I agree with Smilin' Dave, I'd hate to be the Japanese player in the scenario your suggesting. The Russians consistently thrashed them in Manchuria as they had vastly superior armaments. A Chi-ha is no match for a T-70 much less a T-34 or any of Stalins super nasty heavy tanks.
The only reason they gave the Allies a problem in the pacific was they forced us to dig each and every one of them out of some very, very extensive fortifications scattered over hundreds of islands. Add to that being in some very inhospitable terrain that Europeans & Americans simply weren't acclimated to (
IIRC, non-combat casualties were much, much higher in the pacific due to things like malaria and such). But I digress!
Yes, you can definitely find plenty of 15mm WW2 minatures/models out there.
Old Glory even has a big sale going on right now (40% off! w00t!), and even when not on sale their prices are a little bit cheaper than Battlefronts. Be quick! That sale ends this week, midnight Eastern Standard Time this Thursday to be exact. My personal favorite are Quality Casting's vehicles, available via
Old Glory 15s. Do note that both Old Glory & Quality Castings vehicles are true 15mm, and as such will look slightly smaller aside Battlefront's stuff.
Infantry wise, I really do think Battlefront's figures are the best, hands down. Keep in mind these figs *are* tiny (15mm!), and as such, any detail is going to be a bit hamfisted when super duper zoomed in. When viewing 12" away, and even more so several feet away, such details are unnoticible. Thier infantry packs also contain everything you need to build whatever squad/platoon/company you're putting together. Also, like the vehicles, Battlefront's infantry is a bit beefier than Old Glory & Quality Castings (both of whom have okay/decent infantry, and great for all the extra poses).
I also really like what I've seen coming from
Resistant Roosters. The figs look gorgeous and from those that have seen them first hand, they match Battlefront's scale. And, something I think you'll appreciate, they have Japanese and will soon have Soviet Naval troops. Another fave infantry mfgr is
Peter Pig, whose sculpts I'd say are second only to Battlefront's, and quite possibly their equal. The facial details can be a bit soft, but (again) at this scale it's not that much of a detractor. Lots of variety, scale is comparable (kinda inbetween OG/QC and
FoW) and fairly priced. Peter Pigs vehicles are also quite nice and are the same size (even bigger) than Battlefronts, but they are expensive.
Well, that gives ya some places to look! You might also want to check out
WarWeb.com, which is an online retailer that carries both Old Glory and Quality Casting lines as well as the
FoW books (but not the miniatures). Enjoy!