Is there a basing standard for 6mm (fantasy/medieval)?

[Hobgoblin]

Decades ago, I bought a pack of 6mm Irregular orcs. On a whim today, I went looking for them, but found only three strips. I quite like them, though, and especially the fact that painting them would be very different from painting even 10mm, where the eyes and facial details can still be attended to.

Now, these strips are about 25mm wide, so they're not designed to fit on the standard DBx smaller-scale 40mm bases (though they could easily be cut to fit). But is there another norm for 6mm?

Coalescing in the back of my mind is the image of a 6mm battle fought, over the course of a day, on a 6' x 4' table ...

[Pattus Magnus]

A 6x4 table for a 6mm game would be a proper battle! I used to play a lot of 6mm sci-fi games on tables that size and they looked pretty  good, but a hack and slash battle would be spectacular.

From what I have seen, the 40mm bases are as close as it gets to a standard for 6mm games using ranked up figures. I took a different approach for my 6mm Napoleonics and went with 1inch by half inch bases - partly so that Games using base-width measurements would correspond to a ruler...  I started with the assumption that I would be providing both armies for all games (very few Naps players locally and even fewer doing micro scales).

[Hobgoblin]

A 6x4 table for a 6mm game would be a proper battle! I used to play a lot of 6mm sci-fi games on tables that size and they looked pled good, but a hack and slash battle would be spectacular.

It's an enticing thought, isn't it? I found a few bits of 6mm sci-fi stuff when I rummaged in the cellar today (including an OGRE-style tank) - but I have to banish that thought for now!

From what I have seen, the 40mm bases are as close as it gets to a standard for 6mm games using ranked up figures. I took a different approach for my 6mm Napoleonics and went with 1inch by half inch bases - partly so that Games using base-width measurements would correspond to a ruler...  I started with the assumption that I would be providing both armies for all games (very few Naps players locally and even fewer doing micro scales).

Thanks! Yes, I thought 40mm was probably the standard, but I'm thinking more along your lines. The Irregular strips seem to be an inch/25mm, so one thought I have is basing them in square blocks of 50mm. That would mean each unit/element would look really chunky, maximising the 'mass effect'.

If I remember rightly, 50mm squares are the standard for Mayhem. But they'd also work fine for HotT or DBA, especially using DBA-style recoils (so half a base width for infantry regardless of base depth). The alternative would be to go with 50 x 25mm for infantry and squares for cavalry. That might be better for HotT (more space for rear support) and would allow Mayhem, etc., to be played with two elements together.

The thought that's coalescing in my mind is that this would be a project with which to start small - using units with 2" frontage to fight cut-down battles using One Hour Wargames, which only requires up to six units a side. That would be a relatively quick and cheap painting project. And if it worked out, then there would be plenty of room to expand - all the while with the 6 x 4' table in mind ...

I recall there being some excellent beast-drawn chariots for the Irregular orcs. The one thing I'd be keen to achieve at this scale would be some very cavalry-heavy armies, as I think they'd probably be quicker to paint than infantry whereas the opposite is usually true.

[RSDean]

I based mine on 40mm Hordes of the Things bases, for what it’s worth.

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, that would certainly be the logical choice! I think, though, that the Irregular 25mm strips are going to constrain me to 50mm frontages; otherwise, the prep time per element would be significantly increased - and from the three surviving strips I have, it would be a fiddly job, with no obvious cutting points.

I'm starting to put a plan together here: an initial order that will allow all the One Hour Wargames scenarios to be fought (so 12 units altogether), and then - if that works out - a deep dive with the big-battle goal. But before plunging into such madness, I'll paint up the strips I've got and see how they look.

We've recently tried a few of the One Hour Wargames scenarios with HotT; the asymmetrical don't quite work out with straight AP ratios because the absolute difference in unit numbers leads to more outflanking/overlapping opportunities in HotT. So there would be an immediate goal in getting some large-looking units done at this scale.

[LazyStudent]

Hey Hobgoblin,

I also went a different way with my 100days 6mm Napoleonics. I calculated the frontage of a battalion according to the small/standard/large metric in the rules we use (GdA) for each nation. Then looked at their different formations, and then came up with suitable base sizes. A lot of work to end up with British on 20mm bases and French/Prussians/Others on 25mm!

As for the 6mm Medievals that I have, I decided to go with 20mm bases. The plan being that I can play a DBA v3 game on a smaller table as a portable, pub version. Or because I base my 6mm directly onto 0.8mm magnetic sheets, I can also get some steel sabot bases and make larger 'multi' bases for other games. The fun with DBA v3 and with HOTT conversion to it, is that the base width definition is open. So you could base them on 50mm frontage, and as long as everyone is based the same, and the table is a suitable size, there is no problem!

[jon_1066]

I've gone with 2"/50 mm for my 6 mm Napoleonics and think you get a good sense of scale with that.  The individual elements are large enough to be able to pick up and move but not too fiddly.

Beware though if you think cavalry are quicker to paint though as my experience is the opposite.  Cavalry seem to take an age to paint compared to infantry.  Unless your orcs are the same colour as their wolves (or knights as their horses) don't bank on them being easier. 

If you get some dentist tongue depressors you can tack you strips onto them.  You can then carry out the same brush stroke on each figure going along the line. 

Good luck with your project.

[Hobgoblin]

The fun with DBA v3 and with HOTT conversion to it, is that the base width definition is open. So you could base them on 50mm frontage, and as long as everyone is based the same, and the table is a suitable size, there is no problem!

Yes, that's my thinking. For this project, I'll almost certainly be providing both/all the armies. I reckon 50 x 25 for infantry will be easier to get done than 50 x 50 blocks, and better for HOTT/DBA. For Mayhem, I can just double up. The DBA 3.0 rules for recoils and pursuit (basing them on width rather than depth) greatly help to reduce basing indecision!

My initial research suggests that units of Irregular 6mm on this basis will cost about £2.50 to £3 each, which makes the starting project (12 units in total for One Hour Wargames) quite affordable. The army deals are less than £18 a pop for 50 strips, so that's probably the way to go. But I'll hold off until I've painted a sample strip or two: got to see how much fun's involved in the painting!

I've gone with 2"/50 mm for my 6 mm Napoleonics and think you get a good sense of scale with that.  The individual elements are large enough to be able to pick up and move but not too fiddly.

Yes - and they should have a bit of heft, which helps. I reckon the 50 x 25 units will hold six to eight Irregular strips.

Beware though if you think cavalry are quicker to paint though as my experience is the opposite.  Cavalry seem to take an age to paint compared to infantry.  Unless your orcs are the same colour as their wolves (or knights as their horses) don't bank on them being easier.

Oh, I don't doubt that the cavalry will still be more of a faff than the infantry. But I do think that having strips of horsemen/wolf riders without any rider-horse attachment to worry about will help quite a lot. And I like the look of the Irregular chariots in particular (a quick way to get some 'cavalry' done, I suspect). 

If you get some dentist tongue depressors you can tack you strips onto them.  You can then carry out the same brush stroke on each figure going along the line. 

Good luck with your project.

Great tip - and thanks!