Coming in January 2019, Rebels and Patriots is a new set of wargaming rules for North America, allowing players to recreate the conflicts that forged a nation. In this blog, author Michael Leck talks about how you may want to base your miniatures as you prepare your troops for the battlefield. You can read more from Michael on his personal blog here.


Image © Michael Leck

In just 2 months Osprey Games will be publishing Rebels and Patriots, written by Dan Mersey and myself. While we eagerly await the release on 24 January 2019, I thought it would be a good idea to post a little more information about the rules.

This first post is purely optional as it revolves around our suggested basing in the rules, the 1,2,3-basing. What bases you have your minis on doesn’t really matter much in regards to the rules, as long as both sides have more or less the same it will work fine. However, I have come to the conclusion that I prefer 1,2,3-basing and I hope that more wargamers will see the benefits of it.


Image © Michael Leck

My main reason for using 1,2,3-basing was to force my co-players not to line up their minis in neat formations, as it took away from the skirmish feel of the games we played. I started to experiment with basing several minis on the same base, while keeping some individual based for casualties. After some testing with a number of minis and base seizes I ended up with the 1,2,3-basing you can now see me using in more or less all of my miniature projects.

The 1,2,3-basing gives me good looking units while retaining the feel of skirmish gaming, as well as speeding things up with fewer bases to move and with the possibility to remove casualties. Sounds like a winning concept to me!

The base sizes I would recommend (for 28mm miniatures) are as follows:

Infantry


Image © Michael Leck

  • 1 model on a round 25mm base
  • 2 models on a round 30mm base
  • 3 models on a round 40mm base


Cavalry


Image © Michael Leck

  • 1 model on a round 40mm base
  • 2 models on a round 50mm base
  • 3 models on a round 60mm base


Artillery


Image © Michael Leck

  • 1 gun on a base large enough to hold it and the gunner models based like other infantry units.

Using this basing standard means that you can easily group the bases together in the unit sizes used in Rebels and Patriots (6, 12, or 18 models depending on troop type) and still remove casualties with ease, if/when you need to…

If you have really bulky minis you might want to add 5-10 mm on the communal bases to fit them all in, but I would rather have them close together than increase the base size.

Hopefully this has turned you into a 1,2,3-basing gamer. If not, the rules will work absolutely fine!

Rebels and Patriots will be available on 24th January 2019. Preorder your copy today! For more information, take a look at this first review coming from Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy.