10mm Regimental F&F Basing advice

[Battleback]

While I'm putting together my German order for my 1944 Ardennes Project, I would like to add a little "New Project" seed to my my box of goodies. I've been waffling back and forth on what my next project should be (AWI, Napoleonic's, ACW) and I've decided to go with the ACW.... At least for the moment

So, since I'm the type of person who can't stand to start a project without first laying out how I will do the project before hand, I've come to ask the good people on the forum for some basing advice.

I'll be using 10mm Pendraken Figures and right now I've thought about either basing the figures on the "15mm Scale" basing recommendations (25mm x 20mm) and just using more figures per base or using the same figure count as the "15mm Scale" recommendations on smaller bases (20mm x 15mm for example).

I thought if I use the 15mm Scale recommendations then I could probably do 2 ranks and count each base as two bases and just mark the base after hits, and spacing them out when in extended line formation. Going this route I would base them 4 figures per rank 2 ranks deep. This would result in a higher figure count but would cut in half the total amount of bases needed to play. Then use the 15mm rules for measure etc.

If I use the smaller bases, something similar to 20mm x 15mm I would base them 3 per base like you would with 15mm figures and probably use the recommended 6mm scale measurements when playing. This option would result in the same amount of basing and figure count, but I might need to use a movement try to speed up play?

I would be basing both sides and only playing with my son and friends so there's no worries about matching up with other players at a clubs etc. But I would also like the bases to be flexible enough to use on other rules systems.

So anyone have ideas which way I should go?
How have you based your 10mm ACW?
If you were to do it all over again would you base them the same way or would you do something different?

Thanks, any and all advice welcomed!

[kipt]

I am using 4 figures in one rank (1" x 3/4" stand - I am in California) for infantry and 2 cavalry in one rank (same stand size)  I put guns and limbers on the same size stand (1" x 1-1/2"), 1 gun and 4 crew for the gun stand and the limber with 2 horse on the limber stand.

[paulr]

I don't play Regimental F&F

For other rule systems my approach is to use the 15mm basing and double the number of infantry figures, basing them in two ranks. Cavalry in a single rank with perhaps 1 or 2 more figures per base. I then treat them as a normal 15mm base.

Personally I would find 20x15 bases small and fiddly, they are also more likely to fall over on hills.

I suspect 4 figures per rank is going to be tight on a 25mm wide base, for my DBA armies I use 4 figures in two ranks on a 40x20 base

[mmcv]

I also don't play F&F or yet own any ACW figures but I've found you generally need around 8mm ground space to fit a figure on in a tight formation. So if you went 25x20 you could probably fit 6 figures, 2 rows of 3. Which would look pretty good. 20x15 might be a bit of a squeeze to fit more than a couple of figures on. You might be able to do it with a bit of base filing but I'd probably go with the 25x20 (or even 25x25 to be a bit less tight fitting).

I often agonise over basing, I find the best thing to do is get some bases and figures and stick them on until I find what looks right. Then abandon that idea and try a few other variations. Then abandon them and eventually find the one you want to go for.

Then just stick with that or else you'll spend forever rethinking basing!

[Battleback]

Thanks for the tips everyone! This is my first time basing for a game that uses formal ranks and really finding it hard to choose a basing scheme.

@paulr, those figures look amazing and I really like the spacing.

@mmcv, thanks for the 8mm tip, that gives me a good starting point on how I want to proceed.

I think I might go with 3 across and 2 ranks on the 25mm x 20mm. But I also might go with the same figure layout on 30mm x 20mm which mirrors paulr's spacing of 10mm between figures, giving them a little more elbow room.

Now the question is how would it work in RF&F to use the double rank bases and count each base as 2 stands? Has anyone played it that way? On the surface it sounds like a great short cut but maybe I'm too optimistic?

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Westmarcher]

Why complicate life by saying one stand equals two, etc.? I say just take the recommended base sizes and fit as many 10mm figures on this in such a manner that floats your boat.

[Battleback]

Why complicate life by saying one stand equals two, etc.? I say just take the recommended base sizes and fit as many 10mm figures on this in such a manner that floats your boat.

Because I can do a 200 stand battle with a 100 stands. The figure count would also remain the same as a standard game. Otherwise if I count 1 base as 1 base, I have to base 200 stands and paint 1,200 figures instead of 600 figures. I'm looking for a short cut.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Westmarcher]

Another solution is to make your own measuring sticks. For example, I like the Field of Battle rules but these are written for 28mm figures and measurements in inches. The standard base size is 1.5 inches square (4 bases per unit). That's too large for my table space and 15mm and 10mm figures so I use 1 inch square bases instead (the width of which, coincidentally, was influenced by the brigade F&F rules). As mentioned, when I play FoB, the measurements are in inches, so what I've done is make my own measuring sticks so that an "inch" actually equals something less. Ideally, I should have a set of sticks where an inch is actually 2/3rds of an inch (1 inch being 2/3rds of 1.5 inches) - instead, I have 2 sets of sticks - one set where "1 inch" is actually 2cm and another set where each inch is actually 1.5 cm. Bottom line is you decide how long a game "inch" should be. This then allows you to reduce the base sizes to whatever you want to fit in with your own preferences regarding base size, figures per base and the table playing area available to you.

p.s. Btw, personally, if a set of rules requires me to paint a million figures to be based on a thousand stands, I would ditch them for something that I could cope with in this lifetime. At my age, life is getting too short. There's loads of good rules out there. Just a thought.

[kustenjaeger]

At present I am using 4 infantry figures in a single staggered line on a 25x15mm base.  I am not sure this is the right answer but it looks OK.  Obviously with two stands deep it still looks a bit deep unless you have a reasonably large number of stands in the unit.

Edward

[kipt]

You could also look on the Regimental Fire and Fury forum at fireandfury.com.  There has been discussion about 2 ranks on a stand.

[Shedman]

I would go with 5 or 6 infantry figures on a 25x25mm square base

[T13A]

Hi

You might want to look at this excellent blog, although it is aimed at Brigade F&F I'm pretty sure the basing is the same for the Regimental version:

http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2020/02/01/playing-brigade-fire-fury-2nd-edition-in-10mm-i-did-it-my-way/

Great period and rules and an AAR here:

http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2020/07/27/gettysburg-2nd-july-1863-sickles-salient-a-solo-refight-using-brigade-fire-fury-2nd-edition/

There are some others if you search around the blog.

Cheers Paul

[Westmarcher]

Hi

You might want to look at this excellent blog, although it is aimed at Brigade F&F I'm pretty sure the basing is the same for the Regimental version:

http://www.jemimafawr.co.uk/2020/02/01/playing-brigade-fire-fury-2nd-edition-in-10mm-i-did-it-my-way/

What my whisky adled brain was trying to say last night (reduce base sizes and make own measurement sticks). 

Well painted figs and nice looking layout. Once again leaving me wishing that Pendraken had brought out their ACW range sooner before starting my own 15mm ACW collection. 

[Orcs]

I am basing mine on the 15mm recommendations for F &F

5 infantry in two staggered  ranks (3 in front, 2 at rear) on a 25mm x 20 base
2 cavalry on 25mm x 20 base
2/3 dismounted cavalry on 25mm x 20 base

Two of my freinds on here like black powder for ACW  so leon has made me 90mm sabot bases that will take 3 of the F&F bases.  I also have a few 30mm wide sabot bases for a single F&F base to make up large units for Black powder

[hammurabi70]

As an aside, are bases normally too square? By this I mean that if a musket battalion was 200 hundred files in 3 ranks should the basing be nearer 2cms by 20cms and the rules reflect this?