Base sizes

[Valkyrion]

I know it's generally considered the norm that power armour = 25mm bases, terminator armour = 40mm and dreadnoughts = 60mm, but I've seen normal power armour guys modelled onto 40mm bases.

 

Is there an actual rule somewhere for this that I've missed?

Aside from the spirit of competition, what's to stop you putting a normal marine on a 60mm base?

 

Also, where are the rules that state the bases must be round?

 

Why couldn't I kill two birds with one stone and have a 40k daemon army mounted on square bases so I could use them in WFB? (for example)

[Chengar Qordath]

Somewhere in the rules (can't remember where off the top of my head) it states that models must be fielded with the bases they came with when purchased from GW.

[dswanick]

BASES

Citadel miniatures are normallysupplied with a plastic base. If so they must be glued onto their bases before they can be used in the game.

Some players like to mount their models 0n impressive scenic bases. As mounting your models on different sized bases might affect the way they interact with the rules, make sure before the game that your opponent does not mind this.

 

Generally, tournaments have specific rules about bases - either requiring the base it came on or a similar size base.

[Seahawk]

Why couldn't I kill two birds with one stone and have a 40k daemon army mounted on square bases so I could use them in WFB? (for example)

Page 3 says, by way of extension, that models must be glued onto the bases they are supplied with. So technically, this is perfectly acceptable to put them on their square bases and use them in both games. In 40k tournaments and other big doodads you'll have to check with the organizer however, as some are more stickly when it comes to bases.

[tahrikmili]

Old Terminators on 25mm bases are a big problem in my area.

 

They came supplied with 25mm bases but newer Terminators come supplied with 40mm bases, I've been asked to rebase a couple of times and refused.

 

I wish GW would FAQ this..

[AyanamiKun]

I'd rebase them. Obviously the intention is to have them on the bigger bases. It might not be RAW, but I'm very sure it is RAI :wacko: Otherwise I'd just go and get me old Termis only if I had an advantage with the smaller bases ... It would also be funny because some Monolith boxes come with a 25mm base. Base a Monolith on such a base would be kinda strange ...

[Seahawk]

People who really intensely ask you to rebase are not worth playing, in my opinion ;). It's not an advantage, like people think it is. For instance, it's much easier to plaster them with a blast weapon, and when disembarking they lose over half an inch of distance compared to the new terminators; pretty big disadvantages if you ask me! In my area, I was bugged about it a few times by certain people who weren't worth playing against, so I didn't :D. Otherwise, haven't heard a complaint since '06, heh.

 

That's just been my experiences anyway. Mostly on the unpleasant but ignorable side I guess.

 

I don't ask chaos players to take their sonic weapons off, or Tyranid players to take off the bits they can't use anymore with the current codex, or change out the old Eldar lasguns for shuriken catapuls or whatever else GW has done over time. Let the older models be I say! :(

[BearersOfSalvation]

I'd rebase them. Obviously the intention is to have them on the bigger bases. It might not be RAW, but I'm very sure it is RAI ;) Otherwise I'd just go and get me old Termis only if I had an advantage with the smaller bases ... It would also be funny because some Monolith boxes come with a 25mm base. Base a Monolith on such a base would be kinda strange ...

 

I'd refuse to rebase them. Obviously the intention of the rule is that if you spend money buying an official Citadel Miniature and assemble it, you can use it in the game - GW doesn't want people to think that they sell model kits that are deliberately nonfunctional, or that if they buy a model before a new one comes out that their old one will suddenly be illegal. It is both RAW and RAI to base models on the bases they come with, it is absurd to demand that an opponent break a model and break the rules of the game (plus render the model unusable in the game it was originally bought for) in order to play.

 

There's a decent chance my terminators have been on their bases longer than you've even been alive.

[Tanhausen]

There's a decent chance my terminators have been on their bases longer than you've even been alive.

 

Not in my case... unless your models are more than 3 decades old... :P

 

Anyway, you don't need to buy full kits: I'd suggest getting some 40mm bases and just sticking the 25 mm onto them... even magnetizing if you feel like it.

 

However, I agree: in a tournament, its safer to check before hand ;)

[AyanamiKun]

Yeah, magnetizing them would be the way if they look great on their bases right now. Does anyone know how this is usually handled in tournaments? ;)

 

So I'm 25, how old are your Termis? ^^

[BearersOfSalvation]

Not in my case... unless your models are more than 3 decades old... ;)

 

So only around 2/3 as long, that's why I said decent chance :P

 

Anyway, you don't need to buy full kits: I'd suggest getting some 40mm bases and just sticking the 25 mm onto them... even magnetizing if you feel like it.

 

Why? I normally use the miniatures to play Warhammer 40k and only bring them somewhere to play Warhammer 40k, and I've based them according to the explicit rules as written and intended for that game. If someone demands I do the opposite of what the rules for Warhammer 40k say and intend, then they're not looking to play Warhammer 40k but some house rule game they made up on their own, so our gaming desires are simply not compatible. If a tournament doesn't allow official Citadel miniatures based according to the rules of Warhammer 40,000, they're not really a Warhammer 40k tournament, they're some kind of homebrew game. If it's 'ard boyz or something else endorsed by GW, they can expect me to complain since I'm pretty sure that GW-affiliated events have to follow rules on what models are allowed.

[AyanamiKun]

Or in other words: You want to keep your advantage with the smaller bases compared to the larger ones. :) I can understand that ^^ But it brings me back to the Monolith with a 25mm base. Would you really base that giant machine on it because the rules they it has to be based on the base it comes with? I would still maintain that you are following RAW to the letter but definitelly not RAI. I'd also love to have Termis with nice small bases. Would be great :)

[BearersOfSalvation]

Or in other words: You want to keep your advantage with the smaller bases compared to the larger ones. ;) I can understand that ^^ But it brings me back to the Monolith with a 25mm base. Would you really base that giant machine on it because the rules they it has to be based on the base it comes with?

 

I'm not going to give in to bullying and petty power tripping from newcomers to the game who are trying to get me to do the direct opposite of what the rules say because they enjoy pushing people around and inventing personal rules that don't match the ROI. I'm going to keep the advantage of having legal models that fit in my existing case and work with the game they were originally purchased for, but I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to keep the advantage of using a legal army. And this is not about what I would choose to base a new model on. This is about some newbie trying to bully me into rebasing models that have been legally based for almost two decades with some made up rules that are clearly the opposite of what GW intends.

 

I would still maintain that you are following RAW to the letter but definitelly not RAI.

 

You can maintain that the Earth is flat, but that doesn't mean ships are going to start falling over the edge. It is blatantly obvious that the intent of the rule is to make it so that if you purchase official models and assemble them, you've got a legal model, as GW has a strong economic and customer relations interest in making sure that people who buy their models can use them in the game. It is blatantly obvious that there are no standard base sizes for 40k, as they don't establish any, and the rule explicitly allows using different sized bases for aesthetic reasons. If GW intended there to be standard base sizes, they would not allow rebasing for aesthetic reasons - and note that WFB actually does have rules about base sizes, so they're clearly not averse to making such rules.

 

You haven't countered any of the arguments that make it very clear that GW does not want to establish standard base sizes for WH40k and does want genuine 100% Citadel miniatures to be legal in their games as bought, and you haven't offered anything supporting your contention that GW wants to establish standard base sizes for 40k when they haven't done so for 40k but have for Fantasy.

 

I'd also love to have Termis with nice small bases. Would be great ;)

 

Why would you love it anyway? It reduces your charge range from a transport or deep strike and increases the number of models hit by area of effect attacks since your disembark gains about 1/2" and your center-to-center coherency gains about 1" going to large bases from small. I'd actually be modeling for advantage if I increased the base size on my terminators, which is against the ROI and RAW.

[Frogstaff]

The biggest problem with the counterargument is not only are you following RAW, but you're in complete compliance with RAI as well. The rules intend you to have the mini on the base they came with, thus clearing the silly questions over 'can I play 40 with Daemons on square bases' and 'what has to be done with old terminators.'

[nurglez]

I have about 7-10 termies on old bases, and i also have 2 40k daemon princes, which are on different bases, having different sized bases then the "current norm" is both a bonus and a negative. depending on the situation.

 

I also play with friends and have never gone to a tourny, so I'm fine :D