Over the past couple of weeks I have been tinkering with a unit of Empire handgunners. They are made from a mix of current and previous edition plastics, with a few head swaps and a little converting here and there.
The colour scheme is from the province of Ostermark, which is purple and white or yellow. I went for more of a burgundy shade with an off-white contrast, not being a massive fan of purple or yellow. Most of the painting is purely a base coat and a wash, though some areas got extra shading and/or highlighting. The idea was to get them completed quickly, Empire armies can be big on numbers so a quick and effective technique is paramount.
The bases are 2mm mdf, 60mm x 40mm in dimension. In warhammer terms, the two bases pushed together (as above) is a 6x2 unit. In reality there are 10 figures in total, this little saving will cut down on time taken to complete regiments. Now, you might be saying that I have no flexibility here, since I cannot reform or use a different formation. This is partly true, though the figures are currently fixed on by a paper clip glued into the foot and poked into the mdf, which is enough to hold them securely at the present time. Future wear and tear and general gaming may change this and necessitate the use of a dab of superglue, but in theory I could remove them from these mdf bases and use single plastic bases too, if I really wanted to. These days, such tactical considerations I tend to waive in favour of gaming convenience.
In other gaming systems, I have several options. Hail Caesar is element based and the dimensions of bases is left to the players to decide. I have decided on 60mm width for small units and 120mm for medium units,so these would be pushed together as one medium-sized unit, or separate as two small units. Other gaming systems that I am looking into have similar recommended base sizes, but again the gamer is free to decide for themselves. I am increasingly drawn to such freedoms and will hopefully get to use them in this way at some time.
Having put this unit together as a tester for a possible Empire type force, I am unsure of the future. I like the colour scheme and the models are nice enough. I have more gunners I could paint, enough for another two units of this size. There's about 20 militia I painted a few years ago that I could rebase in this way, trebling the number of painted troops at a stroke. I also have some unpainted Perry plastics I could employ as halberdiers. Only time will tell if they can draw me away from my other projects.
