"Basing Foot Figures" Topic

Which methods (if any) do people use for differentiating between foot types in DBx when the basing specifies the same number of figures? In particular between Ax and Wb and Sp and Bd, where this might not be immediately obvious by equipment, armour and dress alone.

I was thinking of 6mm, if that makes a difference to the answers.

I just write the code on the bottom of the base.

AX/BD/SP in ordered lines and Wb in a irregulars formation

AX/BD/SP in ordered lines and Wb in a irregulars formation

Do you do anything to differentiate Ax/Bd/Sp?

At 6mm it would be difficult, but at 15mm it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a unit armed with blade type weapons and a unit armed with spear.

Other approaches are you can paint blades one color and spears another. I also make sure to tell my opponent what everything is before the game starts.

Formation on the bases tend to be more noticeable with 6mm than most painted details, or the exact number of figures. With 6mm you have a bit more scope to indicate what the figures ere by where you put them on the base. I assume that you are using at least 2 ranks of infantry figures per base. For instance, with warband, you could try having them in a blunt 'V' formation. (My 6mm warband are mainly Gauls, so they have a non-uniform paint job which helps identify them.)

With auxilia and blades, you could try leaving a bit more of a gap between the ranks on the base for auxilia.

Although my collections are all 15mm, I use standards to differentiate troop types. My Marcomanni have Bd in addition to Wb, but the Bd carry animal or human skulls.

But with 6mm, you might want to add standard bearers to your Bd units, but none for the Ax as an example.

Tbh, it is usually pretty obvious from the figures, even in 6mm. A bunch hairy naked barbarians (Wb) don't look much like a bunch of blokes in mail and carrying oval shields (Ax). Differentiating princeps (Bd) from triarii (Sp) I usually do with either shield or plume colours.

If all else fails, write it on the base and/or carefully go through the army at the start of the game explaining what each element represents (which we tend to do as a matter of course).