Signals Base
In If the Lord Spares Us, signals bases are used to link command bases with units, allowing commanders to extend their command and control range. Every commander (except Arab commanders) is allocated a number of signal bases depending on their leadership quality. I used one of Pendraken’s generic miniatures – a hatless signaller with a field telephone (WW2) – as a figure for a signals base. Being
bareheaded, he gave me
the idea of having a
tent to shield him
from the blazing
desert sun. I
made a tent of
PVA-soaked
tissue paper
over a frame
of wire, first
drilling holes
in the MDF
base for the
wire uprights. I
modelled some
grout to look like
stones holding down
the canvas. I added a
simple carrying box – just
a piece of balsa wood with
modelling-putty handles.
Originally, I had planned to use 25mm as the base width of all my
bases for my WW1 Middle East project. Consequently, I mounted
my signaller on a 25mm round base. However, with my change of
plan to downscale to 20mm as the basic base width (see Post 7) I
could have gone with 20mm round signals bases. But having
already mounted my signaller on a 25mm round base, it was
tempting to stick with the larger size for signals bases – if only to
allow space to get creative, modelling the odd vignette or two.
ABOVE The beginnings of my signal base: a wire
frame glued into holes in a 25mm round MDF base.
POST 023
023
