Hex or round base?

[phatman]

i was curious,  What sort of base does every body use, i use a custom hex base and standard table top war gaming terrain. i find that the bases i use help people use the miniatures rules( most of the people i play with do just fine, but it does help the average "newbie" to adjust). i have seen some of the 'figs use a round base, and if it suits you,great. thanks in advance.

[NeonKnight]

Well, the rules are built around hexes with regards to facing and torso twists for weapon arcs/damage direction, that to use a round base requires marking the base to reflect these aspects of the rules.

that said, things like Infantry and most terrain are not affected by these rules, and so can be mounted on round no problem.

[jwt708]

All of mine are hex because they came that way or had hex bases included. My understanding is in Alpha Strike hex bases don't matter as much...but I've never played.

[phatman]

thank you for the comments. i really like the bases that came with the plastech mechs( shows how long i've been playing) the bases from IWM are good ( painting the hex side faces black in front, red in the rear, and yellow for the sides) but a little on the rough side , with regards to the old card stock maps.

[Major Headcase]

I play a lot more Alpha Strike than vanilla Btech these days and Hex bases are still pretty important. Some of the zones of fire and control use the flats of the base and not just marked corners. Also, it's a tradition  thing for me... Battletech introduced me to the hexmap wargaming... it's part of the identity... I see hexes in any other place I immediately think of Battletech... I use 1.25 inch, laser cut wood hexes, 3 mm thick, I ordered from Chessex if I'm remembering correctly?? 5-6 years ago they were super cheat at about $12 for 50 I think? I got 3 bags.... I use them for mechs, troops and hover vehicles. Tanks I dont usually base... I have no idea why not.... :-\

[worktroll]

I used to not base tanks too. However, when I got into doing my battalions, it just looked odd. So I started using the dials off MW:DA infantry & vehicles. Hex bases for all my 'Mechs, though.

[DOC_Agren]

Wait people base their Armored Units??????
is this something new?

[worktroll]

Something I like to do.

[Cergorach]

A lot of the armor just looks tiny compare to based Mechs, Infantry and even BA...

Doing round bases looks good, depending on how you play it would need some indicators. Op hexmaps, just one mark to point forward, the map will indicate the rest of the facings. But if your playing without a hexmap, you'll need to mark al facings. You can do that by dividing the circumvence in six parts and painting the odd an even sides a different color, or just a line to divide each section...

[Lorcan Nagle]

I don't base tanks, but mechs, infantry, and aircraft get hex bases, the cheap plastic ones that Chessex/RPUK do.

[House Davie Merc]

I put a hex base on all mechs .

Vehicles I leave loose ,and infantry I like to leave in small
groups such as on the strips they came on or something similar .

The main reason is it makes it easier to have multiple unit types
in the same hex (or close) while keeping the facing of battlemechs clear .

When your using hexed 3D terrain putting a full size hex base on every
unit type tends to overcrowd things.

[worktroll]

I used to keep armour unbased. However, by the time I'd put the 'Mechs on a hex base, infantry on half a hex base, done flocking etc, the armour looked a) drab and b) low.

As I happened to have hundreds of MW dials available, I ended up using them for armour bases, and works well enough for me, and makes the unit look more cohesive.

(You might get two unbased Saladins in one hex, but you're never goint to get two Ontii in a single hex. Biggest arguement for 2" hexes ;) )

[Major Headcase]

Today I glued my APCs to hex bases... I feel like a rebel now...  ;D

[Elmoth]

For ease (the minis come with these bases), and because the flat part of the base is important to determine rear shots in Alpha Strike, my group uses hexagonal bases as well. So far we have not based our tanks, but that might change; depends on the guy doing them (not me since I do not paint minis myself since 2010 or so)