Home › Forums › Fantasy › General Fantasy › War for the Old World (3mm Microworld Fantasy)
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16/05/2020 at 19:07 #136514
Mr. Average
ParticipantYes, that’s right – forces are gathering. Plans are being laid. In the West, the Ten Kingdoms of Uluthàn are marshaling the largest army seen since the fall of the Slann and sailing East towards the Old World. In the South, a mighty Orc warlord is uniting the fractious tribes and preparing to sweep out of the Badlands and descend on the unprepared Human realms. The world is turning!
By which I mean I’m finally getting to do a project I had long wanted to do, yet have been prevented from doing by the absence of its existence. To wit: a Fantasy game in 3mm scale! Rules will be Warmaster, and my first challenge has been deciding how to base my figures. Typically Warmaster will work with any base that’s in a 1:2 size ratio. Right now, what I have is well sized but ever so slightly too small in proportion (1″ x 5/8″), or is properly proportioned but slightly too big ( 1 1/4″ x 5/8″), or large enough and proportioned well but so sizeable as to make the game play too big for my tastes (1″ x 2″). But there it is.
On a 5/8″ deep base, you can get a comfortable three ranks of troops. On a 1″ x 2″ base I could get basically an entire battalion – two groups of four ranks with a command stand in front, but that implies a much larger game surface and I want to keep this small enough for my dinner table. The bases of the miniature strips fit very nicely on a 1″ wide space with a comfortable but not too large margin on either side, but when centered up on a 1 1/4″ wide base, that extra 1/8″ seems too much on both sides and makes the army as a whole seem to be standing too far apart in their ranks. In an ideal world I’d just order 1″ x 1/2″ bases, but things being what they are, I feel compelled to work with what I already have rather than ordering new things that may not arrive for several weeks, if then.
So, having determined that 5/8″ x 1″ is the right size visually, and 1 1/4″ x 5/8″ is the right size for game play, I have decided to do my traditional base label thing, and use 1 1/4″ x 5/8″ with a 1/4″ base label. My hope is that this will look good. If not, well, we’ll just have to see. But I’ve found that the base labels do not read as part of the base when you’re playing, so I hope it’ll all kind of blend away. Unfortunately it means that when you go into base-to-base contact the actual ranks will be offset slightly from each other, but I’m not sure I’ll care. And at this scale, and with my fading memory for rules, it does offer me the chance to put some game data right at my fingertips on the table. Here are some of my first layouts:
More as we go. We have a bit of really fine weather this weekend and I’m hoping to dig up some primer and get a few bases started off.
16/05/2020 at 19:52 #136517Deleted User
MemberLooking forward to this. I’ve been checking out Magister Militum’s 3mm rangs but they’re very different.
16/05/2020 at 20:00 #136518Mr. Average
ParticipantYeah, MM is definitely squatter and chunkier, and they skip the sort of “middle ages” part that a fantasy milieu relies on. En masse the MM stuff can look really terrific, don’t get me wrong, but for preference I’m loving the Microworld pieces because they have such definition and depth. My understanding is that Dwarves are next, followed by Undead (perhaps).
The units in the two extant armies are not perfect 1:1 transfers of the Warmaster armies but with a little bit of finagling I have a set of army “counts as” lists drawn up that I think will work very well.
16/05/2020 at 20:21 #136519Deleted User
MemberAny idea on when the human (Bretonnians) will be out? Trying to imagine 3mm dwarves and keep seeing MM ,imis, they’re growing on me the more I look at them. I should buy a sample.
16/05/2020 at 20:27 #136521Mr. Average
ParticipantBy the way, these are some photos which illustrate my basing predicament. I’m starting to doubt, a little, that the 1 1/4″ bases with labels will work correctly. They might make the tabletop look skewed.
Visually, this looks best to me, but as you can see it means that there could be misunderstandings when bases are engaged as to which unit is fighting which.
This is most functional but feels like there’s too much visual elbow room:
And this feels like it would only play on a way bigger surface than I really want, and although it would be pretty stunning would take me a million years to finish:
This is the “compromise” with base labels. It would definitely help determine facing but you can see what would happen when units engage. Maybe I don’t care? Maybe I do.
Yet another option comes to my mind. If I give units like Cavalry an “engagement zone” painted on the front of their bases, it would indicate which unit they were engaged with? I’m not sure the math works out on that. Maybe I’ll just go for what looks best and damn the game, just put the game at the service of the minis instead of the other way around. I’m dithering.
16/05/2020 at 20:29 #136523Mr. Average
ParticipantAny idea on when the human (Bretonnians) will be out? Trying to imagine 3mm dwarves and keep seeing MM ,imis, they’re growing on me the more I look at them. I should buy a sample.
I do not know, but I would 100% be in favor of a port of the Microworld Fantasy Renaissance line into 3mm scale.
16/05/2020 at 20:39 #136524Rhoderic
MemberI’ll be cheering you on. I definitely want to get armies from this range myself at some point, but there are so many different things I want to order from Microworld that I’m somewhat paralysed by indecision. I can’t afford it all at once.
I hope goblins aren’t too low of a priority for Microworld. Given how the range implies a classic Warhammer setting, one would expect to see goblins where there are orcs. It’s not a dealbreaker for me, but an orc army with some goblin rabble in the mix would be preferable to an army of orcs alone. Oh, and trolls, but I could probably just repurpose some 6mm goblins for that.
16/05/2020 at 20:44 #136525Mr. Average
ParticipantI’m definitely scoping out 6mm scale crossovers – 6mm Orc warriors as Ogres, for example. And at this scale a Giant would be… well, GIANT.
16/05/2020 at 21:05 #136528Logain
ParticipantThomaston, Microworld is pretty responsive, you could try emailing him. He posts once a month or so on TacCom too, and seems to check his forum there for posts weekly.
Mr Average, how about basing your labels separately and just abutting them to their units? Then they could be moved to a different side if charged from the flanks…
16/05/2020 at 21:52 #136530Deleted User
MemberI’m keeping quiet because I’m still holding a grudge against metal miniatures.
@Mr Average
If the pack composition fits you could put a command stand in front of every base to denote front rank. Or scratch up banners of your own for the front rank. Or put mounted figure on either side of the front ranks, it’ll be a good way of filling up the elbow room in the second photo.
Persoanlly I’d stick to 2:1 base size. Base size will definitely affect mass cavalry charge.
16/05/2020 at 23:12 #136533Mr. Average
Participant@Mr Average If the pack composition fits you could put a command stand in front of every base to denote front rank. Or scratch up banners of your own for the front rank. Or put mounted figure on either side of the front ranks, it’ll be a good way of filling up the elbow room in the second photo. Persoanlly I’d stick to 2:1 base size. Base size will definitely affect mass cavalry charge.
Now if that isn’t the ideal solution, I don’t know what is! What the heck else are all those little command strips going to be good for if not this very thing?
Perfect! Done deal!
17/05/2020 at 00:29 #136534Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantI’m hopefully getting mine via fedex in a week or two!
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
17/05/2020 at 04:05 #136541Microworld Steve
ParticipantVery cool!
I don’t want to hijack the project log, but since folks asked: after dwarves there will be some goblin codes. Some hooded, and some vanilla goblins, which may be overkill at this scale I guess. After that a mixture of dark elf and Undead codes.
17/05/2020 at 05:25 #136542Mr. Average
ParticipantI hope the Dwarves will get contraptions like gyrocopters, etc. And the Goblins will mix nicely with the Orcs. And… I mean, Undead, man. Sign me UP.
17/05/2020 at 06:58 #136545Deleted User
MemberThose banners has more definition than I expected. Looking forward to seeing them painted.
17/05/2020 at 09:50 #136548Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantSo, can the elf strips be cut apart with any degree of success, particularly the archers, swordsment and spearmen?
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
17/05/2020 at 13:20 #136552Mike Headden
ParticipantIs there a UK/ EU distributor for these? As it is, postage and import costs are likely to swallow up most of the cash I have to spend on these.
There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data
17/05/2020 at 16:25 #136555Mr. Average
ParticipantSo, can the elf strips be cut apart with any degree of success, particularly the archers, swordsment and spearmen?
Actually, yes, and therein lies my solution to the basing quandary.
17/05/2020 at 16:46 #136556Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantNice! Those are the spearmen?
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
17/05/2020 at 16:50 #136557Mr. Average
ParticipantSwordsmen.
Haven’t tried the Spearmen yet, but they’re next. I realized after the fact that I used a Spearman standard bearer on that third base but I kind of like it – my mind imagined him carrying the shield to defend himself – as the standard bearer of the third line he is supposed to be the last one standing and will fight to the death for the colors. Every third line bannerman will have a shield now.
17/05/2020 at 18:00 #136558Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantLet us know how the spearmen go when it comes to cutting them, please, Mat. If it can be done without too much bother, it will make a great difference in the order going out next week!
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
17/05/2020 at 18:50 #136559Rhoderic
MemberJust to get a better sense of scale, what thickness are those bases you’re using?
17/05/2020 at 19:03 #136561Mr. Average
ParticipantThe bases are 1/8” thick with a 1/2mm magnet sheet adhered to the bottom.
The spear men could be cut, but only I think at two discrete points in the line. You can see them below – the hollows in the casting. That would give you a four-man, five-man and one extra from each strip. Would probably suit most purposes.
An alternative with an in-universe justification is to use the leftovers from Swordsman strips and give each line of spearmen a pair of swordsmen at each end to protect their flanks. I’m considering this as a possible alternative to slicing up spearmen but it’s more frugality on my part, not wanting to waste the little extra swordsmen. I’ll dry fit and see how it looks.17/05/2020 at 19:16 #136563Mr. Average
ParticipantAnd with an extra contingent cut not terribly carefully along the four-man line, for comparison.
I am afraid cutting them into individual pieces is not going to be possible due to the shields overlapping. Still not too bad and if I were to try it again I’d be a lot more careful and probably manage a cleaner cut.
18/05/2020 at 02:42 #136569Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantDoesn’t look toooooooo bad. I think the cut could be easily hidden by the figure next ot it. Thank you very much for showing this, Mat!
I plan to base on 20x10cm, two bases per unit. I’d like to do two 10×10 and one 20×10 bases, if possible, because that way I can put banners front and center on the big base and still have distinguishable line and column formations.
So the fact that these guys can be cut into five man pieces is very good news!
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
18/05/2020 at 03:37 #136570Mr. Average
ParticipantIt’ll all depend on how you decide to finish the bases I guess.
18/05/2020 at 14:45 #136600Mr. Average
ParticipantAlso, don’t base your purchases on me, my Way of the Hobby is vastly different and may not match up to what you want to do. Cutting up these little guys is not what I’d prefer – and don’t use clippers, they’ll deform the poor little guys! Knife only and very carefully. A little filing on the cut edge will get the ranks pretty tight though.
21/05/2020 at 15:56 #136787Mr. Average
ParticipantInsomnia makes for minis time. Better than lying around watching the seconds tick past on the clock.
Some questions above arose about how cuttable the lines of Spearmen are. I find them very clean to cut, even at the non-choice locations. The cut conceals pretty well and the ranks, when filed down, run together such that it is nearly invisible at table distance. Below is my first Elf Spearman unit, for example.
22/05/2020 at 07:17 #136815Deleted User
MemberHow big will the armoed be and have you started on the orcs yet?
22/05/2020 at 14:38 #136845Mr. Average
ParticipantI haven’t started the Orcs yet, but my starting point for both armies is 1000 points, with a goal of 3000 each. So I’ll have to supplement some of the baseline units to fill out the required forces.
31/05/2020 at 06:25 #137295Mr. Average
ParticipantGetting some Orcs based up.
31/05/2020 at 10:10 #137299Deleted User
MemberThey look more dense than the elves stand.
31/05/2020 at 17:56 #137322Mr. Average
ParticipantThe Orcs are definitely physically bigger than the Elves, and so they take up more space on the strip. They also have more diverse “choppy” weapons, so they look more rabble-y in line like that. It’s a ton of character and far more than you might think from a 3mm scale line!
02/06/2020 at 19:05 #137423Darkest Star Games
Participant“Do you even mob, bro?”
That stand will look great, they do make for an intimidating horde, much more so than the orderly pointy ears.
"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."
03/06/2020 at 03:42 #137439Thaddeus Blanchette
ParticipantI want to paint mine as Tolkien orcs, but these look much more like greenskins.
We get slapped around, but we have a good time!
03/06/2020 at 03:54 #137440Mr. Average
ParticipantYeah I know. They’re much more like the Warhammer orcs than the Tolkien orcs.
21/06/2020 at 22:11 #138503Mr. Average
ParticipantFinally finished basing up my core High Elf army. We expect a dry evening here so I might be able to prime these tonight and then we’re off to the races.
21/06/2020 at 23:28 #138505Deleted User
MemberElves looks like they have a lot of fast movers. What’s the flying stands to the right?
21/06/2020 at 23:30 #138508Mr. Average
ParticipantThe flyers are Pegasus Knights. And yes, they’re going to have a modified army list I’m putting together that makes their fast units the key to their force. The Swordsmen and Spearmen get different stats though, to make the basic infantry units a little more flavorful.
23/06/2020 at 05:39 #138568Mr. Average
ParticipantFirst rank of Spearmen. A company of about fifty, armed with adamantine-tipped spears – not as hard as mithril but capable of being honed to a fine point capable of piercing the thickest orc hide and the heaviest steel armor.
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