Are basing bits tournament legal? What the event rules say

Yes. At every event whose rules we read for this article, decorating the base your model stands on is allowed, and several say so in writing. What organisers regulate is the size and shape of the base, whether it is finished, and whether the model on it is the right model. Basing bits change none of those. Here is what each rule document says, with a link to it, and the four checks to make before you pack your army.

Short answer

Yes, on the correct size base

What is regulated

Base size and shape, a finished base, the model itself

The real risks

Extra height, overhang, covered rim markings

Rules read

November 2026. Your event pack has the final word

What does "tournament legal" mean for a base?

Event rules care about three things, because all three affect the game:

• The base is the right size and shape. Distances are measured from the base, so a bigger or smaller one changes how far a model reaches and how many fit around an objective.
• The base is finished. Most painting standards count the base. A bare black disc can cost you points or get you sent to the paint table.
• The model is the model. Events run by a game's publisher usually want that publisher's miniatures, and many want conversions approved ahead of time.

What goes on top of the base, around the model's feet, is decoration. No rule document we read bans it.

Why are basing bits the safe way to make an army yours?

Swap a head or a weapon and you have a conversion, and some events want to see conversions before the day. Glue a skull pile and a broken flagstone beside the same model and you have changed nothing an organiser checks: the miniature is exactly as its maker made it, on the base it came with. The army still looks like no one else's.

That is the point of our basing bits. They are sized to sit inside the rim of a 25mm to 60mm base, beside a 28mm or 32mm figure, without adding to its footprint.

What do the rules say, game by game?

We read each document below in November 2026. Each row says in plain words what the document says about bases, and links to it so you can check the wording yourself.

The one line quoted above is the clearest: the publisher's own flagship event requires its own miniatures and, in the same sentence, leaves basing out of that requirement.

What should you check before an event?

1. The base is the size and shape the rules list

   Use the base the model came with, or the size in the game's base size list. Bits go on that base. They never replace it with something bigger. Our base size guide lists the sizes we sell.

2. Nothing hangs over the rim

   Measuring is done from the edge of the base. A branch or a plank that sticks out past it invites an argument every time a tape measure comes out, and it chips in the carry case.

3. The model isn't lifted far above its normal height

   This is the one real risk. A model standing on a tall rock can see, and be seen, over cover that would normally hide it. Events that mention it want a model's size kept close to the standard kit. A slab or a low rock under one foot is fine. A 30mm pillar under an infantry model is not, so save tall pieces for behind or beside the figure.

4. The base is finished and the rim is clear

   Texture, a drybrush and a painted rim meet every painting standard in the table. If your game marks facing or a firing arc on the rim, keep those marks visible.

One more for licensed games: keep other people's logos and characters off the base. Rocks, rubble, skulls and plants belong to nobody.

Does a finished base score points?

In Warhammer 40,000 matched play it does. The event companion gives each player 10 victory points for an army painted to Battle Ready standard, and the events that define that standard include the base. Ten points decides close games. Sand, a wash, a drybrush and a couple of bits per base is the quickest honest way to get there: the method is in how to base miniatures.

What about display bases and best-army prizes?

Many events give a prize for the best painted army, and bases are judged as part of it. A theme carried across every base, with a centrepiece base for the general, is what judges remember.

Who wrote this?

We are Scale Command, a two-person hobby shop in Perth, Western Australia. We design our own resin basing bits and print them to order. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by any game publisher or event organiser named here. Game names belong to their owners and are used only to identify the rules we read.