"Help me choose:" Topic

I want to recreate the 'Battle of Pharsalus' using Commands and Colors Ancients. I have a custom terrain mat from Hotz Artwork made up of 5" hexes. I can't decide what scale. Choices are as follows….
1. 6mm Baccus
2. 10mm Magister Militum
3. 15mm Testudo or ??? (suggestions?)

All units will be based on 80mm by 80mm squares, and casualties will be kept track of with counters. Please help!!!

I have considered doing this too, and the decision for me will be either 6mm or 10mm. I want to use as many minis as possible on each counter, while still allowing for decent details.

I wish I could give you a better answer, but that's where I am at the moment.

It's your game dude. Choose the scale and figs you like. Which do you prefer painting?

I'll paint anything. I know it's my game, but I'd like to hear how others would approach this project.

i would'nt put 15mm on such a large base. you may feel the urge to rebase them for something else in the future.
with 6mm i just cannot see enough to paint the little fellows.

so 10mm is how i'd go.

Good point on the 15's.

Besides the great insight by yoakley, what about cost? (although I know you're a weatlhy man, Mike) Dean

Only rich in friends Dean. :-)

Have you considered buying a few samples and seeing which you like best?

Seems to me the basic differences in sizes are:

1) cost (smaller is cheaper)
2) mass (smaller looks closer to large battles numbers)
3) difficulty to see specifics (personal choice in whether you like the look of the tiny guys compared to larger where you can see things like canteens and belt buckles)

So you gotta look at these factors, weighing them and seeing how much benefit of one can outweigh drawbacks in the other.

If you prefer it to look closer to the size of battle (ie, lesser scale of figures to actual men in battle) then the smallest scale gives you that PLUS is cheapest, with the drawback being that the details and painting can be unfriendly for some. Also worth factoring whether there is any chance in the future you may go ahead and play other rules, in which case you want to make the scale appropriate and keep basing available for easy changes.

Another factor that I'm leaving out is whether each scale you listed offers ALL options you may or may not want to include. Meaning all the oddball units that may have only been present in small numbers, or the right little details. Doing a Carthaginian army myself in 28mm I'm finding the need to go across manufacturers to get specific types of figures here and there. I know that not all companies or scales offer the same levels of completeness and variety you might need.

My personal choice would be 6mm. Cheapest, easiest to paint, gives a better feel for large battles. Only remaining question is whether you can get all the figures you'll want.

I'd go for 6mm. Contrary to a lot of peoples' opinion, they are easy to paint – remember to paint the unit not the figure. They look good en masse – like an army in fact! They are also cheap.

Have a look at the Baccus website. The gallery and forum sections have some good photos of figures painted and based.

Or 10mm Pendraken… ;)

We've just released some new Republicans: link

But I've only got painted pics of Imperials… :)

link

I'll have to second Cerdic's comment. It's a very common misapprehension that 6mm figures are difficult to paint and hard for ageing eyes. Nothing could be further from the truth and you'll find them very forgiving and quick to complete.

I also think you'll find pretty much all you need for Pharsalus in our ranges. No need to go mixing and matching!

Cheers

Peter

I decided to go with Baccus and placed my order yesterday. The decision was largely based on price. There are sooooo many good manufactuers out there in all scales. I especially love the 15mm Chariot Miniatures (MM)Republican roman range. After crunching the numbers, 6mm proved more wallet friendly. :-)

Good luck Mike – can we hope to see this game at Enfilade?

Yes . . . !

Just a little update:

Pompey 12 Legions (624 figs), 6 finished

Caesar 9 Legions (468 figs), 9 finished

From experience, and from your list, I'd pick 6mm for big battles. Smaller guys give a bigger impression IMO, and there's less need for bathtubbing.

Mission complete, flocked the last stand this morning…
2-07 figures ordered
2-14 figures arrived
3-22 collection painted

Well done that man. And they look like they would be fine for Impetus as well as Hail Caesar if you want a change.

Great looking game there Mike and those painted 6mm are fantastic. Pity I wont be able to see if in the "flesh" as it were….