Recently I was reminiscing about the first Warhammer 40K box-set that I had ever purchased. It was a squad of Long Fangs which were cast in lead, I painted about 20 years ago. About a decade later, I stripped the five man unit and added updated weapons and re-painted the squad. At the time I was content with the updated look, and loved the qualities that the old Devastator models had, mainly the design of their boots. Looking back at it now, on some level I regret the decision and wish I had kept the original painted jobs that I completed many years ago.
This brings up the topic of a common issue in this hobby; if you participate over a long enough time frame, the game and models evolve. I have updated weapons, re-shuffled models into other squads, broken weapons at the wrist to exchange others all in the name of keeping the army up to date. The most recent subject in regards to this topic is the base size change of space marines from 25mm to 32mm. This is not only changing the look of each model dramatically, but also changes some of the tactics and game play dynamics.
Initially I was really disappointed in Game Workshop's move towards this update. Having a substantial amount of models already completed and have played with 25mm for decades, I did not see any advantages. The internet was already rumbling about how it would affect game play for the worse. We also had the money grabbing conspiracy, suggesting GW was up to its old tricks.
My first reaction was that this was somewhat of a small issue. The change was not mandated to play the game, nor was it something that was even being updated in every box-set. Yet after seeing some of the differences in person from some of my Blood Angel brethren, I started to experience some base envy. Aesthetically speaking I've felt for a long time that Space Marines were a little on the small side. Not trying to focus on a true scale discussion, it's easy to perceive a height deference in regards to these two models. The 32mm based model looks considerable more dominate, making the model seem larger as I always perceived Space Marines should look.
Furthermore, due to the increase area covered by each model's base there is significantly changes to the area covered by a squad at maximum coherency. Looking at the two squad's maximum formation footprint, it's easy to see how those extra 7mm add up quickly. This can be a double edged sword, giving you the ability to cover more ground, but also making it more difficult to fit into tight spaces.
Here we see a sample of 25mm based Grey Hunter taking a large base effectively hitting 5 model in the unit based on the squads maximum 2inch formation distance for squad coherency.
That 32mm base gives the Blood Claw pack just enough separation to cut that hit ratio by 80%! I know we are not going to always spread our troops out as such, and this maybe somewhat impractical, but it's still great to know.
For me personally it has nothing to so with the movement or targeting benefits or drawback in reference to the game dynamics. It's all about the look and balance of the model. The 32mm bases just look better! The model looks cleaner and I feel like has the ability to move around in this little imaginary world that I built.
The models also feel a lot more balanced and less likely to topple over due to the very small base. The option is up to you! As for me, I've already rebased about 60 Wolves and I have a lot more left to go. Stay Frosty!
For Russ and the Allfather,
- Adam Russman
