"Artillery Basing - how do you like it?" Topic

So I'm thinking about basing artillery for horse and musket era battles.

How do you prefer it, and why?

- nothing based ever!

- crew on individual bases, gun unbased

- crew on individual bases, gun based

- crew all on one base with gun removable

- crew and gun all stuck on one base

Large ratio combat crew on large bases with removable guns. Bases represent gun position area, limber area and caisson area. Skirmish or tactical level crew on separate bases and gun mounted on large base.

For 28mm SYW my guns are based individually as are their gunners. I use Batailles de l'Ancien Regime (BAR) rules in which this is the suggested "basing."

I use the same method for my 25mm AWR, but with a different rule set – <Disperse, Ye Damned Rebels!.

For my 25mm Napoleonics the gun and 2 gunners are permanently on a base. Same for my 15mm ACW, except each gun has 4 gunners.

Jim

All my artillery, regardless of period are gun and crew glued to the base.

B-E
All my collections are different.
15mm mostly – crew all on one base with gun removable
28mm mostly – crew on individual bases, gun unbased

Now I'm thinking I should also base the guns in 28mm

For larger scale battles, my artillery crew are based on rectangular bases with a section of magnetic strip in the middle. The guns are based on a separate steel washer. That way the guns can serve in many armies or in a skirmish game where the gunners are also based individually.

All of my horse & musket stuff is 15mm.

I began horse & musket with Fire & Fury, and my guns were all glued down with 3-4 artillerists on a base. The guns were all generic, so it didn't matter, and most of them came that way anyway (from buying painted collections).

When I started playing AWI, the collection I first purchased had a couple dozen stands of artillerists based 3-4 to a stand, and no guns. I bought a selection of guns and painted them up, but since I was now playing at regimental level, I wanted to differentiate howitzers, 3 pdrs, 4 pdrs, 6 pdrs, 12 pdrs, etc. Rather than paint and base a whole bunch of extra artillerists, I just grab the guns I want for the scenario and plop them on the bases. This also lets me turn the gun around to mark it as "limbered".

When I started playing ACW regimental, I decided I liked my AWI system, so the guns are coming unglued now, and growing in variety.

When I started on the FPW, I left the guns separate out of habit. This now seems pointless for the Germans (all guns are the same Krupp 4 pdr model), but for the French it helps conserve artillerists, since I can make any stand a rifled gun, smoothbore gun, or mitrailleuse just by swapping the ordnance.

- Ix

My artillerymen are permanently mounted on rectangular bases of increasing size, three for light guns 3-4pdr, 4 crew for 6 to 12 pdr, 5 for 18pdr and 6 for a 24pdr field gun.

The respective guns are not glued to the bases. Instead, they are placed on the bases in the unlimbered state and hooked to horse teams for the limbered state.

Square bases 60mm, or 80 mm for larger guns, all crew fixed to the base, sometimes loose guns somtimes also fixed. we used to have the gunners singly based (still have a lot of those to rebase) but it looked "untidy" so we switched to everything on the base.

Looks like crew all on one base with removable gun is a good option. Anyone tried magnetic basing for the crew so they are removable from the base? Not sure if this works well in practice or not.

I used to have the gun and the detachment individually based. However, when I moved to Perry figures I found that that did not work as some of the figures had to be quite intimately connected to the gun to look realistic.

Now the gun and its detachment are all based together. I also have a separate gun and a base of marching artillerymen to go with the limber and team to represent them marching if necessary.

I found that having my crew figures on the base with a removable gun is OK, but gamers keep trying to pick up the gun. So I'm switching to crew on bases and a gun on a small separate base. This is for 28mm RF&F.

15mm it's all based together – I don't think I've got anything larger than that. Not a fan of narrow frontage bases, so 4cmx3xm gives enough room for crew. Debating whether to start procuring some limbers at a 1:3 ratio but that's down the requirements list.

@Timbo W; I used to mount my 28mm gunners on individual magnetic bases 20mm x 20 mm or 20 x 15mm that fit into similar sized openings on the artillery stand, which was made of a double layer of magnetic material covered in colored pumice gel. This method is ideal for rules that emphasize casualty removal, which I prefer. I also used this method for my infantry and cavalry.

However, over time the magnetic properties decreased and the figures would fall about. So as stated, now I fix the gunners to a MDF base and use a combination of cut up straws as casualty caps and or a casualty counter.

I use a system of a deployed artillery base with the correct frontage which the battery would occupy. The depth is the minimum which I can get away with for my models.

That base Is made from two layers of card, the top one having squares cut out which my gunners, on their individual bases can fit into. I have the same number of gunners on the base as artillery pieces in the real battery. The base has grooves where the wheels and trail of the gun fit.

All my guns have limbers to move them. When deployed these are placed behind the deployed battery, thus helping to simulate the real space which a battery takes up. My horse artillery has alternate mounted and dismounted figures. When dismounted the horses form another line behind the battery.

This can all be seen here:

link

I have used different rule systems over the years, but find it is not too difficult to modify these to match my basing system.

Rod

Mass battle: all crew glued to base, gun removable so it can be attached to a limber and team.

Skirmish – currently undecided but I may have the crew based individually and the gun loose, all to be positioned on a larger base.

For mass battles (almost all games), I base gun and crew all together. I might be modeling 1 model per two guns and a lot less crew, but I do have one limber set based up per battery, as a single 15mm limber-and-caisson set takes up about as much table space as the entire battery would when limbered. I also like using much deeper bases for artillery than infantry, so I can include more gun crew (ideally the full gun crew if I can).

For skirmishes (like Flintloque), no base for the gun and individual bases for the crew.

- crew all on one base with gun removable

Like others have already said this method makes it easy to change gun calibers as the scenario requires. One base of gunners can used for 3lbs, 4lbs, 6lbs, 8lbs, 12lbs, or howitzers.

Also, if you decide to make some limbers you don't need to buy and paint separate guns for each limber.

Crew glued to base, and guns removable.

Guns and crew based together.

Limbered guns and caissons for column of march.

link

My goal is now crew on stand but batteries broken up by 4 figure stands and 2 figure stands with each figure represents 1 gun.

Crew all on one base with gun removable.

It's good for flexibility, but sometimes I think for general play and handling it would be easier to have the guns glued…
…Especially when a gun model slips off the base.

The rules I use require guns to be on a particular frontage, which is quite wide. But if I glue all the figures to the base, it might be very much deeper, front to back, than other units.

So if there's a man in the act of ramming or sponging, he goes on a separate base. and doesn't count as part of the unit's foot print. It keeps the depth down.

I like the sides angled outwards towards the front, to denote the arc of fire available without redeploying the battery.

I'd be interested in knowing what others thought that arc was.

Having a battery engage a target directly to its rear was presumably less of a manoeuvre than firing on one to a flank. In the former case you just picked up the gun trail, reversed the gun on the spot and resumed. In the latter, the whole battery would have to pivot.

Of course, if you ever did find yourself firing directly to your rear you were probably screwed in all sorts of other ways, but the actual refacing of the guns was not a major worry.

But if I glue all the figures to the base, it might be very much deeper, front to back, than other units.

Which it definitely should be, if you're going to accurately represent the footprint of an artillery unit.

Of course, if you ever did find yourself firing directly to your rear you were probably . . .

. . . firing directly into a huge concentration of your own limbers, caissons and horses.

I generally glue crew and gun to a scenic base, but I play Naps Battles and there I have two crew on a base, with gun loose and a single based figure if I want to represent heavier gun battery.

I hadn't considered switching guns out to represent heavier batteries in particular, but in 15mm I would find myself double-checking anyway, besides the transportation issues.

Steamingdave, I prefer your option, particularly as my default is 2 crew per base. I think the difference between 2 and 3 will be more visible than 3 and 4 at a distance. I might try something with steel paper and magnabase for the extra figures.

Isn't this going to depend on the rules you are using?

If your turning the guns 180°, then where are your limbers and caissons?

For ACW 20mm, with one set of rules I use (Johnny Reb 2) the number of figures on a stand makes no difference to the game. In the other set (Johnny Reb 3) each figure represents one gun in the battery portrayed by the stand. So I need flexible basing.

My solution is to glue each gun to a sheet-metal stand (that has a "thickener" under it of plastic or cardboard, for ease of picking up). I base each crew member on a small piece of strong magnet (the kind that comes in a roll and is about 1/16th inch or 2 mm thick). That way I can vary the number of crew members depending on the rules set.

Another advantage is that casualties or routed crews can be removed from the stand, leaving the gun in place.

Yet another advantage is that depending on varying OOB's, I can put a Union or a Confederate crew with any gun, reducing the total number of artillery pieces that I have to buy, paint and base.

A disadvantage is that the stand is not very attractive, since I have not figured out how to combine this setup with flocking and other prettifications of the stand.

I base my stuff differently, sometimes crews are individually based, sometimes they are fixed to a single base. The one thing I try to do is to maintain a frontage ratio. I determine what a model represents (1 model may equal a section or a battery depending), I then determine what the frontage for that should be and compare that to the frontage of an infantry battalion.

I always think the clutter to the rear is essential to an accurate footprint depiction.

Adopted many years ago- affix crew in suitable role positions to base, clearing a space large enough in centre for differing artillery pieces. Add officer per 'battery' to make numbers.

Separate 'Combat Group' officers mounted with Adjutants/ ADCs at Divisional and Corps level.

With changes from 25mm to 28mm this has necessitated deepening bases a little (I like all arms and equipment to stay inside base area to ensure smooth operation AND storage); this allows swapping guns types and calibres as happened historically. E.g. giving the Guard horse 8 pounders sometimes.

Bases roughed up with wheel marks and fresh ruts etc. but generally smoother than other arms bases and less flocking.
d

I have every battery glued to base but each has at least a 2 and a 4 gun stand, Russians 2 x 4 & 2 x 2, Prussian 2 x 2 & 1 x 4.

The rules I use require guns to be on a particular frontage, which is quite wide. But if I glue all the figures to the base, it might be very much deeper, front to back, than other units.

As @War Artisan said, artillery *should* be a lot deeper than other bases, to account for all the caissons and limbers and horses and whatever else lurks back there.

Significantly deeper than it's own frontage, even.

Oh yes I ommitted the limbers!
One limber per battery- trimmed to size, no extra space to carry pieces- that's an old idea from first generation gaming.

Sitting 1 space length behind battery, facing forward (horses dont reverse well) and I doubt gunners wanted to drag heavy guns 'back' 100 metres to hitch them up again for longer moves.

Also have a couple of caissons, should be one per battery but hey. One is artillery, another as Genie (engineers) supply.

99% of time we are representing units of warfare and combat of any period, not re-creating it, so that representation level is ok for me.
regards d