"I can't decide on a scale!!!" Topic

I'm stuck in a rut of indecisiveness. I want to build some armies for gaming during the interwar, specifically, RCW (although not really considered interwar) and SCW but can not decide between 15mm and 25-28mm.

Some factors to my problem are:

The lack of "expert" knowledge on the style of warfare and a desire for games that provide a period "feel." I have been reading any rules I can get my hands on and am not set on any in particular.

I am also subject to relocation so any locally predominant gaming scale is not a necessarily final deciding factor either.

I'm not too shabby of a painter; and enjoy detail on a mini.

I know that there is definitely a difference in individual figure cost but by the time you base multiple 15mm figures on a base, the price about equals out.

A big problem I have is the variety of belligerents per war. What kind of limiting factors will I have for each (based upon scale choice)? Is there enough variety in the offerings on the market to keep me fat, dumb, and happy? I do, after all, want to take advantage of variety. This is what I like about the period: all the turmoil!

Anyway, help a fellow gamer out. In your opinion, post some pros and cons. I'm all ears.

Dave

Go with 28mm -- there are loads of great figures available and you aren't talking about large scale battles.

You like to paint – use a canvas that will show off your work…28mm!

Best,
Tony

Tony Reidy
Wargames Factory
wargamesfactory.com

PS If you find you are missing certain units from your chosen conflict, you can always post a submission to our Liberty and Union League!
wargamesfactory.com/league

;-)

28mm!!! Brigade games, anglican (?), Copplestone castings, Some artisan pulp figs, and of course bob Murch's Pulp figures for characters. The Brigade games and Copplestone stuff are top notch! Check out their websites!

Peter Pig do 34 different packs for SCW and 143 for WW1 / RCW. I don't think any 28mm range can improve on that.

We game RCW in 28mm because we like the size and fig detail. However, 28's fill up a table very quickly and cavalry flanking actions are near impossible.

15's are too small for my eyes, but they give a better feel of scale on the battlefield.

And as Mike says, there is a far better selection in 15mm. And if you want to use vehicles, the cost savings is significant.

Do them in both scales, and enjoy life.

Flip a coin to decide which to start first.

Compromise and go with 20mm.

Go with the scale people around you has.

Having just painted my first 15mm figure link after 30+ years of 25/28mm I would go 15mm.

Detail is good enough for quick painting to show the details and they sit well on the table in block and at the same spend as 25mm they look heaps better.

Last advantage is if the figures are not present a poor conversion at 15mm is hidden better than at 25mm

Andrew
kings-sleep.blogspot.com

Collect the scale that your friends or fellow club members are currently gaming RCW/SCW in. If you are going to supply EVERYTHING (troops, vehicles, trains, terrain, etc.) then do whatever the heck you want. The guys at local club game SCW in 28mm and it looks really nice on the table, and those figures can do extra duty in Pulp games. :)

Personally I'm a confirmed fan of 28m for WW2 and 20mm for moderns. However, at our club, Greg Blake of CannonFodder Miniatures regularly plays SCW in 20mm and the games he plays are quite grand scale with more than a hundred figures aside; quite costly if you're trying to do this in 28mm.

Having said all that, Broadsword's advice is spot on, pick the scale that your gaming companions play and that you already have the terrain and vehicles for. This will get you off the mark and rolling dice much quicker!

If I was going for this I'd go with 28mm. There is a lot of pretty stuff about!

One of the things which attracted me to the SCW were all the goofy home-made armoured vehicles. These somewhat more readily available in 15mm than 28s. I also like big battles, which 15s generally work better for, and the vehicles and guns are vastly cheaper. If you ar emore interested in skirmish with few vehicles/guns then 28 might be a better bet.

I am torn by this very same decision. I think you will find more variety in 15mm, while 20mm is also a good option, especially if you go with some of reasonably priced plastic sets out there. I can't tell you what to do because I haven't even made up my own mind yet.

For WW2 nothing beats 20mm, the sky's the limit. Lead, Plastic, diecast prepaints you name it.

It appears that 28mm has the larger vote (and not by just 13mm!)

I like Top Gun's suggestion but economics and my dramatically slow painting habits preclude doing 2 scales for the era.

Mike S. has a good point about Peter Pig's number of offerings but, between the various makers of 28s, I think that they can be matched.

Maybe I'll end up purchasing some sample figures; after painting up a pack, or 4, my choice will become clearer.

As for SCW, I will probably try out Anglian for 28s and The Late Queen for 15s. With RCW, I will give Brigade and Peter Pig a go.

Dave

You could go with 40mm because smaller 28mm is not a scale it is a size and it is going out of fashion quick.
In the seventies people did not demand much quality castings so pumpkin heads at 28mm with no place for anatomical truth were common and people accepted these mistakes till recently.
Today manufacturers are shifting to 40mm or have a range in this scale-1/48,it is best to convey detail and they paint up much better.
Lusitanus

3 mm. Same battles, easy to paint, terrain a doddle, cheap, looks great and you can carry them all in you pocket. No contest.