Skipper | 27 Apr 2009 4:53 p.m. PST |
Should be Skirmishing I'm really thinking about trying this scale for skirmish gaming the old west, WWII, modern military, zombie horror, and sci-fi. I know the figures will be small, but the terrain ought to be great looking and much easier to store. Anyone else had these thoughts? I figure I can build up massive terrain that could be preset
.a large cemetary, front street in dodge, a hamlet in europe, etc. The figures would need to be mounted on washers or such to allow them to be easily handled and would be of much less detail than normal skirmish figures. But ranges should be more realistic. Mayybe I'm just crazy
or just need to clear out some space, but thats what I'm thinking at the moment. |
Smokey Roan | 27 Apr 2009 4:58 p.m. PST |
Go for it. I do 6mm Kaiju/Monster Island and Micro Armor WWII |
GreatScot72 | 27 Apr 2009 5:00 p.m. PST |
I've had the same thought for a small, travelling skirmish set! I actually played a small game (doh!) of 40K in this way. As long as everyone can clearly tell what is what (color coded bases help) it shoudn't be a problem. Oh, and the figures were mounted on 1/3 inch mini bingo chips. All in all it was fun, and as you say, the ranges felt believable. I would really like to try it again with a ruleset that depicts firefights more accurately (IMO). Jason |
Skipper | 27 Apr 2009 5:13 p.m. PST |
I'm considering rescaling Eric Holtz Whitewash buildings. I've already experiemented some, and its pretty dificult, but the final product is pretty good. He also makes the roman village and city too. I think I could build a number of different streets permanently mounted. I'm going to try the terrain first before anything else. I've already switched to 6mm for my massed games (ancients, Napoleonics, ACW, and WWII) Travelling is also a problem for me as I generally play about 45 miles from home and the amount of space in a vehicle is very limiting. |
whoa Mohamed | 27 Apr 2009 5:13 p.m. PST |
My 1/285th vietnam stuff is single mounted for skirmish and also stand mounted for games like From the Delta to the DMZ. I use N scale GFI Minifigs for ambush alley and Force on force Modern
.Mikey |
Warbeads | 27 Apr 2009 5:25 p.m. PST |
Bingo chips are a blessing. Go for it! Gracias, Glenn |
Legion 4 | 27 Apr 2009 8:17 p.m. PST |
All I do is 6mm Sci-fi(G/W-F/W, DRM, E/W, GZG, mostly)
And you'd be surprised how much detail you can get on 6mm figs
And check out the PulpWWII site pulpwar2.com
it may be right up your(dark)alley
Plus check out the the Tactical Command site, link
it is ground zero for 6mm Sci-fi
AFVs, Infantry, Aircraft & terrain
|
Acharnement | 27 Apr 2009 9:15 p.m. PST |
Sure, go ahead. I played 40K with Epic 6mm figures because I had very little space to play and store. It worked fine as long as I didn't sneeze. |
Thomas Nissvik | 27 Apr 2009 11:26 p.m. PST |
I'm working on it. picture These are Adler WW2 Germans, they are on a LOTR Cavalry base for reference. |
Martin Rapier | 28 Apr 2009 1:48 a.m. PST |
I've done 1:1 figure:ground scale gaming with 1/300th scale stuff (so 12" = 100 yards). Looks great and makes you realise just how far modern weapons can fire! I used group/team basing though rather than individual basing (apart from special fiures like FOs, snipers etc). |
Ssendam | 28 Apr 2009 2:18 a.m. PST |
Sounds interesting
For 40K would you keep all the distances the same and just use smaller figures? also
if each figure had a big base you could sort of use it as an indicator of unit command distance. |
Twilight | 28 Apr 2009 5:05 a.m. PST |
I'm going through the same phase. As a matter of fact, I just bought a set of Epic 40K Marines, characters and Eldar for 6mm sci-fi. I've also picked up 6mm elves, goblins and armored humans from Baccus to recreate War of the Ring on a smaller scale; the left overs will be used for skirmish fantasy. |
Canuckistan Commander | 28 Apr 2009 6:07 a.m. PST |
You people are all quite mad
.quite mad indeed! |
Andy ONeill | 28 Apr 2009 6:14 a.m. PST |
20mil is the one true scale for ww2 skirmish. I thought everyone knew that. I feel 6mil is too small for skirmish and practicalities of individual figure handling/finding out-trump anomalies in figure to ground scale. |
commanderroj | 28 Apr 2009 6:16 a.m. PST |
You people are all quite mad
.quite mad indeed!<q/>Isnt it generally considered that there is only a thin dividing line between madness and genius? And most geniuses are considered so in their own time
|
Andy Skinner | 28 Apr 2009 7:06 a.m. PST |
I played one Stargrunt II game once with 6mm figures. I should have made a picture of the whole thing, because the whole board was pretty small. link I didn't have much experience with the game. Maybe I should try Fast and Dirty with it, using centimeters. I played a game with my son once using Epic tyranids and space marines on a terrain board I made on a piece of foam core. It is a great board, with a dry stream running down the middle, and various bits to move around and place different places. I don't remember what rules we used. andy |
Yonderboy | 28 Apr 2009 7:07 a.m. PST |
I just held a couple 6mm skirmish games last week, photos pending. Here are some photos of the figures I used: link I base most figures on a 1/4 inch piece of refrigerator magnet that I cut out using a $3 USD craft store hole punch. My game board is 2 ft by 4 ft with a gridded road scheme. I use a number of card-craft and scratchbuilt buildings, with cheap cardboard gift boxes to fill in space. Game play from the games I've played has been easy. The figures aren't as fiddly as you'd think. Unless you are dealing with a true rules lawyer, scale-sensitive factors like line of sight and limit of close contact aren't much harder to delineate (i.e. precision issues) than in the larger scales. I have found that cost isn't the only advantage. The number of individuals involved in the game can be huge, and is limited mostly by your patience for rolling dice. Moreover, the ability to capture more terrain on the same board changes game play. With 20 city blocks to cover, strategy becomes key and players must become more aware of routes and defensive positions on a large scale. Just ask my 10 year old friend who had his SWAT team wiped out by zombies coming from 8 side roads at once. There are a few disadvantages that you should know. First, it is difficult to tell regular troops from specials. I help avoid this with special paint jobs and markings on bases. Also, the board can look a little bare, even with 80 troops spread across it. Finally, it is not impossible but is very difficult to have action take place in buildings as well as out of buildings due to fiddliness in representation and precision issues. All said, I love using 6mm for skirmish. It has worked for me, and I hope you have fun. |
Smokey Roan | 28 Apr 2009 7:16 a.m. PST |
Were were Legion 4, Yonderboy and the rest here when I posted a "Show your 6mm stuff" thread? That all looks great! Thanks! ;) |
Martin Rapier | 28 Apr 2009 8:12 a.m. PST |
"You people are all quite mad
.quite mad indeed!" I had a 6mm Napoleonic set back in the 1970s which required individual basing. Even with youthful eyesight and deft fingers, that was a real drag to play. I would strongly recomment doing 1:1 figure:ground scale gaming, even if just once. A 6x4 table represents 600 yards x 400 yards in 1/300th, quite big enough for a full company assault in NWE, and it gives a really good impression of actual weapon ranges. You do need rules which severely punish bunching up however. |
Skipper | 28 Apr 2009 8:16 a.m. PST |
I've built two of the /whitewash City buildings at 7.5mm scale so far this morning and now I really like the way its turning out. They are slightly large in scale, but they still look fine. Yonderboy: I love the idea for mounting used by yonderboy and will have to mimic it. I think it might be superior to my washer mounting system. Nice job. I was also wondering about the Riot range from irregular. Now I'm pretty sure I'll order some and a couple of their posh packs. Did you have to separate the riot figures from bases or were they cast indivdually? Can't wait to get some time to paint this weekend. Skipper |
Weasel | 28 Apr 2009 10:28 a.m. PST |
The thought has occured to me, but it'd be hard for me to pick out which guy has the SAW, which guy is the squad leader etc |
Inkpaduta | 28 Apr 2009 10:40 a.m. PST |
Can you find Western figures in 6mm? I know you can find Indians and cavalry but Gunfighters, Sheriffs and Cowboys
? |
Yonderboy | 28 Apr 2009 12:47 p.m. PST |
Inkpaduta, you should try: irregularminiatures.co.uk They have a lot of 6mm; not so muc cowboys, but something from their Civil War range may stand in nicely. |
Yonderboy | 28 Apr 2009 12:48 p.m. PST |
smokey – sorry. I must have missed that thread. Busy coupla weeks
But I sure will find it now. |
blacksmith | 28 Apr 2009 1:01 p.m. PST |
Well, I do skirmish in 10mm which I think it's better than 6mm as being almost the same size it gets a lot of detail. You can see many pics of my Fantasy skirmishes in my blog: javieratwar.blogspot.com Scroll down |
Angel Barracks | 28 Apr 2009 1:15 p.m. PST |
I only play 6mm and play with a ratio of 1 miniature = 1 man. These means my naps games have hundreds of figures which is only hundreds of men, in nap terms this is a skirmish. AAR here: link Michael. |
Andy Skinner | 28 Apr 2009 1:53 p.m. PST |
One thought about how hard it is to see things: You aren't at the same distances you might be for a regular skirmish game. You can sit down to a large skirmish, with the whole battlefield pretty close. That does help make up for the size. And even if your basing is individual, I think you want rules where the whole unit acts, and maybe measuring from the leader. I've also done the refrigerator magnets / hole punch thing. Mine was for space marines and genestealers. I drew Space Hulk setups on graph paper, and used a cookie sheet underneath (for the magnets). andy |
Microbiggie | 28 Apr 2009 6:57 p.m. PST |
6mm is a great scale for skirmishing because you have a much more accurate sense of the terrain. I use Toofatlardies' I Ain't Been Shot Mum rules which have a ground scale that is practically 1/300, so it really looks correct. Their TW&T rules are geared for even smaller scale and would work just as well in 6mm. Below is a link to one of the winter Russian front games I ran a few months ago. We got a lot done on a 4X6 table and used a wide variety of weapon types at differnt ranges and effectiveness. link |
Legion 4 | 28 Apr 2009 7:53 p.m. PST |
For you smokey and any other 6mm Sci-fi fans
my Photobucket – link Lots of albums, lots of pics, almost all 6mm
Save for the pics of Col. Carter wrapped in an American Flag What can I say
I'm a Patriot ! |
mmitchell | 28 Apr 2009 11:12 p.m. PST |
This is an interesting discussion. For the most part, the general consensus among the gamers I've talked to has been to use larger scales for skirmish gaming. Most of the people I've spoken to over the years seem to prefer this approach because you typically need fewer figures for skirmish gaming. Nevertheless, while we were developing Gutshot we did send the rules out to be playtested and people used a variety of scales, including 15mm, 20mm and 54mm. Even after the game was published, people told us that the rules didn't need adjusting based on game scale. The 54mm testers said they loved the way the increased size made everything seem up-close and personal, whereas the 15mm guys loved the way the ranges seemed more realistic (particularly when dealing with horses). I admit, though, no one has ever told me that they've played Gutshot with 6mm. That would definitely be interesting to see
I think the Whitewash City buildings could scale down. They are already roughly 30mm; have you tried seeing what they look like if you print them at 33% height? That should put the buildings at just a little less than 10mm in height. That might not be too oversized for your miniatures. I'm very interested in what you're doing and would love to see some photos of the games once you've run them. |
Martin Rapier | 29 Apr 2009 1:43 a.m. PST |
"You can sit down to a large skirmish, with the whole battlefield pretty close. That does help make up for the size." Yes, sitting down to play helps a lot. Otherwise you need to use distinctively marked/shaped bases. |
Skipper | 30 Apr 2009 6:00 p.m. PST |
I've scaled the Whitewash buildings down to 25% scale and so far they are looking pretty good. I'll post later when I actually have a test run or some photos. I'm about to place an order with Irregular and Navwar to get approprate figures or at least good proxies. I'm looking forward to painting them I've also used IABSM for WWII skirmish and its been pretty popular so far with the local crowd. |
Weasel | 30 Apr 2009 6:24 p.m. PST |
So I realized I have a little pile of GW space marines and orks. Not enough to actually play Epic or Dirtside, but more than plenty to play some skirmishing. FAD, 5150 or Stargrunt. Now to base the little s. Some of them are already based on the GW plastic stands, so I'll have to see if I can either dislodge them or chop them up.
I also have some GZG germans and yanks
Hm. Nuts in 6mm?
I hate you guys :)
Also a great way to "test drive" a new period. I've been thinking about doing Vietnam and this would be an easy way in
|
Andy ONeill | 30 Apr 2009 11:58 p.m. PST |
sg2 will work for vietnam and ww2. Bit more modification for ww2 but an easy conversion. |
Skipper | 15 May 2009 5:07 a.m. PST |
I've received a order from baccus and Irregular yesterday containing an assortment (sample) of ranges that woll make good cowboy and Indian figures. Baccus ranges that work include Boer Native Cav from the Colonial range AWI rebels in hat and hunting shirt ACW confederate Cavalry *mounted and dismounted) AWI Indians Wagons Irregular Cowboys Indians Settlers Civilians 18th century assorted others I've begun mounting most on washers with the specials on small nuts (this allows labeling and marking and better handling). I'll prime today and paint some as time allows. I'm planning a game next Thursday as a trial run; but so far the possibilities are there. My Whitewash city town is growing quickly too. I will be mounting the buildings on tiles and laying out streets and terrain to go with them. I've just got to figure how I want them to be modular. Hopefully a little planning will save me from repeating work again later. I'll try and post pictures later once this project really takes wings. Skipper |
wminsing | 15 May 2009 5:26 a.m. PST |
You ARE crazy, but I can't wait to see the pictures! -Will |
By John 54 | 15 May 2009 6:01 a.m. PST |
A set of rules called Gutshot
Nice. |
Skipper | 15 May 2009 9:10 a.m. PST |
OK, I've got the first 12"x12" square veiwable on our Yahoo page. Its on the front page so you don't have to join to view it. Now maybe after I get the Yard mowed, new shelves put into the pantry, wash two loads of clothes, and clean in the garage a bit I can sit down and paint a bit tonight. The link is link I'd like to get the next block done tonight, but we'll see. The first still needs flocking and texturing the street, not to mention adding brush and a few trees here and there,
Skipper |
Andy Skinner | 15 May 2009 10:48 a.m. PST |
After this thread started, I painted up a bunch of individually mounted Imperial Guard and Tyranids. At first I was concerned that I just wasn't going to be able to tell the figures apart. But I set them out on a board last night, and if I sit down to the game and have enough light, the effect shouldn't be much different than standing around my ping-pong table. Just a whole lot smaller and closer. The board is a a dry riverbed with some hills and cliffs, all done up on a piece of foam core. When using centimeters instead of inches, it should represent a pretty large area. If I remember correctly, the sheets are 20"x30", which is around 51 cm x 76 cm. So I guess I've got the equivalent of a 6'x4' board. I'd never do a board that size in anything but modular. My wife feigned interest very nicely yesterday, so maybe we'll play a game soon (and take pictures). Although I love Shock Force, I want more squad-based rules. Although FaD deserves a try, I think we'll try Forge of War. andy |
ScoutJock | 15 May 2009 10:53 a.m. PST |
"Save for the pics of Col. Carter wrapped in an American Flag What can I say
I'm a Patriot" And here I thought she was Canadian
|
new guy | 15 May 2009 11:12 a.m. PST |
The organization I've been assigned to work for uses an excellent set of proprietary skirmish rules based on the capabilities of the soldiers they train for all their games using 5/6mm figures for WW2 and Modern gaming. Here is a picture from a WW2 game from last year in progress: picture I think W. Mohamad knows the guy who builds the terrain and paints the figures. You can also see the level of detail in this picture: picture For fun we do 40K games in the same scale using the standard rules so the distances and scale look right, plus you can have very large games without the overcrowded look the larger figures cause on a crowded table. Guy |
Thorfin1 | 21 May 2009 3:48 p.m. PST |
Late on this again but I too am an advocate of 6mm skirmish. I regularly play with a few figures per side in a box file with drop in terrain. Sometimes I "spread out" onto and 18 inch square board although I am gradually amassing a 10mm collection for this board. The box file is brilliant for travel though. I also have a miniature set of Space Hulk using epic terminators and pendraken aliens and also use these for a little known GW game called Lost Patrol. I love my 28mm's too but they are expensive to buy, time consuming to paint and need too much time to set up a lot of the time – 6mm is hard to beat for convenience – if I didn't have them I would play way less games. |
Skipper | 26 May 2009 6:41 a.m. PST |
OK, I've finally decided to create a photobucket account. In it you will find a series of pictures of the town in various stages of preparation and a few shots of the recently dipped 6mm cowboys (each with a mounted and dismounted pose). link Hope you enjoy. I've got a lot of work still to do, but the set is at least playable for now. Skipper |
Thorfin1 | 29 May 2009 3:55 p.m. PST |
That looks great Skipper – inspired to do more myself now. Enjoy |
Smokey Roan | 29 May 2009 4:00 p.m. PST |
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whoa Mohamed | 10 Jun 2009 12:52 p.m. PST |
Yes I know Bill he works for a Company Called OP Center LLC. They provide the terrain and figures to train up Bn and higher HQs staffs and Co Commanders prior to deployment. I commisioned him to build me a replica of the US Embasy in Saigon in 1968 also a HUE street for some Vietnam Games in 6mm I hope to put on. I also use 1/285th scale figures to train Squad and section leaders proper deployment and to Use Imeadiate action Sops to deal with various situations the stuff is small enuf to fit in a computer bag terrain and all. I can lay it out and begin to train in seconds anywhere in theater its light and wears well and the kids can't get enuf of it . and when i take them to a range they know bang on what they need to do to clear a trench or building. Its a very good piece of training equipment
.mikey |
Dave Crowell | 11 Jun 2009 9:03 a.m. PST |
I do 6mm Caveman skirmish quite often. My figures are based in small groups of 1-3 on a base. 6mm skirmish is quite doable, |
Ijumpajav | 11 Jun 2009 11:33 a.m. PST |
Dave, Who makes a 6mm cavemen? Thanks |
blacksmith | 30 Jan 2011 4:51 p.m. PST |
Some Epic stuff on individual bases: link |
Battlescale | 22 Feb 2011 8:19 a.m. PST |
I'm working on individually based 6mm (Adler) picture for skirmish type gaming. I'm using small colour coded dots on the rear of the stans to distinguish units etc. I don't currently have nuch room to play due to renovation work in the house so 6mm skirmish is ideal for me at the momnet
.. Until the loft gets converted and then it'll be time for a BIG table
. Someday. |