Hello everyone !

I'm pondering about buying and painting a few Baccus miniatures because I really like the way they look, but since I'm new to 6mm, I have some questions on various subjects about it. Because I don't know history well enough to do some historical reconstitutions, I think I'm going to tend toward fantasy miniatures (also, I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, so they might be handy one day). I'm already collecting Games Workshop miniatures, so I have a lot of paints and brushes to begin with, and I'm used to paint higher scale miniatures. So here are my questions :

1) The whole basing thing is new to me. From what I understand, there is no standard way to base 6mm miniatures. If I collect let's say goblins : what size of bases and units do you advise to go for ? I don't want my units to be too compact, but I don't want empty bases either. I have no rule system planned right now , I only want the units to look good (I might try Chainmail out of curiosity one day, but I have no idea what the rules are like, and I want my miniatures to be used for other purposes). How much goblins can fit on a 30x30 base ? on a 60x30 ? What base should I use for a single character such as a commander ?

2) Besides the miniatures, the bases, a basing kit and some scenic items, what would you recommand me to get ? Or not to get ? (again, I already have paints and brushes)

3) Do you have some recommendations of miniatures that would make good "fantasy creatures" ? I've seen a few elephants on the website, and I think they look really cool.

4) When I read the description of a "Goblin Army Pack", the listing includes "Assorted Heroes and Personalities". Does that mean that the command strips are included, or is this a different thing (a gobelin commander ?)

Thank you in advance for your answers !

Hi,

1 - Baccus figures will typically take 5mm of frontage per foot soldier who is shoulder-to-shoulder. You can fit 3 ranks on a 20mm deep base (most players use a maximum of 2 AFAIK), or 4 ranks on a 30mm deep base.  If you want to base them as individuals, then I have found 24 per 60mm x 30mm base covers it quite well.  As a general rule, the bigger the base the better you can make the figures look, but you lose a bit of flexibility in rulesets.  You can make any rules work with any basing, given a few compromises, but you may not wish to do so since it will incur extra work, faff, or both.  60mm x 30mm is quite popular as it is a good compromise between looks and playability but is by no means universal.

2 - I'll pass on a direct answer to this one.  I would spend a bit of time looking around on the net, finding a set up you like, and then asking the person how they achieve it.  Glenn Pearce persuaded me of the merits of using a game mat, and then a very kind guy called Elliot James told me how he made his.  Steve Jones' stuff has always been a bit of an inspiration to me too.

3 - There is a nice mammoth in the Amazon range...Rapier Miniatures' figures are pretty compatible with Baccus' stuff and they have a comprehensive range of Greek Myth inspired monsters and stuff.

4 - Not sure, but I imagine it is just the figures from GOB01.

Thanks for your answers, I think I will buy 30x30 and 60x30 bases and see how I can organize an army with them. Getting a game mat is a good idea, since I don't have enough room to create a full game table (that's one of the reasons why 6mm miniatures are appealing to me), but it won't be a priority to begin with. I really like Greek figures from Rapier Miniatures, and I'm already thinking that a centaur patrol would be a nice addition to an elven army ! Once again, thanks for the advices.

Whirlwind has pretty much said what I was going to put.   Yes, the command elements in the army pack are those shown in GOB1.

I will be the first to admit that our fantasy range isn't the biggest and is a little whimsical for some tastes.  It was essentially conceptualised by a seven year old boy and lacks a certain gravitas that some demand.   Don't forget that loads of our historical ranges can be press-ganged into use in a fantasy environment, the Crusades, and later enemies of Rome being particularly useful in these respects.

I'll also give a nod to my cut-throat rivals at Rapier and you may wish to check out some other such as Irregular, Perfect Six and Microworld.

Thank you for the additionnal details. I've seen some nice looking balistas here, and crusades figures are generic enough to represent any medieval army.

I went for a "standard" pack to begin with : one goblin army, one dwarven army, some basing material and a few scenery elements. Thanks for the reference to the other 6mm producers. I might buy minis at several of them. And about your fantasy range : it isn't the biggest, but the figures looks great and they are generic (and cheap). So I'm looking forward to receive them !

I hate to say this, but when it comes to fantasy, Microworld Games are the leaders (Yes, it should be Baccus, but this is not Pete's focus it seems), I have a lot of there stuff (Fantasy), and I can recommend it.

With regards to expanding the Fantasy ranges, the spirit is more than willing, but the number of first rate 6mm sculptors available is extremely limited!