Basing Guidelines for Warhammer 40,000

The question comes up quite frequently in various forums here. What size bases do my metal
terminators go on? What bases come with killa-cans? Does a daemon prince get a 40mm or
60mm base? Whether you are a new player with random eBay models, an older RT era player
getting back into the game and wondering why everyone else's terminators look "different" or a
scratch builder who doesn't want to buy a metal killa-kan to know how big to make your scratch
builds, sooner or later you want to know for certain how big the base is. Since GW, for their part,
refuses to define a base size in the codex entry for each model, instead telling us we must use the
base included with the model to be assured legality, and then packages the models with different
sized bases, I am personally left a tad confused. I have thus decided that this is exactly the kind
of nail that needs beaten to death with the hammer of wiki! (Or the Wiki of Hammer, what have
you.)
I want to divide this up by army, unit entry (ie. Tactical Marines, Dreadnought, etc.) and the list
what size base it takes.

1. Bases
2. Armies
1. Chaos Daemons
2. Chaos Space Marines
3. Eldar
4. Imperial Guard
5. Space Marines
1. HQ
2. Elite
3. Troops
4. Fast Attack
5. Heavy Support
6. Space Wolves
6. Orks
1. HQ
2. Elite
3. Troops
4. Fast Attack
5. Heavy Support
7. Tyranids
8. Witch Hunters
9. Necrons
10. Tau Empire
11. Dark Eldar
12. Grey Knights
[Edit]
Bases
Since this is 40k we are talking about, there are only 6 base sizes.
25mm (~1") - Standard base for 40k, the round that comes with marines, guardsmen, etc.
40mm - What I think of as a Terminator base. Used mostly for larger infantry.
65mm - Monsterous critter base, also used for dread's.
30mm - Small Flight Base
60mm Large Flight Base
25mm x 50mm - Biker Base
If you want to correct an error, or want to put in the size of the new offical bike/cav please do so!

[Edit]
Armies
[Edit]
Chaos Daemons
25mm: Bloodletters, Daemonettes, Plaguebearers, Pink Horrors, Flamers of Tzeentch, Heralds
on Foot, Furies of Chaos
40mm: Fiends of Slaanesh, Nurglings, Daemon Prince of Chaos
60mm: Greater Daemons, Epidemius, Bloodcrushers of Khorne, Beasts of Nurgle, Daemon
Prince of Nurgle, Daemon Prince of Chaos
Small Flying base: Screamers of Tzeentch
Cavalry Base: Flesh Hounds of Khorne, Seekers of Slaanesh,

[Edit]
Chaos Space Marines
25mm: Chaos Space Marines, Cult Marines, Havocs, Raptors, Chosen, Possessed, IC's without
bikes or terminator armour. Some summoned lesser daemons (refer to Chaos Daemon Army)
40mm: IC's with terminator armour, Terminators, Obliterators, IC's with Steed of Slaanesh,
Daemon Princes, Chaos Spawn, Some summoned lesser daemons
60mm: IC's on Juggernaut of Khorne, or Palanquin of Nurgle, Summoned Greater Daemons,
Dreadnoughts, Nurgle Daemon Prince
Small Flying Base: IC's with Disc of Tzeentch
Bike Base: IC's with Bikes, Bikers
[Edit]
Eldar
25mm : All Guardians, Rangers, Aspect Warriors, Wraithguard, Farseer, Warlock, Autarch
40mm : Avatar, Guardian Defender Support Weapon Platform
60mm : Wraithlord, War Walker, Heavy Support Weapon Platform
25mm Small Flying Base: Jetbikes, Shining Spears, Vyper
40mm Large Flying Base: Falcon, Wave Serpent, Fire Prism
[EDIT BY XEN: For the past year or so, jetbikes have been coming with the large flying base as
standard]
[Edit]
Imperial Guard
25mm: Nearly all human models, ratlings
40mm: Ogryn, Nork Deddog
60mm: Heavy Weapon Teams, Both Sentinels
Bike Base: Rough Riders, that one prone Catachan sniper
Oval: vendetta, valkyrie
[Edit]
Space Marines
The boys in blue (or whatever color) are remarkably consistent, and so have a slightly different
organization than I want to go with. Great to go with an exception first
[Edit]
HQ
All models in power armor (Basic Chapter Master, Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Master of the
Forge): 25mm
All models in Terminator armor: 40mm
All models on a bike: Bike Base
[Edit]
Elite
Dreadnought (Normal, Venerable, Ironclad): 60mm
All models in power armor (Techmarine, Servitor, Sternguard): 25mm
All models in Terminator armor: 40mm

[Edit]
Troops
Scouts and Tactical Marines: 25mm
[Edit]
Fast Attack
Assault Marines/Vanguard Vets: 25mm
Bikes: Bike Base
Landspeeder: Large Flight Base
[Edit]
Heavy Support
Devastators: 25mm
Stormraven Gunship: oval
[Edit]
Space Wolves
bike: fenrisian wolves
[Edit]
Orks
[Edit]
HQ
Boss, Big Mech, Weird Boy (Megaarmor or no): 40mm
Boss/Mech on Bike: Bike Base
Mad Dok Grotsnik: 25mm
[Edit]
Elite
Nobs, Lootas, Kommandos, Burnas, Tankbustas: 25mm
Mega Nobs: 40mm
Bikers: Bike Base
Snikrot: 40mm
[Edit]
Troops
Shoota/Slugga Boyz (Including nob): 25mm
Gretchin : 25mm
Runtherd: 25mm
[Edit]
Fast Attack
Death Kopta: Large Flight Base
Bikers: Bike Base
Storm Boyz (Including Nob) : 25mm
Zagstruk: 40mm
[Edit]
Heavy Support
Deff Dreads : 60mm
Killa Kans : 60mm
Big Gunz : Grots on 25mm, gunz don't have bases
Flash Gitz : 25mm
Captain Badrukk : 40mm
[Edit]
Tyranids
25mm : Gaunts, Hormagaunts, Genestealers (both types), Spore Mine
40mm : Broodlord, Warrior (all types), Tyrant Guard, Lictor, deathleaper, Ripper Swarm (all
types), Zoanthrope, venomthrope, doom of malantai, Ravener, Biovore, Hive Guard
60mm : Hive Tyrant, Carnifex, old one eye, pyrovore, swarmlord
25mm Small Flying Base: Gargoyles
oval: trygon, mawloc,
unknown: tyrannofex, harpy, mycetic spore (60mm?), parasite of mortrex, tervigon,
Forgeworld 40mm: Mieotic Spore
large flying: malanthrope
oval: harridan
[Edit]
Witch Hunters
Very simple on this one.
25mm : All infantry (Sisters, Inq. and retinue etc.)
40mm : St. Celestine (Comes with 25mm and 40mm)
60mm : Penitent Engines, Grand Inquisitor Karamazov


Ok, thats all I remember off the top of my head. I am still working on exact formatting, but if
you know the base sizes of an army, please update this as you can!

[Edit]
Necrons
25mm: Lord, warriors, Pariahs, Flayed Ones
40m: C'tan, scarabs
Large Flight Base: Destroyers, Heavy Destroyers, Monolith
Forgeworld Oval: Tomb Stalker
[Edit]
Tau Empire
25mm: Fire Warriors, Kroot, Pathfinders, Ethereals, honor guards, Stealth Suits, Shadowsun,
Kroot hounds, and Vespids
40mm: Battlesuits, Krootox, Aun'va, Spotter and Broadsides
small flying base: Drones (all types)
Large Flying base: Skyray, Devilfish, Hammerhead, and Piranha
Forgeworld
60mm: great Knarloc
[Edit]
Dark Eldar
list in progress (as models are released) (missing: ur-ghul, medusae, lhamaean, sslyth,
baron sathonyx, kheradruakh, duke sliscus, lady malys, asdrubael)
25mm: Wych, warriors, incubi, archon, Urien, Lelith, mandrakes, succubus, haemonculus,
wracks, scourge, trueborn, bloodbrides, Drazhar
small flying: reavers, hellions, beastmaster
large flying: ravager, raider, venom, talos, cronos, daes of destruction
40mm: clawed fiend, khymera, razorwing flock, grotesques
oval : razorwing jet fighter, voidraven bomber (assume)

[Edit]
Grey Knights
most are normal space marine basing rules
25mm: all power and artificer armor, all assassins, most inquisitors, henchmen, daemonhosts
40mm: all terminator armor
60mm: all "dread" models, inquisitor karamazov
oval: stormraven gunship