Pendraken Figures and Basing

The 10mm Eighth Army figures from Pendraken have arrived, and I thought I'd outline the haul - plus do a little checking about bases. I bought mainly infantry, obviously, and found a pleasingly varied set of poses - the 'riflemen' have three, of men either walking forward, charging ahead, or firing. Other bags I ordered, such as Bren-gun or Thompson SMG-carrying men were single-pose. Plenty, in other words, to give a varied bunch of bases.

Bases, then. I wasn't sure what size would be best, so I drew out boxes on a sheet of paper measured to the size-options. The results are below.

Left to Right, the sizes are 20mm x 20mm (too cramped), 30mm x 20mm (better spacing), 30mm x 30mm (deeper, but for no clear benefit) and 40mm x 30mm (too thinly-spread.) I decided in the end to select 30mm x 20mm for my infantry bases as the most pleasing to my eye. Other sizes could be used elsewhere and keep the 30mm frontage, with the depth varying to fit vehicles on.

Clockwise from top-left, this shows a Universal Carrier, a (massive) Bedford 3-ton truck, a Matilda tank, and a Jeep. The 40mm deep base appears to be adequate for all tanks and lorries, but the 30mm deep base is more suited to things like Jeeps on 'Recon' unit stands.

Here's a varied bunch - Clockwise from top left, I've made a 30mm x 30mm HQ stand for each division by using individual command figures, Command-Group models (usually a brass-hat type poring over a map at a table) and a pup-tent. Next is the dismantled components of a 25pdr field gun, which also comes with a trailer and three crewmen (a loader, a man pointing/pulling a lanyard, and an officer observing through binoculars.) The gun also comes with a circular firing platform. Next round is a smaller Morris 3/4-ton truck, then a pair of armoured recon units: the Dingo Scout Car and the Humber Armoured Car.

I wanted the tanks in my Eighth Army to be a jumble of all models and types, as the historical army appears to have all-sorts of varied tank types, none of which were anything other than 'adequately comparable' to most of the German ones in combat, and usually mechanically unreliable. Clockwise from top left, we have here a Valentine (with sand-skirts), an M3 Lee, a Crusader II and a Grant. Turrets come separately and get glued in place, and all will suitably fit a 40mm-deep base.

Next, I'll detail my painting plans for my first formation, an Infantry Division.