"The Great Vehicle Basing Divide" Topic

There is a real divide amongst gamers who base their vehicles and those who don't.

One of those existential splits between people:
Tory or Labor
Catholic or Protestant
Basing vehicles or not basing vehicles?

This mainly applies to modern periods like WW2 onwards.
I've increasingly drifted into the "base vehicles" camp myself, for a few reasons:

protects the model,
makes handling easier,
gives a consistent footprint,
can reduce arguments over measuring,
helps stabilise lighter resin vehicles,
and visually ties vehicles into the army.

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Though I still haven't complteed the process:
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But there are obvious objections too:
grassy bases can look absurd in urban or desert settings,
roads become awkward,
vehicles can appear to "hover",
it reduces flexibility across terrain types,
and arguably loses some realism compared to an un-based tank sitting directly on the table.

In some ways it feels like a deeper divide in wargaming philosophy:

Do you prioritise practicality and game clarity?
Or visual realism and immersion?

So — where do people stand on this?

The whole grassy bases look absurd in urban or desert settings, could count for anything based, a Bn of 1813 French Line Infantry occupying a village square on their grassy bases!

Another advantage not mentioned is taping vehicle stats, ammo etc to the underside of the base.

I suspect that the argument will continue, until heretical non lasers are burnt at the stake!!

Tally Ho!

Never liked the look of based vehicles. Even 6mm the only ones to get based are jeeps and motorcycles. If I need stats for a vehicle i have a paper roster.

I would say, vehicles that stand for one vehicle look better unbased. Vehicles that stand for more than one vehicle (like a platoon) can look okay on a base.

"Vehicles that stand for more than one vehicle (like a platoon) can look okay on a base."

Depends, it's good to show what formation that Troop of vehicles is in, box/one up/ two up etc. On basing I recently saw a photo of a modern British infantry section, based in 2 ranks, how does one show what formation they are in and which flank the gun group is etc?!

If I need stats for a vehicle i have a paper roster. That works, however if we have a couple of Companies of T-34 racing around, we have a large table, it's quick to list up a vehicle to check its ammo state, etc.

Tally Ho!

For me it's all about the visuals, so even if I have to gingerly pick up my lovingly painted tanks each move, I'll not base them. I certainly do appreciate the advantages of bases though.

I base all my vehicles regardless of scale. They have magnetic bases and magnetic strip on the base rear for markers. Makes them easier to store and transport and gives them a more realistic footprint on the on the tabletop. I can remember some really stupid 6mm WRG games back in the 70s when we had literally wall-wall tanks to take advantage of tiny patches of cover.

Yes, the bases can look silly when they are in road column, but I look beyond that.

I base, but I do WW2 in 2mm and 6mm. Apart from ease of handling, bases get the unit frontage right. (Well, theoretically. Anyway, they give me a unit frontage--and a nice V formation for my advancing 2mm tanks.)

I played in 15 mm and did not base vehicles. They stand up OK without bases and bases somehow do not look right. That was my reasoning.
(also, taste better or less filling)

The only WW2 I played was Flames of War. But, I don't any more, and am down to selling off my last army, Americans.

In this context, I never based any vehicles. Why, that would mean that it would be more difficult to achieve the dreaded "hub to hub" look! 😱

I base.
1). To protect my models and their detail in the tracks and wheels.
2). Prevent the fender to fender look a bit as the base has 1/4" overlap to vehicle so the closer distance another vehicle could get is 1/2" together.
3). Players grab the base almost every time once trained and not the turret with open hatches.
4). I can mark the base edge with color paint coding to determine formation or unit…1st platoon, 2nd etc. and if unit has special abilities.
5). For unit team transportation the vehicle base has a "number" so I can assign teams to vehicles on off table display sheet.
6). Keeps my foot and horse teams the same based height as my vehicles.

I play FOW Ver 3.x (not the current version of MRB) and in both 15mm and 20mm scales with the Los Angeles gamer group.

For me the divide is about 15mm, anything above that doesn't IMO require a base anything below that does. 15mm goes either way – probably because I don't game WW2 in 15mm, only larger and smaller.

I do not like bases for vehicles. I game in 1/285 for modern and WWII.

I have never based 15mm and 28mm (1/56) scale vehicles as it just doesn't look right on the table. Especially 28mm for skirmish games like Bolt Action or What a Tanker. For smaller scale, 1/285 and 6mm I based them to play Spearhead.

I've always based mine, to put them at the same level as infantry.

I based all my WWII microarmor, but not my Ogre/GEV sci fi tanks (also 1/300 scale). I prefer that the vehicles look like they're actually on the terrain they're traversing, but I found microarmor too small and fiddly, and the stands were necessary for displaying unit information.

I haven't based any of my 1/144 scale or 15mm vehicles, and don't plan to.

One of those existential splits between people:
Tory or Labor
Catholic or Protestant
Basing vehicles or not basing vehicles?

I reject all political parties, I belong to no organized religions, I base some vehicles but not all, and I like pineapple on pizza. I'm just doomed to be an outcast.

A related question: how does everybody else deal with artillery?

I base artillery, but from 1/144 scale on up, the guns are not glued down. I make bases with artillerists, and just plop the guns I need for the scenario onto the stands. (And I try to pretend that oversized brass HE shell in the loader's hands really will fit in that 37mm AT gun…)

I developed this idea first with my AWI miniatures out of necessity, but I loved the flexibility so much I extended it to other periods. I'm still converting my ACW collection to this method, but all my other black powder armies are already this way, and now also WWII.

I base ww2+ artillery. The models usually are multipart so it keeps them from getting damaged. I don't put much on the table outside of at guns though.

From the mid-19th C. onward, there started to be guns too large for a standard size stand, but until WWI these are usually coastal artillery in fortifications, and in WWII they're usually off-table items. Most of us get away with never owning any models of these things.

Many of my Horse & Musket era guns are loose on base so I can attach them to limbers when they move. A bit fiddly but it looks better.

BTW I always thought you were a good guy, Ix….right up to where you wrote this: "I like pineapple on pizza"

You're now officially off my Xmas card list.

I am conflicted on this topic.

There's a slight "display stand" effect of based vehicles.
But it also makes measuring moving & firing distances more consistent ie from base edge.