How to base your 15/18mm Napoleonic minis.

[@bobbym.1367]

haha, 28, 13, and 18? you got the fever worse than me , keep up the great work. love em

[@leont66wargaming31]

Hahaha. In my defence I’ve sold all my 18’s now. I’m toying with the idea of selling my 28’s as well lol

[@joramamodellbau3987]

Brilliant job with these mini Napoleonics figures. Well painted with an good base. Perfect! Have a good sunday, Leon. Greetings, Joachim

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. You too my friend

[@ModellingforAdvantage]

Great tips, thanks for sharing. Whenever I use filler it just gets everywhere on the models!

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. Yup me too lol. Always have a wet brush to hand to clean it off

[@TheEccentricMan]

Good little demo. I think I may take a dabble with some of Luke's basing material.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Ken. It’s useful stuff. My favourite is the Mediterranean one. Add a few tufts and it’s great.

[@vicsminiatures7949]

Nice technique Leon! Thanks for sharing it.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Vic

[@BattleBunkerHQ]

Good technique for basing Leon, very handy mate 👍😁

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks mate 😀.

[@gkspain1]

Really interesting Leon, they are really coming along, all the best Garry

[@leont66wargaming31]

Cheers mate

[@bjkernowpaintingandmodelli9119]

Nice update mate, the Dutch are looking great

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks John

[@BootsontheTable]

I agree with you that with the smaller scales the bases stand out too much if you don’t build them up. For 28mms i just uses Luke’s APS straight though

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Dom. Yeah horses for courses mate. Especially if you use his basing glue on the 28’s as it doesn’t shrink very much like PVA so hides them better. Plus I find the plastic bases aren’t quite as pronounced as the metals

[@MillersMiniatures]

Looking good mate. 👍👍 I agree though I have to put filler on any figure that has a has a bit on the bottom. It looks terrible if you just glue and base one the top. Looks like their all standing on paving slabs.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. Totally agree with you. Lol paving slabs lol. Yep it ruins all the hard work put in painting the mini then adding tufts etc.

[@hobbywargamer8195]

Another quality tutorial, mate. you've shown a great process of basing these smaller scale miniatures. i'll be stealing this process for myself...:P

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. Here’s another one that might be useful for 28mm too kzbin.info/www/bejne/l325Y4Gljd6jr7c

[@BrushQuill]

Great video leon, very helpful and easy to follow. One of these days ill get that aps stuff.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks mate. It’s worth giving a go.

[@granapriego]

Great stuff Leon. I more or less do the same thing but use Vallejo mud paste instead of filler.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Anthony. Yeah that’ll work and saves painting it brown. How’s things mate. You done any painting yet.?

[@granapriego]

Leon T66 wargaming, no I still have not yet. But I have got stuff on order and I have had a unit of cavalry come. I spent about an hour cleaning them up and sticking them to tops yesterday. I hopefully will start undercoating them (yes by hand ;).) and painting horses maybe today at least the first coat anyway. It will be good to get back to it.

[@philRminiatures]

Looks very nice, great job on the bases!

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Phil

[@basicminiaturepainting]

Brilliant work mate

[@leont66wargaming31]

Cheers mate

[@62seano]

Brilliant job on your dutch Leon, really like them. Not a fan of Geek gaming basing material, too many stones for my personal taste but you pulled it off with those bases

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Sean. I agree with you there. I do try to make sure I don’t put to many stones on but yes some of the packs are a bit heavy with them

[@warandpeaceminiatures2333]

Great looking army!

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy

[@martinradcliffe4798]

Nice video- pretty much what I do, but with some useful refinements.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Martin.

[@Forge_n_Brush]

Never seen this one either, Leon. Either I'm not paying attention, or your not showing up in my feed.

[@leont66wargaming31]

A few people are saying that people they sub to don’t show up on their feed. Must be another KZbin glitch.

[@paulspaintshed3511]

Great tutorial mate.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Paul.

[@stewybaby4]

Just a thought and i dont know if it will help? When i was a junior wargamer; i used to use a ruler and pencil mark where i would stand the figures. Heres the clever part for you. Would marking the base; then covering a flat layer of the spak across the entirety of the base, then skimming your figures into the spack and tidying up with the Brush? Or you could use the little spatula subside the spack where you can see your pencil mark then drop in your glue/figures. Think my first suggestion is better and i used to do something similar with mine though paint/PVA/flock.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks Stew I think I’ll try that in the next ones. Put some filler on the bases then put the minis on after. I don’t like to place them to perfectly with measuring out as I feel if you get the spacing a little bit off it makes them look a bit more realistic. Adds a bit of movement if you get me.

[@stewybaby4]

@@leont66wargaming31 we both know im no Rowe Scholar; but i can imagine just "pushing candles down into icing on a Cake" i didnt know if it was a silly suggestion or not? But should save you some time, accept for a quick clean up with a wet brush.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Yep I reckon it’d work. Also mix a bit of brown paint in the filler to save having to paint it after.

[@stewybaby4]

@@leont66wargaming31 yes absolutely; you could try Brown Ink even. Dont waste your Vallejos on groundwork. Just get some cheap Artist Acrylics to tint the Spack

[@jvcpaints]

Always put the best painted guys in the front rank. An unwritten rule of wargaming miniatures. Lol. I tend to use pea glue and beach sand and skip the spakle part, go over with a base coat when the glues dry, dry brush it up and the do all the grass and foliage last. I’m afraid of getting the spakle all over the minis.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Lol. Yup I saw you mention it on one of your videos so I thought I’d reinforce the protocol lol. Yeah I base my British 28’s that way ish.

[@maryhinge6334]

For a while there, it sounded like you weren’t going to put any tufts on. I nearly fell off my chair. Sounds like you might have been about to re-think that at the end though. Either way, they look good to me. 👍

[@leont66wargaming31]

😂😂 Yeah I think they just need a little something to give the bases a lift.

[@owowowowowowowowwowowo]

Great Video Pal

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy

[@martindew1969]

Try mixing some dark brown paint in with the filler before you apply it to the base, save a lot of messing about.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Yes good tip I’ll give it a go next time

[@Hello-1814]

Great video! Nice tips! What rules are these based for please?

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. I use my own rules but you could easily use black powder or GDA

[@emil7735]

Nice Video, really helped me out! Can you recommend a certain brand of spackle/filler?

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. To be honest any brand will do. I just buy the cheapest one I can find

[@7bootzy]

I just found your channel and watched all of your videos from a couple of years ago on the Perry Battle in a Box set, and wanted to ask a question unrelated to this video: What size mdf bases do you use for 28mm solo commanders, cavalry, and artillery pieces? Also, where do you get your bases from? Thank you, and LOVE the videos!

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks buddy. I’ll have to check the base sizes and get back to you. They’re packed away in the garage lol.

[@pbeccas]

The basing looks good. Also like the base size. Perfect. How do you tell if a figure is a flank company man? Is his uniform different?

[@leont66wargaming31]

The only difference is the shoulder epaulets. They’re a bit bigger on the flank company guys.

[@pbeccas]

Leon T66 wargaming do the French have flank companies?

[@malcolmrose3361]

@@pbeccas Yes - Volitigeurs (light company) and grenadiers. Voltigeurs uniforms were distinguished in a number of ways - their epaulettes were usually green or yellow (or a combination of the two) as were the pom-poms / plumes on their shako. The grenadiers had red epaulettes and plumes. There were other differences but they are the ones you notice in 15mm.

[@leont66wargaming31]

The French Battalion would have 6 companies. 2 of which would be flank companies as described by Malcolm Rose. The only other big difference for the French would be the flank company guys would have cross belts, where the centre companies would just have a single belt. The extra belt was for the sword bayonet issued to the flankers. Also on 28mm minis you’ll find different markings on the ammo pouch. The grenadiers would have a small grenade and the lights would have a little bugle

[@pbeccas]

Leon T66 wargaming thanks Leon. Napoleonics are more complicated than I thought.

[@malcolmrose3361]

You don't use diluted PVA to seal the base once you've added everything? That largely stops the bits falling off problem that you mention.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Oops. Of course. Lol. Should of thought of that. Thanks for the tip Malcolm 👍🏻🙂

[@bearcub460]

Does the static grass need to be 1mm for this 15mm scale? What about tuft size?

[@leont66wargaming31]

Yes I used 1mm static and a mixture of 2mm and 4mm tufts

[@hangarflying]

I’m unnecessarily anal about the placement of my minis on my bases. I mark my bases with a ruler and pencil to make sure the spacing is uniform...it’s probably overkill, especially after doing enough I could probably eyeball it more quickly. Oh well, it’s the habit of the process I guess.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Haha yes I was like that at first. I’m more of the feeling that it gives the unit a bit more movement if they’re not all exactly in the right place. Like they’re sidestepping obstacles and stuff

[@hangarflying]

I think, at least for me, the period being represented might also have something to do with it. I try to be precise with my 7YW minis, but my ACW minis are tossed on more haphazardly.

[@leonleese4919]

No colours? What Battalion? Great bases! I must put more effort into basing about 8mm should be right for shoulder to shoulder, so that they look like trained infantrymen. Heavy cavalry should be close to boot to boot when forming for a charge. Light cavalry should be more open except for British Light Dragoons and Hussars as they were formed from Heavy Dragoon Regiments they would often take on French Dragoons and Lancers with poor results, but not always.

[@leont66wargaming31]

Thanks for the info. Can’t remember the unit’s details now lol. I’ve sold this army now

[@PeteScete]

So what mini manufacture would you recommend?

[@leont66wargaming31]

I’ve only got AB at the moment. It’s a new scale for me. I’ll be trying out a few other manufacturers over the next few months and doing comparisons. Blue moon minis are next in my list.

[@malcolmrose3361]

@@leont66wargaming31 Blue Moon's equipment - guns, caissons, wagons etc are excellent. Everything else they make are definitely inferior to AB. I'd recommend giving Xan Miniatures a try - they are a Spanish company but you can buy them in the UK from Empress Miniatures - they have a small range of British and French, with Spanish on the way. Also Campaign Game Miniatures are nicely done but the posing looks a little odd to my eyes. As you can tell, I keep trying other makers but none quite manages to come close to AB!

[@leont66wargaming31]

I’ve just ordered some CGM miniatures. I’ll do a review of them next to the AB’s once I’ve got them painted. Might try some blue moon Bavarians after that

[@PeteScete]

And this is flying over my head ...

[@malcolmrose3361]

@@PeteScete Apologies - what do you wish to know? In 15/18mm scale (the size of figures in the video) the gold standard is AB Figures sculpted by Anthony Barton. They are a little more expensive than the competition but the quality of the sculpting is head and shoulders above their competitors. AB are made in Australia but they have an American and UK agent. The figure scale refers to the height of the figure (from bottom of his feet to his eyes - quite why his eyes and not the top of his head has never really been explained to me to my satisfaction, I suspect that the eyes were chosen because so many figures wear hats which makes a measurement difficult). Other popular scales are 28mm, 10mm, and 6mm. The most popular scale is 28mm followed by 15/18mm. Each of the smaller scales have a leading maker for that scale (in 10mm it's Pendraken, in 6mm it's probably Baccus). 28mm has lots of figure makers - which one you go with rather depends upon your taste in sculpting and what figures are available for the period you are keen on.

[@BearGrisham]

What ruleset do you play?

[@leont66wargaming31]

I use my own rules

[@BearGrisham]

@@leont66wargaming31 are you thinking of publishing them?

[@leont66wargaming31]

@@BearGrisham I was thinking about it. Just haven’t had the time to get all the artwork and things sorted. Hopefully this year I’ll get on with it 🤞

[@BearGrisham]

@@leont66wargaming31 what rules have you used as inspiration for your own set?

[@leont66wargaming31]

I kinda looked at all the games I played in the past and picked out the best bits and disregarded all the things that made no sense. I also tried to add a bit more flavour from the period to make it feel more like how it would of been, rather than just a generic rules set

[@bobbym.1367]

every time you use white spackle on the base i want cake, its subliminal

[@leont66wargaming31]

Lol.

[@thomasandrew4881]

LOL...……..smaller scale soldiers require a smaller spackling tool.

[@leont66wargaming31]

I know right. Who’d of thought it

[@thomasandrew4881]

@@leont66wargaming31 On a lighter note I am painting my first unit of Warlord Games British Peninsular Infantry...a little at a time after work, plus their line of War of Spanish Succession figs, and I got their Master and Commander set and am starting to paint up some ships...lots of fun while watching the TV.

[@leont66wargaming31]

I keep having to resist the master and commander box. To much to do as it is. They’re great looking minis. Also trying to resist ECW. Which seems popular at the minute.

[@thomasandrew4881]

@@leont66wargaming31 It really is something to see a table of 18th century sailing ships battling it out in miniature. Their ships are easy to assemble, and many good tutorials offering assembly and rigging tips on KZbin. I like the look of pikemen for ECW, but not so sure about Warlord Games' line of ECW figs. I enjoy modelling as a hobby so what I got for miniatures gaming is enough to keep me busy for now....lol