation etc. I have used 0.8mm thick ply, but find it can warp when adding scenic materials with dilute PVA glues.

I use steel almost exclusively so 22 gauge

MajorB,
Now I remember why I stifled you before I unstifled everyone.
Arrogant Pedantry without a reasonable cause.
Though you did miss my exact meaning of being an expert on thickness.
Back to being stifled for you.

That's a bit harsh. He was only pointing out that there is a generally accepted definition of base depth within wargames. Then you accuse him of being a pedant whilst quoting dictionary definitions !

Nearly all my land gaming miniatures are 15/18mm.

I actually far prefer the appearance of the thinnest base possible (my favorite being sheet steel) because it can be made to blend into the terrain around it. I still do this on naval miniatures in some scales, but for ancients and horse & musket gaming I have found the thin bases much too easy to overlap while moving units. I'm not just being ridiculously picky – it actually increases the duration of a turn if the troops are harder to line up and square off in neat ranks and files.

After years of experimenting with various basing thicknesses I settled on 3mm (1/8") thick bases because:

• 3mm is thick enough to ease unit movement.
  
• It's just thick enough to write on (unit ID, parent unit/commander, etc.).
  
• It's the easiest thickness to get pre-cut.
  
• It's the easiest thickness to match when cutting my own. I almost never cut my own bases anymore, but it's really nice to be able to easily match the base thickness when I have to add just a stand or two to a 15 year old unit, and in the US, it's easy to find nearly any material in 1/8" (even steel bar, if I feel like machining them! ).
  

Given your two choices, 1.5mm will give more useful mating edges during multi-stand unit movement (maybe – barely – thick enough), but 0.8mm stands will blend into the table terrain better. You'll have to decide which is more important.

I don't think either thickness will be sufficient to counterbalance 15mm lead figures. The only way to counterbalance metal 15/18mm minis is to make the base width and depth greater than the figure height. I based my AWI units on 1"x1/2"x3mm MDF bases and officer figures on 3/8"x3mm round magnets, and they topple easily if even slightly off balance (e.g., moving up or down slopes, standing in tall "grass" made of fur, standing on rough table terrain textures like bushes and rocks, etc.). By contrast, my ACW figures are based on 1"x3/4" bases, and that extra 1/4" of base depth makes a world of difference in the stability of the stands.

- Ix

That's a bit harsh.

Thank you, Marshal mark (and others) for your support. An apology from Mute Bystander would be nice …

I try to go as thin as I can on the integral base and mount them on pennies,(1.5mm) for individuals simply because, I know I will not find a cheaper base in such quantities. I washers with the same thickness and larger diameter for larger pieces. I would go thinner if could.