"How I add unit ID to my bases... " Topic

A close up shot showing how I use "seed beads" to mark units. A platoon gets a color (blue, yellow, green, etc). 1st squad gets one bead of that color, second squad gets two beads and so on. Leaders get a white bead, 2nd in command get two (one on either side of the color beads). Specialty figures get a color bead as well. For US Vietnam, orange = grenadier, green = M60 team.Other specialist teams will have the color beads and then a unique color code. An attached mortar, for example, would get the appropraite blue bead, and then be marked with red – so it's always clear which figures are mortar crew and which platoon they are attached to. A separate mortar platoon is treated just like infantry – 1 color for 1sr section, 2 for second and so on.

Left to right:
Squad leader 1st squad, Grenadier 1st platoon, rifleman 2nd squad, rifleman 2nd squad, M60 gunner 3rd squad, M60 loader 3rd squad

Platoon command where the beads are fore and aft rather than side by side:

Nice idea, but I think I would prefer something more subtle.

Maybe use rocks instead?

I base all my figures (1/72, WW2) on plastic rummoli chips. Leaders and specialists are then glued to a penny with a coloured rim. Officers are represented by gold, silver, or yellow, depending on rank and/or effectiveness. NCO Section Leaders use green, SMGs red, assault rifles orange. Engineers and medics use white. It's unobtrusive, but individual characteristics are readily distinguished by the thin coloured ring around their base.

I tried rocks. They blend in too much and how do you distinguish one platoon from another?

Once the flock and static grass is added they are pretty unobtrusive in use.

I put tiny labels on the undersides of the figures bases. It means you have to pick the figures every so often to remind yourself who is who but at least the enemy is kept in the dark!

Good ideas. I was thinking of just actual color coded labels/marks on the perimeter of the base. I do 6mm modern, though, so I thought of even putting labels on the bases but I like these ideas.

For my large WW2 1/300 collection I've swung to:
Bases unlabelled but have magnetic sheet underneath. For a game, place on a slightly larger sabot base which has a colour and a number. Means I can change the unit affiliation of each stand per the need for a particular game or ruleset.

I used rocks. 1 for the first unit, 2 for the second, etc. I paint them subtle colors for further differentiation. Hardly noticeable until I point them out in the pre-game brief.

I tried painting the edges of the washers but you end up having to pick them up. Kinda defeats the purpose – part of it is to make it easy to spot the special figures. Or to sort 1st and 2nd platoon after a fierce melee.

One very clever way to do it – at least for unit ID alone – is to use patterns of flock.

1st platoon gets flock on the right hand side of the base.
2nd platoon gets flock on the left hand side of the base.
3rd platoon gets an hourglass shape of flock.
HQ platoon gets flock only on the rear.

Doesn't help with finding the M60 but remarkably easy to spot when you need to see it – otherwise invisible.

I used Cold Steel's method for Brother Against Brother: 1st Squad--1 rock,2nd--2,but 3rd--none,to avoid cluttering stands too much.
Aquarium stores sell bags of small stones in several different natural colors,which can be used to differentiate platoons.

Coloured lichen.

I am assuming the beads/stones work best on 25+mm and maybe 15/18mm figures?

I am thinking seed beads on 6mm/3mm might be less visible. And yes, i have played with 6mm skirmish but not (yet) 3mm skirmish.

I use them on my 6mm Flames of War bases but those are 5 figures per stand….

I have been using fabric paint on bases. Just a little dab like the beads in the first item of the thread. But I use greens and grays and browns. What's good about the fabric paint is that when it's dry, you can just pop it off if you want to make a change. One dab for the first company, two dabs for the second, etc. officers get a small silver dabs depending on what rank.

For 25mm and micro infantry, I use a Sharpie pen to put a designation under each figure's or stand's base. As Glengarry5 said, it keeps the opposition in the dark, but may require you to look at the bases once in a while.

There are rarely more than a few vehicles in a 25mm game, so it's easy to keep track of them.

I usually don't base micro vehicles. I just paint a color code of one or more dots on the back of each one. The first dot is squadron color, and the second is either a leader color or a unit designation. Thus Red Squadron might have Red Leader with red and yellow dots, Red One with a red dot, Red Two with two red dots, etc.

For spacecraft, I make little paper banners with the ship names and wrap them around the vertical post of the base so they stream below the ship on the table.

I put little coloured marks on the backs of the bases.
Green for 1st platoon, Blue for 2nd, Red for 3rd
1 mark for 1st squad, 2 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd