"15mm fantasy less popular than 15mm scifi ?" Topic

It looks like fantasy gaming in 15mm is not receiving as much attention as 15mm science fiction nowadays. Or maybe I am just looking in the wrong discussion board… ;)

I think it's just that 15mm is hot right now with lots of new and very good stuff coming out. So lots of NEWS to talk about and lots of excitement attracting new converts. It's definitely going through a growth spurt.

My guess is that the established base of 15mm fantasy gaming is much larger than 15mm sci-fi. Just not as much new stuff to talk about.

I think BooneC is right. 15mm Sci Fi is bombarding the market with new products on a monthly basis. This generates it's own demand. Plus, if you don't fancy the miniatures or tanks that have been released by X this month, next months products by Y are just what you are looking for.

The market is there ready to be tapped – I for one would like to see some new well sculpted 15mm Fantasy, beyond the usual hackneyed poses and High Elves or belligerant hedgehogs. WiffWaff did some fantastic test greens – I particularly liked the giant.

In particular I would like to see Moorcock/Conanesque fanatsy humans and monsters.

Cheers
Mark

I think that since 15mm has been so well established that people are used to seeing product. Just last year Splintered Light was releasing new product almost monthly and really stirred up the market.

15mm Sci-Fi has always existed GZG has had a great line for the longest time and then suddenly Zombies were all the rage (forgive the pun).

I think the blurring of Zombie, Alien, Sci-Fi and PA games are creating a generic "play it all" genre that the newest in Sci-Fi is really noticable.

What is interesting is what would you call this genre of zombie, alien, sci-fi and post-apocolyptic. Is it all Sci-Fi or are horror and modern and sci-fi blurring into one.

Mark,
Have you seen the new Dark Elves and Orcs (new this summer)under 15mm at the Splintered Light website? I will be adding to those lines and Ben Siens is working on some Dark Elf cavalry at the moment. I also have some new undead coming out that Faron Betchley has been working on.

Here is the thing--15mm high elves and belligerent hedgehogs sell. Off the beaten path 15mm fantasy does not so much. I am still committed to doing fun and hopefully unique stuff but it is more a labor of love and because I want the stuff than because it is going to sell well.

I think one big difference is how the big stuff in each genre sells. The big fantasy monsters do not seem to sell nearly as well or as many as the tanks and vehicles do in Sci-fi.

Anyway, fun thread.
David

I think one big difference is how the big stuff in each genre sells. The big fantasy monsters do not seem to sell nearly as well or as many as the tanks and vehicles do in Sci-fi.

Innevitable, I guess. Fantasy armies tend to have a large centrepiece monster, such as your lovely Jabberwocky, but I'll only ever need one or two. Tanks, however…. 3's company. 10 is a platoon. 40 is an army….

I think 15mm fantasy is just ticking along, probably not making anybody rich but not about to disappear anytime soon. Song of Blades and Heroes has done a lot to stir up 15mm fantasy in the last couple of years. Admittedly it can be played in any scale, but the author advocates 15mm. 15mm Hordes of the Things is an enduring staple at our club. Obviously most 15mm fantasy gamers use 28mm figures as stand-ins for big monsters (28mm orc = 15mm ogre), which explains why they don't sell so well.

Well you learn something new everyday. Didn't realize there was much in the way of 15mm Fantasy.
Perhaps when I'm ready to build my 15mm Tolkien armies for the Wars of the First Age (or Third- I'm not picky).

There's vast ammounts of both 10mm and 15mm fantasy out there. Maybe HotT as a popular system has contributed to low sales as the army sizes are quite small? I've got over 30 HotT armies painted and more in the pile but I've bought comparitively little of any given range to do so. Song of Blades, excellent system though it is, won't help this trend…

Hi David

Will admit that no I hadn't – the summer and early autumn have been a wild ride for 15mm Sci Fi so haven't had too much time to consider 15mm Fantasy en toto.

The only new stuff that's actually caught my eye has been 15mm.co.uk's TTG Orcs link

You have some crazily good stuff – those Dark Elves could easily be VSF Martians and the Dark Elf Crossbows look very Sci-Fi/Road Warrior ish.

Cheers
Mark

I was at the Splintered Light site yesterday--amazing stuff.
15mm HOTT is pretty popular around here, but not 15mm massed battles.

Field of Glory is very popular and on the forum for FoG on the Slitherine site is a whole sub-forum for fantasy gaming using the FoG rules.

link

Worth taking a look. I think as long as magic and heroes are not too overblown, massed battles with fantasy types could be great fun.

I've just joined the Age of Might and Steel Yahoo Group on the back of this thread to check it out – link

Cheers
Mark

I made the decision earlier this year to switch all my mass battle games over to 15mm on everything from SYW & Fantasy to Sci-Fi & Colonials.

I will keep playing skirmish games in 28mm and some in 15mm depending on the game. For example I enjoy playing Song of Blades & Heroes in 28mm.

There are some great sources for 15mm fantasy out there and many of the historical lines can be used for fantasy. For rules in 15mm fantasy gaming I prefer AD&D Battlesystem and Mighty Armies. Both modded with house rules.

Oh! 19th Century Miniatures has a nice fantasy line called Black Raven Foundry. You can search for it at their website.
oldglory15s.com

At the new moderated AD&D Battlesystem Yahoo Group we have a nice list of 15mm fantasy comparison websites and vendors.
link

After a couple of years of promises, I (really) am about to send PRIDE OF LIONS off to be formatted, illustrated, proofed, etc. I plan to have it out at COLD WARS.

It is a mass army fantasy battle game; our armies run about a dozen units of 18 infantry or 9 mounted each.

Sounds good – I've always thought the market needed a genericish (although I know you've certain ranges in mind!) mass fantasy rules set. I know other people will tell me what's out there, but none of them have really grabbed me.

I looked into doing 15mm fantasy earlier this year and was kind of put off by most of the lines I saw. Very little in the way of variation from the standard races and unit types, and most of the sculpts and poses left me cold. If someone were to create a line along the ideas of some of the metal Confrontation minis in 15mm (depth of unit types and character minis, higher quality and definition in sculpting than the current standard), I'd reconsider.

Not much strength in either market sales wise.

I have sold more Miniatures for use with Fantasy armies in 15mm than I have SciFi.

My Scifi Evolved Animals for SciFi (Felines, Canines, Avians, Minotaurs and Cnetaurs with advanced weapons) which can be used with 15mm SciFi sales are sluggish.

I'd like to see more 15mm fantasy as well. Seems like everybody has a minimal line with the basic foot, bow and cav for elves, dwarves and orks. I don't necessarily need to see different races but it would be nice to see more bolt throwers, cannons, giant mounts, etc. Stuff that really takes advantage of the smaller scale. The Demonworld line was great and I snapped some up before they went under but not enough.

Here's the problem, from the standpoint of operating a business. Each person has his own mental image of what he wants enough to spend money on it. But unless a lot of folks have the SAME mental images, it isn't going to be economically possible to produce miniatures. "Generic" elves and dwarves sell because they fit into many folks' image banks. So do movie characters.

If you want minis made of YOUR mental images, try to get them down on paper and persuade a bunch of your friends that they are as cool as you think they are.

I have never got into Fantasy in 28mm, do to the high cost. I did how ever get into 15mm Fantasy. Here is my blog I started over the summer.
theorky15mm.blogspot.com
I have not had much time to work on it but I hope to get back to it over the winter.

I started with 15mm Fantasy before I did 15mm SciFi, as there were tons of mins out there. The SciFi movement has been more recent than the Fantasy movement. The trick is to find the best rule set for your needs. I like ChipCo's Fantasy rules, but they were a bit costly till recently. Also the rules were a bit big in size and some to not get there heads around them. The have come out with a light version of the rules that are very good.

I have had 6 complete 15mm armies, and have 3 of them left. I could not settle on what I liked, but I have a good collection now. I have a Medieval, Lizard man, and working on a Dwarf army now.

Noel

I gotta tell ya'.

If you look at the more recent art for the upcoming WarMachine Mk2, that game screams for a 15mm massive force scale to accompany its 28mm skirmish scale.

It's something I'd love to see anyway.
Cheers!

Hey Rudy, where can those evolved animals in your range be found online?

You can see pictures of them on my FACEBOOK!! PAGE. Rudy Scott Nelson.

Send me an address if you want a sample for each one to look at. I have them at my store. Tom Dye at GFI has the moulds and does the casting.

I don't see any reason to play fantasy in 15mm. Skirmish wise 28mm is fine, after all these chaps actually have a reason to fight hand to hand!

Massed battle wise why use 15mm? There is a massive range of 28mm (silly) and 10mm (far better) and if you mix it with historicals you can get really serious with Baccus and the like.

Why play fantasy in 15mm ? Well you can use all those miniatures with your ancients/WWII/modern/far future/SF opponents. Hard SF human infantry bringing civilization to stone axe wielding bipedal green lizards…

Hard SF human infantry bringing civilization to stone axe wielding bipedal green lizards…

Absolutely! 1889 and 2189!

Cheers
Mark

Possibly explains why sales are sluggish, Rudy. . Get those puppies up where people can see them!

In part due to this thread – Splintered Light's Dark Elves and now an excuse to buy Khurasan's Vikings – Master Chef and myself are ordering copies of Armies of Might and Steel from 15mm.co.uk link

We are thinking Hyboria with a twist of Tolkein.

What sold it to me was the line: "For busy gamers who enjoy a rewardingly simple game that encourages tactics". At £6, done!

Cheers
Mark

Great news Mark! Looking forward to your review / test games.