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I have 2 Kallistra ACW armies, all based to the 40mm frontages suggested.

I am in two minds about changing to (1) big basing, at 80mm wide by 25mm or 30mm deep. I like the look of it and it is fewer bases to move, but March column is visually a problem (2) more tactical basing at 30mm frontages with 3 bases per hex. I am not keen on more bases, but it visually looks good for road March and might be useful with napoleonics as they have a range of orations that the gamer may like to see on the table.

as I get dragged further into this quandary, I now have units based up in all three methods. I need to run a few small games to see whether any practical issues show up ........ I do like those big bases though!

So how many bases do you run for average size unit with the 40mm bases ? and what size figs are you using ? I'm trying to get a handle on how many bases I should run per unit. I was thinking 4 bases for average units 6 for large recruit units. I just don't know.

Well, I have two 40mm bases side by side for a unit, but that is basically because I am using Kallistra hexes and so my unit needs to fit inside a hex. I use 12mm Kallistra figures and base 8 figures per base in two ranks.

On a non-hexed table, for a small scale I would probably base at 6 bases per unit, but have the bases at 25mm frontages, or in 28mm, have 3 x 50mm bases holding 18 figures in 2 ranks.

Base size is always a hot topic especially at our trade stand at wargame shows, prompted to a large extent by the fact that we provide bases with all our 12mm miniatures. The 40mm base frontage is the most popular size for sub-15mm miniatures- it is very much a compromise size in that it provides for ease of movement, a unit of up to 32 figures can be accommodated on four bases, and you can standardise bridge, road and doorway widths etc. to fit the figure bases. The issue of the marching column for this base size has been the subject of much discussion amongst many gamers, but I think the ease of movement and general practicality has generally come down on the side of the 40mm base.

Well, I have gone full circle on this. I converted three units to large single 80mm x 30mm basing with 17 figures in two ranks and also tried one unit onto 3 smaller 30mm x 20mm bases in two ranks with 18 figures.

I found the large base looked good, but didn't sit well on high ground and I couldn't do things that I wanted, such as show disrupted by moving bases within the unit apart and they were harder to fit into a hex that already contained terrain such as buildings.

The smaller bases didn't offer much, other than looked good in march mode. In practice, I was just giving myself an increase of 50% in bases that needed moving around.

I had glued and used filler / sand and flock on the new bases, so even breaking up just these few bases to return them to the 40mm x 20mm frontages was tedious (read sore fingers!), especially having done it once already to get them off the 40mm bases!!!!!! so have gone around in circles indeed.

So bottom line, through experimenting, I have returned to the fold! ............... 40mm x 20mm basing.

I fel for you norm i hate rebasing

I feel like super gluing these so that I will NEVER be tempted to do it again.

I have just found some Union bases that I did at 60 x 30, again as experimentation, but I felt that the scale was too large for that basing to look right and a 60mm base in my 100mm base didn't look right anyway ...... so more rebasing, I may as well recover everything while I am in the mood!

so that is 30mm(to give 90mm), 60mm and 80mm tried - anyway, back on track now. The feet / bases of my figures are fairly clogged now with the sand and paste from two previous basings, so I am using one of those new fine textures in a pot from GW to carefully work into the new bases.