To my knowledge it started in the recent Stormclaw box set, with a regular power armour marine being put onto a 40mm Terminator base, and the Broodlord thing going on a completely new oval base.

This was followed up with the Blood Angels tactical squad coming out with a brand new 32mm round base. GW have said that it's only an aesthetic choice, and they do make marines look really cool. For ages now the packs of these bases have been going out of stock to order from the website as soon as they've made a batch, but I managed to get my hands on two sets of ten. That's coincided with me working on some Necron Lychguard which just got a new codex, and were shot with the new bases on. I thought I'd give it a go, and I love them. I'll definitely be using them for my marines and select other models going forward.


This lead me on to looking at some of the other models in my collection, specifically my Tau army. The GW XV8 Crisis Suits come with 40mm bases, and with their bulky torsos and skinny little chicken legs, they've always looked top heavy to my eyes. I'd remembered that the Space Marine Centurions came on a new base, a 50mm one, so when I ordered my other ones I grabbed a pack of three to see how they worked out. I'm thinking that it'll be the way to go, they really seem to balance out the models, let me know what you think!