"Most cost effective scale?" Topic

In your opinion, what's the most effective scale.

Majority of my "need" is for gaming and some displaying, but mainly gaming.

Plastic or metal matters not to me. I'm going to assume plastic kits are the cheapest, just wondering what scale has the most variety and a decent price.

I'm going to be gaming 1 tank = 3 1 inf stand = company

Thanks

6mm

6mm seconded

6mm
1/285th
1/300th

6mm thirded

6mm may cost the least per unit, but you can have issues with having to buy more than you need.

15mm is a good compromise for detail (especially infantry) and the fewer units you need at the troop scale you want

6mm Why should I be any different?

1:300

Though I game in 3mm-1/600 I too have to agree that 6mm or 1/285 or 1/300 would be then best for the "1 tank = 3 1 inf stand = company" stipulation and the others you stated. Robert

6mm or 1/300 is most cost effective, but if you want cost effective and good looks, I think 15mm is the way to go. Depends, of course, on what you want to do with them.

I have copious amounts of 6mm and huge amounts of 15mm.

..But I would recommend pendragon 12mm, plastic kits in 144th are reasonably priced for anything you could possibly want and are large enough to look exceptional on the table.

Terrain is pretty reasonable and N gauge railway stuff is comparaively cheap to allow large cheap structures not dominating the tabltop.

Only my considerable time and money investment stops a switch

I would have thought the 1/600 is most cost effective at 15 vehicles for $4.00 USD?

I prefer 6mm to 3mm, but the latter are certainly cheaper.

Selection of 3mm vehicles is a bit limited currently, but expanding.

If you have to go with 1 tank = 3 then 6mm, but I would suggest thinking about going with 1 stand with 3 tanks and enjoy the world of 3mm. The stuff available is WAY more detailed than you would think and paints so easy.

Cincinnatus beat me to it. 3mm is cheaper and the WWII stuff you can get from Pico Armor in the US is excellent! I use 3 tanks per stand and get 15 in the pack. So, you pay 4 bucks for what would be 5 tanks in 1/285 scale. I own a lot of 1/285 micro armor. i won't be buying more of it now I use 3mm.

Thanks,

John

Yep, 3mm, and the range is quite extensive. I was really impressed with PicoArmor both in terms of range and quality.

1 tank = 3 then 6mm. Yes. But 1 tank = 1 tank 3mm-1/600 for sure. Especially for the price. The range is slowly but surely getting bigger.With Tumbling Dice,Oddzial Osmy (O8) and Skytrex offering them. There are also a few blogs and sites out there with information. For example,

My 1/600 Miniature Wargaming Yahoo Group
link

3mm_miniatures · 1/600_miniatures Yahoo Group
link

And a few threads here about the scale. like this one,
TMP link

Robert

1/72 scale has tons of cheap plastic kits and there's lots of manufacturers of plastic figures. That's what I use and they look great.

Some examples are on my blog.

wargaminghell.blogspot.com

1/72 looks great….for display

I think I know what I want…..1 1/72 model to paint and display

3mm to game….love to have "Kursk" like battle on my table…that isn't happening with anything BUT 3mm

Thanks folks….this is why I love this board

kevan G

Only my considerable time and money investment stops a switch

Come over to the Dark Side. Early war French.
You know you want to.

Do you already have terrain & scenics for a particular scale? In my experience this can have an impact on the cost effectiveness of some scales. e.g. a while back I costed out what I wanted to expand my 15mm forces and concluded it would be cheaper to start from scratch in 10mm. BUT I did not consider the fact that I had loads on 15mm buildings etc but no 10mm! Cost saving was therefore negated and I am sticking with 15mm.

The most cost effective scales are always going to be the smaller ones just because they take up less space, require less painting etc.

However if you want a wide range of stuff, 6mm is probably a better bet than 2mm or 3mm, although there is a decent range in 2/3mm, there is nothing like the coverage of 6mm and you have to bodge/convert for even some relatively standard bits of kit.

6mm is my scale of choice for large battles, and 1/72 for skirmish.

Come over to the Dark Side. Early war French.

No, be man, defend Mother Russia. You know is right.

1:300

I think it depends on the way you like to game

For tactical/grand tactical, 6 (or 3) mm hands down

For skirmish, I think 1/72 (given the many plastic ranges out there) would be very cost-effective

I suggest that if you have a group of players you will be using these with you that you check if they have a preference.

My group has selected 12mm/1:144 in place of 3 or 6mm due to eye sight etc

You could always just paint grains of rice and call it a day.

I'm with Flicking with this one. The point of wargaming in my opinion is to create an authentic wargaming model painted in the correct (researched) colours that has some approximation to a human figure and does not look like a fat man on a dog. If you are not bothered about the effect and you don't like painting anyway, go for counters, its got to be the most cost effective. Some small scale models look very good on their own and I have seen some people paint them up fantastically well but put them on a wargame table and they can be lost in the scenary .

Honestly I have seen several 25mm figures that look like a fat man on a dog, only in a more noticeable way

The point of wargaming in my opinion is to create an authentic wargaming model painted in the correct (researched) colours that has some approximation to a human figure and does not look like a fat man on a dog. If you are not bothered about the effect and you don't like painting anyway, go for counters, its got to be the most cost effective.

Depends on the effect you want to create.

A few 54mm figures beautifully painted don't represent a regiment to me – it just looks like a chess set.

20-30 6mm figures have the appearance of mass that pleases me – at least it looks much more like a body of troops.

The point of wargaming is to have pieces appropriate to the game and the way the players percieve it. The usual 'funny' about counters being as good as small scale figure is just nonsense – as anyone who has seen decently painted ones will admit.

All my 6mm figures are well researched and painted as correctly as that research allows – I've seem worse painted 28's in incorrect colours/facings at shows on numerous occaisions.

Some small scale models look very good on their own and I have seen some people paint them up fantastically well but put them on a wargame table and they can be lost in the scenary .

Real soldiers through the centuries have wished that they could be lost in the scenery.

And what Gildas Facit said.

How much space do you have?

I do wonder how many people can't see the detail on 6mm and how many don't want to.

"Come over to the Dark Side. Early war French.
You know you want to."

I do mnd I am….in 6mm currently

I was wondering when the "rice" and "counters" comparison comments were gonna start. Robert

I really like 10mm – depends if you are a tank guy and the infantry don't matter (go with 6mm) or if you want a bit more detail on your GIs (go with 10mm)

I do wonder how many people can't see the detail on 6mm and how many don't want to.

And what level of vision correction they need. 10mm looks to me like 6mm did when I was a kid.

My game table is roughly 4'x6'

I'm leaning toward 6mm over 10/12mm

I don't think you can really reconcile the OP's three requirements of a stand representing a company, cost effectiveness and looking good as display pieces. I've had miniatures in all the major scales over the years and in my experience:

1) For display 1/48th is as small as you can go and still have an individual miniature with any presence by itself. I've seen some excellent work online in 1/72, but then it becomes the diorama and the story it tells, or the scenery where the miniatures are being displayed that really take over, rather than the miniatures themselves.

2) Anything smaller than 1/144 and the infantry really lose any presence when you are viewing the table at regular gaming distances, although again I've seen excellent painting on smaller scales when you can view them up close.

3) I've played a fair number of stand based games, but none have been as memorable as a skirmish game with a great scenario that has you involved in an engaging story and only having between one miniature and a section to control. Feeling that you don't quite have enough forces to achieve the objective adds some tension and gives a real edge to this level of game.

4) Based on these thoughts I now mostly collect 28 mm/1/48 and if cost was a big concern I'd just stick with skirmish gaming and small forces.

If you want to model larger engagements then I'd probably go with 1/72 and stick to the cheaper plastic manufacturers and the easy-assembly kits that have been flourishing over the last couple of years. If you give some thought and spend some time on the basing then they should look good when displayed as well and they can also be used for games like crossfire etc. if you want to play at a lower level of engagement in the future.

Cheers,
Andy

Wanna talk about cost effectiveness? I use die-cut Infantry counters and equipment counters from Squad Leader for them in my 1/285 scale Micro Armor games. The Horror!

AB

I do wish you wouldn't do that; it makes me feel inadequate, very inadequate.

Flicking – ignorance is bliss.

> I do wish you wouldn't do that; it makes me feel inadequate, very inadequate.

it is very pretty, but take a real 6mm figure and put it up against the monitor next to the posted pic and notice how much smaller it is. Then if you are like me you can squint and maybe see the colors…

I get the colours right, but I am afraid that frogging is just a dry brush with a white or yellow pencil.

For me 6mm all the way……..BUT there is more resale value at 28mm.

Dynaman – you do know that they ARE real 6mm figs.

I think he meant that all that detail wouldn't matter to him since he couldn't make it out anyway.

Thanks,

John