Sabot basing - A Method

Since I'm playing a mix of games from those requiring individually-based models to element-based games, having sabot bases is useful to make the most each painted model.

I finally got round to testing out the sabot basing method that I've carried in my mind for months. I've documented it below as an aide memoire and in case anyone else can benefit or improve on the method.

Here's the finished result:

This is a 12cm-wide sabot base intended to serve for Impetus, To the Strongest, Hail Caesar, Dux Bellorum and any other element-based game I care to play.

The Steps

1. First, stick some thin magnetic sheet down on MDF. Above is a 1mm magnetic sheet from Popular Bookstore (the stuff from Daiso is too weak) glued with PVA to 3mm MDF. I'd prefer 2mm MDF, but its not available locally and this stuff was custom cut cheap in bulk by a local framing shop.

Arrange the minis into a comfortable formation, particularly so their spears don't poke each other.

Then, mark the position of each figure with a 20mm steel washer, which acts as a placeholder. You don't want to mess up your nicely based minis with raw filler and sand!

You can see them above under the painted minis. I base all my figures on 20mm washers so the magnetic system works. The washers have the advantage of being heavy enough to keep even the most unbalanced figure upright.

2. Apply a layer of filler around the placeholder washers. Liberally sprinkle this over with fine to coarse sand while its still wet. You can always brush water on the semi-dry filler to help the sand adhere. Leave to dry and shake off the excess sand. If there are any bare areas just touch them up with PVA and sand. I use coloured filler which is close to Sienna in colour. It is less troublesome to use than white filler which really sucks up any pigment or paint added.

When that's all dry seal the whole lot with watered-down PVA glue. This gives you a good surface to paint and drybrush the sand without it all coming off.

3. Basecoat with a preferred earth colour. I used a mix of Dark Chocolate and Burnt Sienna from Americana craft paints because they're cheap.

Then drybrush with a sand colour. I used Americana Sand with a few drops of the basecoat to tie them together.

Once that's dry, remove the placeholder washers and clean up their sockets. Make sure there is a good level and even fit for the models' bases or else the magnet won't be as effective. You may have to scrape around the cavity with a blunt sculpting tool to get a good fit. Don't make it too roomy, you want to minimise the appearance of sabot holes. Just enough for a snug but easy fit.

Then you can flock and dress the base. I recommend doing this with the figures inserted so you can disguise any obvious signs that this is a sabot base. I tried to place flock in front of the gap between the sabot and the miniature's base.

As you can see above the front row is quite well disguised. The second row could use a bit more work, but this could easily pass as a nice multi-based unit for Impetus. A future challenge would be to combine some diorama action with sabot basing.

The Test

So, how well do the magnets hold?

Pretty well, I'd say.

Next Steps

In pursuit of an ever-lower base profile I plan to order some 12cm wide, 2mm deep laser-cut MDF bases from Warbases. I will use thin magnetic sheet for the bottom which carries with it the dual advantage of holding both the models and the entire base to a box lined with magnetic sheeting.

My models, based on 20mm-wide washers should sit flush with the MDF. Total depth of base to the foot of the model should be 3mm versus the 5mm in the method above.

As mentioned above, aesthetically I'd like to try some diorama action, perhaps incorporate some drama with casualty figures, or even terrain like a road or other feature to make any given base look less like a movement tray and more like a thoughtful composition.

Return to the Punic Wars

It's back to ancients, my first love in historical gaming.

After a hiatus of nearly one and a half years due to work, life and the distractions of World War II gaming I am back to working on the Punic Wars (after a brief spell of GADD over mythology and vintage Citadel minis).

Settling on an optimum base size and an initial ruleset has provided a much needed spur to reduce my pile of plastic and lead of Punic Wars miniatures.

The petite army lists in Basic Impetus 2.0, of around 10 to 11 units, provided a manageable starting point to focus painting and production. So far, I have nearly finished painting four units: spearmen of the Sacred Band, Balearic slingers, Iberian scutarii and Iberian caetrati. Next up are Libyan skirmishers and Numidian light horse.

I think the toughest decision to make in ancients wargaming is neither scale nor ruleset, but rather what basing convention and approach to take.

Basing and rulesets are reflexive choices, each influencing the other. I finally decided on using Impetus basing for a number of reasons. The primary reason is aesthetic, besides the tactics and history, this hobby is about aesthetics or else wooden blocks serve just as well.

If this time-consuming hobby is about great looking miniatures then dioramas seem the way to go as opposed to single-figure basing focused on serried ranks and files of troops, or an equivalent approach via multi-basing.

Impetus basing - on 12cm wide bases in 28mm scale - lets the figures breathe and allows for greater aesthetic flexibility, especially in composition. 

It also translates well to both the gaming table and the other ancients rulesets I am interested in playing. The latter all happen to be 'element' based and include Hail Caesar and To The Strongest!

12cm fits nicely in a 6' to 8'-wide table allowing a battle line of about 15 units wide, which nicely accords with my desired sweet spot of big games of 20 or so units per side (the rest being in reserves).

Once I took the leap to arranging my troops on their bases in diorama rather than in just dense ranks, there was an immediate shift in my cognitive process. I began to consider how each individual figure related to others in the group, what story they told together rather than how best to face them forward and rank them nicely.

Frankly, it became much more intellectually engaging and pleasing. It became more fun.

Casualty figures become very useful for adding character and story to a base. Here I have a draft composition of a Celtic warband. I love the way the female warrior relates to the Roman she has downed.

I've decided not to pack too many figures on my bases. Partly to save production time, partly because they actually look a bit better with some irregular space between them, and partly to ensure a bit more protective base space when clumsy fingers descend from the heavens - I've already broken one javelin multiple times.

Starting with Basic Impetus 2.0 has already paid off since I have nearly finished painting four units in just over a month. That's more than I've been able to do since acquiring this horde of lead and plastic two years ago. The size of a project for Hail Caesar or To The Strongest! was paralytically large. Too large to get off the ground.

Now that things are moving along faster than ever, being realistic, I should be able to start work on the Romans by the end of the year. 

Collecting an Army: how many units is enough? - Part 2

It's not strictly necessary to calculate troop to figure ratios in order to have a good game. But, for a scenario to broadly conform to historical conditions, for opposing armies to be appropriately scaled to each other, and for that scale to fit to your playing area, it helps to work out troop ratios based on historical accounts.

Working troop ratios and dimensions is also helpful for planning your purchases. In my case, a lack of clear planning of unit dimensions led me to collect too many figures. Luckily with a Carthaginian army the component nationalities are readily used for other army projects.

Below is an example based from the Second Punic War.

CARTHAGINIANS

The battle of the Trebia, 218 B.C. offers a good starting point for building a Hannibalic Army for the Second Punic War. It also offers roughly equal sizes for the Carthaginian and Roman forces, around 40,000 troops each.

Following the all cavalry clash of the Ticinus, the engagement at Trebia was the first pitched battle between the Carthaginians and Romans after Hannibal crossed the Alps.

After the arduous Alps crossing, Polybius (III.56) says that Hannibal's army contained 12,000 African and 8,000 Iberian infantry, with not more than 6,000 cavalry. After the victory at the Ticinus, the Celts joined in large numbers.

By the time of Trebia Hannibal's troops numbered 20,000 heavy infantry (Africans, Iberians, and Celts), 8,000 light infantry (mostly African and Iberian, including Balearic slingers) and over 10,000 cavalry. In addition, his brother Mago commanded an ambush force of 1,000 Numidian cavalry and 1,000 picked infantry.

The additional 9,000 infantry at Trebia beyond the 20,000 combined heavy and lights just after the Alps must be credited to the Celts, as must 5,000 horse. It is likely that the Celts had few skirmishers.

This gives a total at Trebia of 29,000 foot and over 11,000 horse.

Borrowing from the analysis of Trebia in Lost Battles, with some modifications to reconcile the totals listed after the Alps and at Trebia, this breaks down into:

21,000 Heavy Infantry
9,000 African
6,000 Celts
6,000 Iberian

8,000 Light Infantry
3,000 Celts (including Ligurians)
2,000 African (Libyan)
1,000 Moors
1,250 Iberian
750 Balearic

11,000 Cavalry
5,000 Celt
3,000 Numidian (light)
3,000 Iberian

~30 Elephants

In order to translate this to the tabletop for practical play we apply a scaling factor to the above numbers to get a reasonable headcount for the number of figures needed for an eight foot-wide game.

Following Hail Caesar's recommended unit sizes I am using 16 man standard units, 8 man small units (typically skirmishers and lights) and 12 man standard cavalry and 6 man small cavalry. Celt warbands and the like are 20 men strong.

Employing a ratio of 1 figure to 150 historical troops, with some rounding off involved, breaks the above numbers down into (number of models in brackets):

Heavy Infantry - 9 units
4 standard African units (64)
2 standard Celt warbands (40)
3 standard Iberian units (48)

Light Infantry - 6 units
1 standard Ligurian unit (16)
2 African small units, skirmishers (16)
1 Moorish small unit, skirmishers (8)
1 Iberian small unit (8)
1 Balearic small unit, skirmishers (8)

Cavalry - 9 units
3 standard Celt units (36)
4 small Numidian units (24)
2 standard Iberian units (24)

2 Elephants

26 units = 42.3% infantry, 15.4% skirmishers, 34.6% cavalry, 7.7% elephants

611 points (with a Ld 9 General)

Elephant numbers were determined by allowing one for every ten units in the army.

This produces a battle line of 9 heavy infantry with 3 cavalry wide on each flank. (Skirmishers and lights are arrayed in front of the heavy infantry line). A total of 15 base widths (160mm each), or 2400mm, just short of 8 feet.

A 6 foot-wide game could be accommodated by trimming the cavalry down to 1 base width per flank, to fit within 11 base widths.

I initially planned for a ratio of 1:80 but this produced a battle line that was too big, around 10' 6" wide, which would be okay for a very wide game, but would require a special gaming venue.

This actually makes my initial project much more manageable. I bought too many figures!

A quick comparison between the list derived above from a single historical battle and the generic Carthaginian 3rd Century B.C. list in Hail Caesar Army Lists: Biblical & Classical shows quite different troop ratios.

The HC army list recommends that 66+% of an army's units should be infantry, excluding skirmishers (which can be up to 50% of the units), up to 25% cavalry, and up to 10% elephants.

Hannibal's actual army at Trebia was more cavalry-heavy, which is what allowed them to sweep away the Roman cavalry from the flanks in this and future battles. Even from the raw troop numbers cavalry amounted to 27.5% of the army, meaning that the Carthaginian army list in HC needs some revision for more historical play. I have one in the works and I'll get round to posting it later.

While an army list can be helpful for a generic game or figuring what types of units are in an army, as well as their game abilities, the army list cannot adequately replace an order of battle (ORBAT) derived from an actual historical encounter.


ROMANS

Polybius (III.72) claimed Sempronius's forces comprised:

16,000 Romans
20,000 Allies
4,000 Cavalry

Using a 1:150 ratio, the standard proportions of the manipular legion's components (a 1,200:1,200:1,200:600 ratio for velites:hastati:principes:triarii), and assigning the surplus numbers amongst the Allies to the hastati and principes, we get:

Roman Legions - 14 units
4 small velites (32)
4 small hastati (32)
4 small principes (32)
2 small triarii (16)

Italian Allies - 16 units
4 small velites (32)
5 small hastati (40)
5 small principes (40)
2 small triarii (16)

Cavalry - 4 units
3 small Allied cavalry (18)
1 small Roman cavalry (6)

34 units = 88.2% infantry, 11.8% cavalry

707 points (Ld 8 general)

If deployed in a checkerboard triplex acies this works out to an infantry battle line of 9 standard base widths plus cavalry wings 2 base widths wide. A total of 11 base widths.

Sabin has voiced some skepticism about Livy's claim that the Cenomani Gauls served as Roman allies, but they can be accommodated by broadening the battle line to 12 base widths, still shorter than the Carthaginian one.

A note for Hail Caesar: there's been lots of debate about whether small unit Republican Romans are overpowered compared to standard units. This is apparent from the points value (HC assigns one point per stat value; higher points, higher stats). The ORBAT above can always be modified to feature standard infantry units.

Roman Legions - 9 units
4 small velites (32)
2 standard hastati (32)
2 standard principes (32)
1 standard triarii (16)

Italian Allies - 10 units
4 small velites (32)
3 standard hastati (48)
2 standard principes (32)
1 standard triarii (16)

Cavalry - 4 units
3 small Allied cavalry (18)
1 small Roman cavalry (6)

23 units

552 points (Ld 8 general)
(versus 611 points for the Carthaginian list above)

If you want to retain small unit manoeuvrability then a more elegant solution that Rick Priestley once recommended to me is to tweak the stats. The points difference between the small unit and standard unit Romans above are due to the fact that while unit frontage halves the unit stats decrease by only 18% (including the scaled cost for pila and Drilled).

In that case, downgrading the stats of the Republican Roman small units from heavy to medium infantry, from light infantry velites to skirmishers, as per the manipular legion under the Camillan Roman list from the Army book, produces an army of 637 points to the Carthaginian's 611.

For Trebia and most of the Italian Campaign the Roman troops arguably should not be more powerful than the Carthaginians. They could on occasion be penalised with a Ld 7 Consul. For a Trebia scenario one could consider further downgrades or penalties - such as a 1 point reduction to stamina - to represent the weaker morale of the Romans who failed to eat the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

Roman Legions - 14 units
4 small velites skirmishers (32)
4 small hastati medium infantry (32)
4 small principes medium infantry (32)
2 small triarii heavy infantry (16)

Italian Allies - 16 units
4 small velites skirmishers (32)
5 small hastati medium infantry (40)
5 small principes medium infantry (40)
2 small triarii heavy infantry (16)

Cavalry - 4 units
3 small Allied cavalry (18)
1 small Roman cavalry (6)

Stats based on the Camillan Roman list in the Biblical & Classical Armies book. All units have a -1 to stamina to reflect their fatigue from crossing the icy Trebia river and skipping breakfast.

603 points

Republican Roman Army Roster

Detail from the Ahenobarbus relief showing (centre-right) two Roman foot-soldiers ca. 122 BC. Note the Montefortino-style helmets with horsehair plume, chain mail cuirasses with shoulder reinforcement, oval shields with calfskin covers, gladius and pilum.

Here's the roster for my planned Roman purchases. It represents a consular army under the control of a Roman consul, four legions in total comprised of two pairs of Roman and Allied legions. Any additional troops can be added to the ranks of the Allies. If there's need for it to represent a larger force, such as the four legions at Cannae, each unit can just stand in for double scale. One can't really go much smaller than this.

The force below can be built out of four or so boxes of Victrix legionnaires. I'd use one box of chainmail armoured legionnaires for the triarii, a box of pectoral armour soldiers for the Roman hastati and principes, and two boxes of the Allied Italian legionnaires.

The cavalry would be best supplied by Aventine Miniatures' Republican Roman range (with the Late Etruscan cavalry suitable as Allied horse) as they are designed to be cross-compatible. Aventine even resculpted their horses to suit Victrix. Nice of them.

Republican Romans (Unit size in brackets) [Points cost] #bases

8 figures per manipulus

LEGIO ROMANA I - 7 units [171 points]

2 x Velites (8) [26] 4

2 x Hastati (8) [46] 2

2 x Principes (8) [46] 2

1 x Triarii (8) [28] 2 x 80mmx25mm

1 x CONSUL (General) [25] c100

LEGIO ROMANA III - 7 units [146 points]

2 x Velites (8) [26] 4

2 x Hastati (8) [46] 2

2 x Principes (8) [46] 2

1 x Triarii (8) [28] 2 x 80mmx25mm

1 x Commander c80

ALA LATINA DEXTRA - 8 units + 1 skirmisher [178 points]

2 x Velites (8) [26] 4

2 x Hastati (8) [46] 2

2 x Principes (8) [46] 2

1 x Triarii (8) [28] 2 x 80mmx25mm

1 x Roman medium cavalry (6) [19] 1

1 x Cretan archer skirmishers [13] 2

1 x Commander c80

ALA LATINA SINISTRA - 10 units [203 points]

2 x Velites (8) [26]

2 x Hastati (8) [46]

2 x Principes (8) [46]

1 x Triarii (8) [28] 2 x 80mmx25mm

3 x Allied medium cavalry (6) [57] 3

1 x Commander c80

32 units + 1 skirmisher = 33 total + 4 leaders [698 points]

Reserves

2 x Tarentine light cavalry (6) [20] 4 

Various additional Italians - to be built out of the smart Aventine Late Etruscan and Italian Hill tribes ranges.

DELENDA EST... CARTHAGO!

Carthaginian Army Roster

One of Hannibal's nellies fails an Attrition roll
whilst crossing the Alps.

Here is the initial list of units I intend to assemble starting with the Carthaginian forces. The idea is to achieve an optimal blend of cost and flexibility to game a range of scenarios and systems.

I've listed them in hypothetical Hail Caesar divisions based on nationality.  A list for a given battle would look quite different. This one shows the maximum force deployment capability. I find there are too few army rosters on wargaming blogs. I hope to redress that.

Numbers in brackets indicate the models per unit. This doesn't necessarily conform rigidly to the HC rulebook. Given the rather dynamic poses of the Victrix models I'm using it isn't always possible to get a figure to fit neatly into a 20mm x 20mm box. The rule of thumb employed here is to standardise frontage on multiples of 80mm (a small unit) and fit in enough units with varying depth to offer a sense of solidity. A standard unit is on an 160mm frontage.

Warband infantry are less than 32 figures partly due to cost and time for assembly, and partly to give space for a dioramic setting of a horde charging out of formed lines towards the enemy. I find 17 to 20 figures in charging positions fits pleasingly within an 160mm frontage and depth of 100mm, which would normally hold 40 upright, well-behaved models on HC assumptions.

Points costs are marked in square brackets, just for force comparison purposes with the Romans (posted later). The number of bases are indicated to plan adequate base purchases. The funny codes after commander names are possible base circumferences for a command stand diorama.

It really does take an awful lot of advance planning if one is to order units efficiently.

The whole lot below are enough to fit in an 8' wide battle table in a pseudo-Cannae setup. So pretty much Hail Caesar ready.

Carthaginian Army (Unit size in brackets) [Points cost] #bases

African 1st Division - 5 units + 3 skirmishers [208]

3 x Libyan HI Veterans (16) [108] 6

2 x Liby-Phoenician Medium Cavalry, Guard (6) [42] 2

3 x Libyan Javelinmen skirmishers (8) [33] 6

1 x General - Hannibal [25] c100

African 2nd Division - 10 units + 3 skirmishers [265]

3 x Libyan HI Spearmen (16) [87] 6

4 x Numidian light cavalry (6) [76] + (Massinissa stand) 8

3 x Elephants [69] 3

3 x Numidian Skirmishers (8) [33] 6

1 x Commander - Maharbal 1 80mmx100mm + 1/2 c60mm

Iberian 3rd Division - 9 units + 3 skirmishers [207]

2 x Caetrati LI (8) [24] 4

4 x Scutarii MI (16) [92] 8

1 x Celtiberian Warband (20) [28] 2

2 x Slinger Skirmishers (8) [24] 4

1 x Balearic Slingers (8) [13] 2

2 x Iberian medium cavalry (12) [54] 4

1 x Commander - Mago c80

Italian and Gallic 4th Division - 7 units + 2 skirmishers [197]

3 x Samnite MI (16) [69] 6

1 x Oscan Allies MI (16) [23] 2

2 x Gallic MI Warband (17) [56] 2

1 x Gallic medium cavalry (10) [27] 2

2 x Oscan skirmishers (8) [22] 4

1 x Commander - Hasdrubal c80

31 units + 11 skirmishers = 41 total + 5 Leaders [877 points]

Top Up

2 x Italian Allies (16) [46] 4 - Brutii etc.

2 x Gallic MI warband (Victrix models) (17) [56] 4

2 x Tarentine light cavalry (6) [20]  4 - Need to research more on the links between Taras and Hannibal's War

Here's what I have currently or will do soon once the mail arrives:

Initial Order

African 1st Division - 6 units + 2 skirmishers [172]

2 x Libyan HI Veterans (16) [36]

3 x Libyan HI Spearmen (16) [87] 

1 x Elephant [23]

1 x Libyan Javelinmen skirmishers (8) [11]

1 x Balearic Slingers (8) [13]

1 x General [25]

African 2nd Division, Cavalry - 6 units + 2 skirmishers [140]

2 x Liby-Phoenician Medium Cavalry, Guard (6) [42]

4 x Numidian light cavalry (6) [76]

2 x Libyan Javelinmen skirmishers (8) [22]

1 x Mounted Commander

Iberian 3rd Division - 6 units + 2 skirmishers [121]

2 x Caetrati LI (8) [24]

2 x Scutarii MI (16) [46]

1 x Celtiberian warband (20) [28]

1 x Elephant [23]

1 x Javelin skirmishers (8) [11]

1 x Slinger Skirmishers (8) [12]

1 x Commander

Italian/Celtic 4th Division - 6 units + 2 skirmishers [124]

1 x Libyan HI Veterans (16) [36]

1 x Samnite MI (16) [23]

1 x Oscan Allies MI (16) [23]

2 x Oscan skirmishers (8) [22] - double as Velites

2 x Gallic MI Warband (17) 

1 x Gallic Cavalry (10)

1 x Commander

24 units + 8 skirmishers = 26 total [557 points]

Reserve

2 x Scutarii MI (16) [46]

1 x Ligurian LI (16) - use kitbashed Velites

DELENDA EST ROMA!