"Hammers Slammers scale - Which is best?" Topic

So which of the three scales do you think is best to play in this setting? If we go by the official line we have three scales: 6, 15 and 28mm.

28mm has all of the pizzazz of detailed models, but they are at the higher end of cost and size, requiring more time, money and space.
6mm is much less expensive, allows even a small table the room for maneuvers and better matches ground scale with model scale, but there is less detail on the models – particularly with infantry.
15mm seems to have the benefits and detractions of both.

I have a few of the 25/28mm models- eye candy really- I went for the 6mm option as I am already committed with useable terrain in that scale……I don't mind the diddy 6mm infantry (I went with Irregular 'cos they are cheap and come ready based !) – it all adds to the 'grand scale' when on the table top…..15mm has its attractions but the prices are creeping up and I personally had no terrain -all added start up costs!

6mm is much less expensive, allows even a small table the room for maneuvers and better matches ground scale with model scale, but there is less detail on the models – particularly with infantry.

Depends on which ones you buy!
;)

I play 6mm on a 3' x 3' board and you can have plenty on there and still have lots of room to move as you state, but the figures do have detail too!

IMO:

RPG and small actions suit 28mm.

Platoon versus platoon works nicely in 15mm.

6mm for when the going get tough and you need to get larger forces on the table.

YMMV

All a matter of taste.

Yes really is a matter of taste, what your space restrictions may be, and what you want to accomplish. I disagree that 28 mm is limited to RPG and small actions. You can effectively do up to company level with 28 mm if you have enough table space and/or correct scenario along with a rule system that accommodates such a venture. Regardless, I say why not do all three? For me my favored size for this genre is 15mm. Kind of combines the best of both worlds and there is soooooo much choice in 15mm Sci Fi.

"All a matter of taste."

Quite true and that is what I'm asking. What is your taste?

"Depends on which ones you buy!"

True. I was just making a generalization.

YouTube link

: )

All joking aside, 6mm/ 15mm.

It really depends upon what you want out of your games.

Small skirmishes, and infantry heavy – go with 28mm

Mid-sized battles, with a mix of infantry and quite a few vehicles – go with 15mm

Large battles with tons of armored vehicles – go with 6mm

Of course, you can do any of the above, in any scale, if you have the space, and/or the finances, so they are not mutually exclusive. Folding tables, games at the local club or convention, or battles on the floor help with the space issues.

A wealthy, significant other, or financial benefactor helps with funding…..

Currently, 15mm is surging, since you can have a nice mix of armor and troops on the game table, for a reasonable cost.

Many people also game in multiple scales too, so that is an option as well, e.g. purchase a few squads of troops in 28mm, and a vehicle, or two, or a few of them.

Purchase lots in 15mm.

You can also purchase quite a bit in 6mm, for a very reasonable cost relative to the above, making it another good option as well.

I imagine that isn't the definitive answer you were looking for, but then again, like many, I'm a multi-scale gamer, and I like it that way.

15mm, all the way.

Well, Caesar, I may be biased but…

Whitemaniticore and mako are both right: if you have the space, money and time, 28mm can – and does – work. Sure I've done lots of big show games in 28mm (which isn't exactly sensible gaming) but I can – and do – give the big stuff a work out when I can

(example of a club night game in 28mm is here link That was a detachment a side on a 12 ft by 6ft table and, frankly, the table was to big: with more scenery and less space the game would have been both faster and more challenging).

When I was writing The Crucible I did an awful lot of the play testing in 6mm, just for the convenience (though with proxy models as Old crow hadn't brought out the Slammers in 6mm at that point). If I had built scenery like the beautiful stuff that Angel Barracks has just shown us the pics of I might well be doing my major gaming in 6mm (lovely pics matey!). The Old Crow 6mm looks very nice and the game does, I have to say, work well in that scale.

But guys at the club wanted to do it in 15mm and lots of people were moving that way… Here's a picture of the same player (Jim) as in the previous sot with the 28mm game ony in a 15mm club night game we played the other day.

Unlike the 28mm game, that 15mm one link was two detachments a side, on a slightly smaller table (6 by 8 or 6 by 10, can't quite remember) and we had enough room and scenery.

Could have done the same game in 6mm, mind, on a dining room table…

For me, at the moment, despit the investment I've made in 28mm stuff and the attraction of 6mm, I'm doing the game mostly in 15mm as that's where most of the interest seems to lie.

But to be honest, the rules work either way around so: if you've got the space and the cash and you love painting, do it in 28mm. If you have none of the three, think hard about 6mm. If you feel you have some space and cash but you still want to paint bigger toys (or – like me – the maximum size you can transport things on a motorcycle is a KR Double Case ruck sack!) then 15mm mifght well be the way to go!

But – like I said – I am probably not the best person to ask!

Because the rules work equally in all scales it really is just a matter of personal choice of preferred scale, not a decision based on what 'level' of force you are trying to represent (an eight TU detachment of Slammers is still 8 TUs in all three scales).

Personally, I love seeing what everyone does in all scales

John Treadaway

I'm in the 6mm camp, for many of Gaz's reasons, but in particular for HS, I want at least a platoon of something (blowers, combat cars) on the table, and I just can't get my head around the ground scale distortion that would bring up at the larger figure sizes. Not criticizing any one who's good with it, it just doesn't work for me.

Of course, even at 6mm, a powergun's range is still across my town.

20mm.

;)

I'd lean towards 15mm. Big enough models that you can still handle small engagements like the (Yojimbo scenario, can't remember the book title, 7 personnel), or bigger ones like in Paying the Piper.

There are actually very few scenarios in the books that I'd want to use 6mm.

in my opinion 6mm is the way to go for armor.

Mixed fights 15mm works up to a point, then 6mm takes over.

I don't have much use for 28mm in any game involving fire combat….

I think it would depend on if you want to have an infantry focus or an armor focus. 6mm works best for armor-heavy games, and 28mm for infantry-heavy games. 15mm can do either fairly well.

javelin98

I think it's fair to say (as scale for Slammers was the original question) that armour focused games are likely to predominate.

Sure Drake's books have lots of characters in them (that's what, for me, makes them so interesting) and some of the stories are quite definately not armour orientated (The Sharp End is an excellent example).

But a lot of them are and, using The Crucible rules, people do seem to want to play the armour heavy engagements that are typical in Dave's books.

15mm is a good compromise, I have to say, but – in the end – it is all a compromise.

John T

Thanks for the posts and the fantastic photos.

6mm you can get more on the table and do more than one force, cheap as well ;-)

Big Ian

I don't now why, as well, but it actually seems faster to play as well.

Perhaps that is just down to – quite literally – not having to shove my fat backside around a bigger tabble for a 15mm game (or an ever bigger table for 28mm…).

John T

My 2 cents is 6mm is the way to go. I love 15mm, but for vehicle specific games 6mm is hard to beat.

I'm a fan of the books though I haven't played the rules yet.

Despite being a die hard 28mm fan, I'd say that unless you're wealthy, have alot of space for a huge table and time for the project go 15mm.

It's going to be relatively easy on the wallet, and give you the ability to get enough units on a standard sized table to really capture the feel of the books while still giving enough detail in the units to add some of the unique character bits that make the books so memorable.

6mm has made some great gains, but it doesn't have enough character for me.