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So, having decided to get out of Warhammer entirely (bar painting a few units and LotR SBG), I find myself trawling the internet in search of a ruleset with which to fulfill my wargaming cravings, specifically historical gaming, which has always been my primary interest. My search led me to Impetus, and as I sit there cutting up small bits of cardboard with which to try the basic rules out (fixed unit bases are fantastic for proxying), I wonder what scale I will eventually buy my models at. Now, being a lowly former Warhammer player, I find myself naturally gravitating towards cutting out the 28 mm base sizes. Then I wonder just why I'm doing so. Now, here lies my problem. I have no idea which scale to eventually buy my models at. In desperation (well, sort of.) I turn to the Dakka community for help.

In your opinion, which scale (out of 15 mm and 28 mm) is best, and why?

I will list my own pro's and con's below

28mm

Pro's - I can definately paint this scale, and it's what I'm used to. It looks pretty impressive as well.

Con's - Is there really any need for me to continue using 28mm based purely on the fact that's what Warhammer uses? I don't think so.

15mm

Pro's - The armies looks fantastic on the tabletop - like actual armies rather than the small forces you put on 28mm bases.

Con's - 15mm isn't big at all. That's about the width of a fingertip, and that's just one man. Imagine how irritating painting a whole army of the little buggers would be...

I'll make this a poll as well, see what the general consensus is.

I dont think there is a "best" scale. Its all up to what you personally enjoy , and also very importantly , what your game club plays the most.

Also i dont think 15mm are hard to paint either they are easily done with careful dry brush + wash + pick out the cloth and shield and such.

'What my gaming club uses' is no object, as I don't currently have one. Your point about painting is fair enough though.

What about cost and availability? Presumably it's cheaper to make a 15 mm army, but what sort of variety is there in the various model ranges (and the poses of said models)?

Depends what period you are playing.

For WW2 and Moderns I use 20mm. For ACW and Anglo-Afghan War and Medievals I use 28mm... For napoleonics I use 15mm.


By the way, neither 15mm or 28mm are scales... they are sizes. Scales would be 1/100th and 1/56th (or there abouts).

Oh and dont forget 18mm, 10mm, 6mm and 40mm.

For modern/sci-fi stuff (and, to be picky, even a lot of historicals) smaller scales means you don't have to reduce weapon ranges quite so much, which helps deal with the 40k issue that apparently rocket-power bolters can only shoot the equivalent of a few car-lengths. However, diminishing range tends to be necessary evil to some extent in most games to keep table sizes small and encourage movement over sitting and shooting at each other.

I might be a relative minority here, but my personal preference is 6mm (1/285 or 1/300) miniatures.

If you think an army made of 15mm miniatures look like a "real army", wait till you see a 6mm army!

http://www.tabletoptitans.com/reports/0047.php


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and I have to add that I can paint a whole army of 6mm miniatures way faster than I can paint even a squad of 28mm.

It can sound kind of counter-intuitive at first... but the thing is that at such a small scale, you can skip a lot of details and paint in an "impressionist" fashion.

As long as you paint the distinctive details of each unit (such as the shields and plumes of hoplites and legionaries, the X-shaped chest belts of napoleonic Brits, etc), it tricks the human eye into assuming that the rest of the details are there too, even when they aren't!

I think an important factor to consider as well is terrain. Almost all the terrain I have is for 15mm so I am very reluctant to stray outside of 15 mm now. (But I would feel the same way if my terrain was for 28mm or 6mm so that is not saying what is "best" just what is "best for me".

I also think that terrain becomes more important for the look of the game the smaller the minis get

15 mm is great if you want the feeling of playing with a real army. At 6mm everything gets a little too small (at least for my tastes. But if given half a reason I'd have a Space Marine Epic force in an instant).

I already play a couple of 28mm games (40k and Malifaux). They're better for the skirmish to midsized game categories. I know 40k has it's Apocalypse expansion, but that's way too much plastic/time for me.

An added bonus/problem, depending on the player, is that most 15mm models are either one piece or only a few pieces, while 28 mm and be converted and are multi-piece.

infinite_array wrote:

I already play a couple of 28mm games... They're better for the skirmish to midsized game categories..

I beg to differ...

http://www.guildwargamers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=206&t=12538

But see! You only prove my point.

That looks like a skirmish to me. Approx. ~400 models on the table total. Reading the historical background, I would debate that you would need 18,000 to 30,000 men on the table if you wanted to actually feel as if you were leading an army into battle. That game also involved 4 players (so a regular game would be half the model count) and I bet it took a while to get through the game.

I'm going to guess that's at 28mm. Imagine - you could have twice the men at 15mm, and 4 (or more) times the models at 6mm!

No 1/72? But you get so many cheap models that way! (albeit a lot less detailed than 28mm)

kenshin620 wrote:No 1/72? But you get so many cheap models that way! (albeit a lot less detailed than 28mm)

LOL! Really?

Personally, in regards to Historical and 40k, there is nothing wrong with 28mm. The detail on the figures is enjoyable.

However, the scope and scale of 6mm allows me and my friends to play whole battles and not engagements! Which to us is a little more enjoyable but again it comes to preference.


15mm is a happy medium between 28 - 6mm

Whoa, what kind of 1/72 vehicle is that? Is that in plastic?

kenshin620 wrote:Whoa, what kind of 1/72 vehicle is that? Is that in plastic?

Its an Israeli Nagmachon, an AIFV based on the Centurion hull. That model is in resin and made by Cromwell.

To be honest, just about any 1/72 kit is better quality than most 28mm models. The best 28mm models are probably those put out by Imprint Models and JTFM. While both are superb they dont have the level of detal that Milicast and Cromwell have.

Ah interesting

I guess I am very ignorant of the 1/72 industry then. I only recall lowish quality cheap plastics like HaT (they're not bad, just more on the side of plastic army men quality)

I love 1/72 because you can get good prices and good quality for WW2 and modern stuff. In a pinch, you can also roll it in with 15mm without looking too terrible (20mm v 15mm).

15mm is also good as it enjoys wide support and paints fast.

Personally why isn't 6mm an option as well? For those that like it epic?

Speaking as a long time Ancients/historical player, you will find opponents in any scale and there is no reason why should not have several armies in different scales. I myself have the following armies:

6mm
Russian 1812 Napoleonics

15mm
ACW Union
Old Kingdom Egyptians
Incas
Early Imperial Romans
Napoleonic Saxon 1809-1812 (sold)

25mm
Aztecs
Wars of the Roses

15mm is more popular than 25mm for Ancients/Mediaeval in the UK.

6mm armies are good for playing in a small area, or for playing really huge battles. My 6mm army will allow me to field the entire Russian Army of Borodino.

25mm is great for uniform details. It is the popular scale for people who enjoy the painting/modelling size as much as or even more than the playing side. You need more space to fight a battle the same size as with 15mm.

15mm is an excellent scale if you are not too worried about painting details, but you want to be able to pick out different troop types easily. It is cheap and quick to paint, especially using magic dip.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go down the 15mm route. Thanks for everyone's comments.

Also, KK, Can I ask what ruleset you use for Ancient Historicals?

Have played and own all scales. For me it is a matter of feel and look that you like. In historical, you usually represent things on a certain scale say 100 to 1, 50 to 1, etc.

So if you like your napoleonic battalion to be 12 figs then you can represent brigades with 30+ figs and divisions ++.
If that looks and feels right for the time period and rule set go for it.

The one problem I see with the larger scales are the ambitious gamers who try to do a borodino-like re-enactment in a scale and rule set that would require a gym floor but squeeze it on a 6' x 12' table or something like that.