Wednesday 6 September 2017

Scale Leap

My latest addition to my personal Frostgrave collection is a simple skeleton. You just can’t have too many of these guys, and frankly, I don’t have enough of them! It is made with pieces from the Frostgrave Cultist box set, which delightfully includes some undead bits.

A few eagle-eyed readers have noticed that my figures lately have been based on very small bases. In fact, this skeleton is on a 20mm round base. Recently, I decided that I would try to mount most of my minis on these smaller bases. Mostly, I just find the bases more visually appealing. With the industry seemingly pushing for bigger and bigger figures, with larger bases, I’ve come to realize, I like my miniatures to look, well, miniature. Also, I find bases boring, so the less I have to worry about painting and flocking them, the better!

There is a practical reason as well. Smaller bases mean larger tables. Okay, not really, but look at this way. If you compare a 20mm base to a 32mm base, you’ll see how much less space the smaller base takes up on the table. On a small 2’ x 2’ table, the difference between 20 minis based on 20mm bases and 20 minis on 32mm bases can be quite significant. More room to manoeuvre generally makes for better games.

I’m not preaching here. This is purely a personal preference, and I won’t be doing it for all my minis, but I will for most. It does also make them easier to store. So many advantages…

7 comments:

  1. Interesting thought and not one I had even considered - personally I put all my minis on 25mm steel washers as it gives the plastic mini a bit of weight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would have thought the only saving grace of plastic figures (can you tell I am not a fan?) is their light weight. Does not a metal washer negate this advantage?

      Delete
    2. With your shed, the extra 5mm per base probably isn't a huge issue. My bases are also metal. It does mean they hit the ground a little harder when you drop them, but I like just a bit of added heft.

      Delete
    3. I was told the weight of the washer means if you drop a miniature they told land washer side down thus protecting the miniature, is that true?

      Delete
    4. I am using metal bases, and I have to say that is 'somewhat true'. They due tend to land base down, but not always, and when they don't, they hit harder.

      Delete
  2. An interesting thought, and I can see the handiness in more efficiently storable miniatures. Do you not find, though, that the 'expressiveness' of many figures means often you go to pick one from the shelf and end up with a chain as they link limbs and weapons? Or batter each other over the head with said items and leave a group of upended minis?

    I'm having less than fond memories, back in the days of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, of realising I hadn't planned my unit members' individual poses sufficiently enough for them all to fit neatly together, and thus having to detach many from their bases, and wishing I had just one or two millimetres more on those 20mm x 20mm bases...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I admit it 20mm square bases for rank and file are not fun.

      Delete