"Which size do you prefer for Pirates? 15mm or 28mm?" Topic

Since there seems to be a new run of 15mm Pirate figs and ships out there, I was wondering, if due to economics, or eyesight, or just a gradual change to all things 15mm, what players preferred in sizes for their Pirates

So do you prefer your pirate gaming figs and stuff in 15mm or 25/28mm, and why?

Thanks in Advance…

25mm

I'm happy with my 28mm figures. I see this as a skirmish, character type period, not a tactical game. Of course, most of my stuff is painted and gets played with, so 15mm would mean starting all over again.
Grelber

25mm

mjc

28mm… On the whole I like 28mm much better and see 15mm as more for larger conflicts. It may sound odd, but I simply don't care about my 15mm figures as much as my 28mm figures. More work goes into the larger scale figure and they evolve into characters of a sort, while the 15mm figures tend to just be game pieces. When I play with 15mm figures I tend to have more invested in the terrain than the figures because the smaller scale allows me a wider scope of the battlefield (so I can fit twice as many buildings on the table!)

28. Much as we wish different, there is little ship to ship action so might as well use the big 'uns.

28 but 15 as well if they are nicely sculpted!

28 or heroic 28mms….
ONLY.

28mm, but I'm biased.

And I'll eventually paint those Foundry pirates.

If using them with decent sized vessels, or in large numbers, 15mm scale wins.

For smaller skirmishes, or little boats, 25mm – 28mm is nice.

All my pirates are 25-30mm, but I'm not really happy with the way I painted them anymore, and they're part of a larger, rather motley collection of swashbuckling miniatures that has everything from early 16th century conquistadors to 18th century highwaymen. I'm now moving away from this "naivistic" approach and next time I start concentrating on swashbuckling gaming again, I think I'll do a reboot (strip or retire my old miniatures) and delineate my settings/periods more. With that in mind, I could easily imagine doing a new, more self-contained pirate project in 15mm. Too bad it'd entail giving up on all those excellent 28mm pirates from companies like Brigade, Crusader and Artizan (especially as I already own many of them), but the relative ease of modelling a port town in 15mm, and the relative cheapness of 15mm pirate ships, would hopefully make it worthwile.

To me, switching to a smaller scale does not necessarily mean gaming larger engagements. I'd still game on a skirmish/adventure level, just with smaller miniatures on a smaller board.

Like both. Don't need either. Have a boatload (several boatloads!) of Frontier 15s (Jean Lafitte's boys from 1812, but they work for other periods), and have plenty of Foundry's excellent range (compared to which every other manufacturer has subsequently made figures that are too large to be compatible!).

So keep on making incompatible ranges, kids. I'm sure you can sell them to somebody!

Allen

28mm. Lots of nice ranges in this scale. The colour and detail of pirate figures suits the larger scales.

I prefer 28mm for all "1 fig = 1 man" skirmish level games & I also 2nd the comments of Shagnasty & Mr. Curtis.

I'm going for 15mm for sure.

At that size, you can really make the most of size of the terrain and ships.

Unless you have an absolutely huge table available for water and land terrain, smaller figures is the only logical way to go.

Check out what others are already doing with 15mm figures:

TMP link
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And I haven't even touched on the subject of cost.

Dan

I have been debating this. I'm debating this for Ambush Alley and nearly everything else other than Western, which is firmly 25mm.

I bought all the Old Glory 15mm pirates but I'm finding that I really enjoy painting 25mm figures more. Problem is that it takes me longer and takes more space to store and game. Still, I think it comes down to what I enjoy painting since I do that more and rarely play. I think I'd be happy doing dioramas!

But I paid so little for the 15mm pirates, I don't feel like getting rid of them. I will probably paint them but not have an emotional attachment to them, which seems to be normal for all my 15mm figures.

28mm, because I think 15mm is too small for skirmish games.

Allen is absolutely right about the incompatible ranges. NO ONE buys pirates exclusively from oversize manufacturers. 35mm? 38mm? 42mm? All equally useless, no matter how nice they look. Had they been in 28mm, I would have bought a bunch.

15mm ..They didn't have many 25's available when Limey's and Slimeys and Minifigs was all over here in the US.

28 mm but i am running 8 to 24 foot boards with ships up to 30 inches. hmgs-midsouth.org/?p=657
I can not see 15 as an improvement

Lone voice for 15mm, but I do wander into "pre-vsf" rather than "pure".

"Lone voice for 15mm"?

Dan

I like the 15s, now, though I still do 28mm as well. For me the advantages of the smaller size have already been described by CC: cost and space. They are also quicker for me to paint. Cost is a big factor – I can get enough minis for an entire warband in 15mm with what I could pay for 1 28mm fig. Space is important because I spen half my time in a small apartment where there is no room for a 4'x6' table. Being able to play on a 2'x2' table means I don't need nearly as much room. And I was iniitially worried that I'd lose a lot of the visual impact from the small size of the 15s, but because I'm using a 2x2 board, I'm much closer to the minis, so it's not as big a problem as I feared. Plus space also relates to storage. I have an old workshop at home full of 28mm minis and terrain in big boxes, my 15s and terrain only take up a shelving unit in my apartment. So in answer to the OP, space and cost were my prime motivators, and the move to 15mm in Pirates was just part of the general move to 15mm for space and cost considerations.

Luckyjoe

Just because its 'historically inaccurate', doesn't mean we get a lot of hot ship on ship action.
And we use the big Old Glory ships too!
All in 28mm…

Ok, today I just got my paycheck for the month and looks like cost has become my #1 issue again. Gnashing of teeth! Suddenly 15mm is looking pretty good again. If I get a better contract his fall, which is unlikely, cost won't be such an issue.

15mm is definitely affordable, and you can easily make some nice little sloops out of cardboard for sailing on the high seas, cutting out missions, serving as targets for your pirates, etc. I use balsa, or bass wood as a ship's base, for the deck, cardboard for the ship's sides (bulwarks), and wooden dowels for the mast(s) and bowsprits – pin the cardboard to the ships' sides until the white glue dries. Paper sails can be easily drawn, and cut, if you desire to add them on as well.

For detailing, I purchased some nice little 15mm cannons, and used a mechanical pencil to draw in the board detailing on the deck. Note – make sure to add that, before gluing on the sides of the ships.

In the smaller scales, the cardboard ships look quite nice, and you have more sea room on a table for maneuvering during battle, and/or exploring along a shoreline, or amongst various islands.

Of course, if you have the money, you can just purchase resin vessels instead.

I suggest the Prevailing Winds rules by Thoroughbred for a good set, for ship to ship combat. They are designed for the War of 1812 on the Great Lakes, but stats can be easily created for other pirate-era vessels.

Then, if you get a windfall, you can always purchase some larger 25mm – 28mm pirates too. That's what I've done, but none are painted up yet.

I recommend the Old Glory pirates, especially if you become an Old Glory Army member, since you get 40% off on them, making the figs less than $1.00 USD each, in quantity.

I have both. I have a squadron of 15mm ships and men from various manufacturers. I use them more for Napoleonic and War of 1812 than pirates. On a typical 4x8 table you can get a half dozen ships with sufficient maneuver room. I have two 25mm ships from Old Glory, 10-gun and 4-gun, and a longboat. Just before the last price increase, I bought a dozen packs of Foundry pirates, beautiful figures, each one an individual. At this scale the game opens with gunnery range with little maneuver. It's largely a matter of do you want combat between ships or between men.

28. I can see them.

We've been playing 28mm for the past 2 years, but as I delve more into smaller scales, it's becoming tempting to try out in 15mm. The BM/OG 15mm ships look outstanding.

My preference is 15MM.

This scale allows you to simulate a decent sea battle, but is still large enough to give the sense of commanding a ship.

I understand the passion for 28MM however, they are big and gorgeous. Strangely however most ships in 28 on the market are actually way too small to be the ships they supposedly represent.

My game's Miniatures line includes a full line of 15MM ships, including a couple golden age pirate era specific designs (the Galley frigate). We also carry a 28MM sloop and hope to expand the line soon to include a 16 gun 28MM brig!

Brian Carnes
Designer, Sailpower: Fun Scale Combat in the Age of Sail
sailpowergame.com
blog.sailpowergame.com

I also have a few ship models in smaller scales for backdrop/off-shore/anchored vessels. I use 10mm rev war for crew, just as a visual effect.

Still unable to find players anyway, but did bring it up at an LGS and while there is interest there is no decision as to scale, and the most interest is directed towards making the naval gaming part of campaigns. Thus is the discussion reduced to "Where can we get Man'O'War". (Before you start, I already have a copy…)
I left them a disc with a lot of free rulesets on it to flick through, but there are no 15mm pirate rules, only 28mm…

Of course I really want 28mm as that is my whole collection ATM…

Well, I love the 28mm figures I've collected through the years (Foundry, Crusader, Artizan, Musketeer), but have opted for 15mm instead.

Dan
PS. I finally decided to post the 28s for sale.

I am a 28 mm addict because I only play skirmish wargaming and I like a bit of role-playing and negociations between players during the game. You can not do that with 15 mm because you cannot look after any individual pirate.

Dan- Are they still for sale?

28mm I use my pirates as naval gunners in AWI games and can use my sloop for naval landing scenarios

PC,

Shoot me an email:

Daniel DOT martinez1 AT sbcglobal DOT net

Dan

I started with Peter pig 15s and then moved on to 28s. With the 28s every game played like a game of Mordheim so have gone back to 15s using blue Moon.

15mm Bluemoon. They are Awesome!

I have quite a collection in both scales. I use 15mm for Limeys & Slimeys for ship to ship actions. And 28mm for playing Legends of the High Seas for skimish & role playing.