"Why Warlord...why?!" Topic

Just last night I was talking with my long time gaming partner. We had recently gotten into 28mm WW2, and I am just finishing off my late war Waffen SS (relative term, I probably have 35 more figures awash in Oak Leaf and Pea Dot waiting for my attention, but close enough to think about next projects).

He said, "I have all these Russians and French, you just need some early war Germans."

I told him "well, I might be talked into it if there were some decent plastics out there, but right now no such luck."

Then I get an email this morning from Warlord, telling me about this?!?!

link

And now I have to tell the wife "dear, the Tiger is a late war tank, and all these half tracks painted like that won't do, they are D models, and I need Cs. Plus they need to be Panzer Grey…."

Seriously though, these look so cool, and I have been waiting for an early war German line I really liked. This might fill the bill.

This is why I am doing mine in 1/72.$9 for a box of Pegasus 1939 Germans isnt going to break the bank.

I suppose saying that an HT is and HT and Tiger is a Tiger would be considered heresy?

Yeah – glad I went the 1/72nd route.

I'd use the same half tracks too – but I'm not obsessive about WWII !

I ask Hasslefree that wheneverI finish a set of Grymn ,they release a new one within days .

I'm a heretic as well. My Germans can serve on any front from '39-'45.

Have a look at WL Starter Armies. Note the price. Now put together the same army using 1/72 scale figures. I am finding that you can build the same army in 1/72 scale for about 40% of the r price of a WL starter army. On top of that, 1/72 scale WW2 has a much wider range of selection than that of 28mm WW2.

The point? You could probably get away with changing directions within 1/72 scale and the Mrs won't be too up set.

Excerpt if you don't like 20mm scale or the look of the sculpts of course. The old chestnut of there being more available in 20mm just isn't true any more. I can think of several examples of unit types available only in 28mm or only recently offered in 20mm (French chasseurs Alpins, French motorcycle troops, and Panzer Lehr) and some vehicles as well. Not everyone likes soft plastics either, which is where 20mm is most cost effective.

Can we finally start to agree that it is just a matter of taste by now?

I'm exited about these because the Poles and hopefully French will follow…

I do think they are better than the first late war Germans Warlord put out. their plastics are getting better with each release. These seem to have been designed better with regards to how the models hold their weapons.

When it's all said and done, I'm just glad we have more options than ever on both scales to make everyone happy. And things just keep getting better all the time with variety and quality.

Opposite problem to James…fear that my wife will see new Germans and demand they be acquired – which is OK except I'd have to paint them and I really,really hate painting.
We are, however, philistines and are quite happy for Germans or Brits from 1944 to stand in for those of 1940, just so long as the weapon distribution is right.

The old chestnut of there being more available in 20mm just isn't true any more.

Actually, I just bought some 8th army figs by Perry. I wanted to make a 28mm army for Bolt Action so I could play with folks down at the hobby store. When i went looking for things like a Matilda, I was surprised at how few tank options are on the market in 28mm compared to the vast offerings from several companies in 20mm or 1/72 scale. (Yes I know. 20mm is more like 1/76 scale but lets be fair here. 28mm figures are not really even scaled!) So while there may be more offerings in 28mm as opposed to before, you still have a much much deeper selection in 1/72 (20mm) scale for WW2 than in 28mm. All at a much, much more affordable price.

Hannants have 1,189 1/72nd scale Military Vehicles.

Now, not all of that is WWII, just most of it.

It is a matter of taste – but there's no lack of stuff.

We should all rejoice that WL is putting out all these cool 28mm figures and vehicles. 28mm is finally realizing its renaissance, like 15's did when Battlefront started FOW.

Then again, you might say I'm biased.

It could be because you don't know where to look. That happens when people first look into a different scale. There is a Matild I out there. It used to be put out by BEF but they got bought by Warlord. I'm not sure where the masters of their range ended up, some went to Warlord, some to Cheiftan, and some to Company B (IIRC, I could be wrong about what went where to who). The point is, that there are a LOT less holes in the 28mm tank and vehicle market than there were just last year alone. Plus, since so many of the new stuff is coming out in 1/56th, you can find pretty consistent stuff across the spectrum of manufacturers. I could say with a lot of confidence that 28mm is getting close to as deep as 20mm. You just have to know where to look and get to know who puts stuff out.

You are getting into 28mm Perry plastics. Did you realize that Warlord are going to be releasing a ton of desert vehicles to go with them in the next few months?

That's not to say there aren't holes. No one makes French trucks or Lorraines, or Polish Fiat/Polski trucks…but the fact remains, 28mm has become very deep in vehicle offerings. Yes, 20mm has more. But it has also had years to build that up. It has helped that a lot of that was designed and sold as model kits for model builders, so of course there will be more. Considering 1/56th scale has been developed and sold exclusively as a gaming scale for gamers by gamers by so many different individuals (not model companies) putting stuff out, and it is kind of cool to see how far things have come.

(Yes I know. 20mm is more like 1/76 scale but lets be fair here. 28mm figures are not really even scaled!)

The same can be said of "20mm". You say the very same thing in the sentence before in fact. You could do the same line up of vast differences in height, bulk, "scale", etc. across the spectrum of "20mm" metal and plastic figs (an SHQ is not an AB is not an Airfix plastic…). This old misconception about 20mm all being proper proportioned compared to 28mm is true if you only look at certain plastic figs compared to some 28mm metals. Take a Britannia 20mm mini and a Offensive Miniatures FJ or Warlord Italian and the cartoon accusation of 28mm looks a little less solid.

To say that 28mm is not even scaled is to ignore the very same thing in your chosen scale. 28mm has many of the same issues in consistency, style, and size that 20mm does.

And the thing is, it's all a matter of taste. You can do much the same armies and get most of the same vehicles in both scales these days. Now much more than ever. Even price, when you start to get into metal figs and die cast vehicles isn't all that much different, though overall 20mm is a cheaper route to go.

I just don't get this scale war issue any more. The ground has shifted so much in the last few years that those same old, tired arguments don't wash any more. It really has become a matter of taste, space, and only slightly, cost.

And taken as a whole, it is a really great time to be a WWII gamer…in any scale.

The same can be said of "20mm"

That was my point. I was making sure nobody jumped in and said somehow that 1/76 scale could not be used with 1/72 scale.

BTW there is a singular Matilda in 28mm. They cost something like $36. USD I purchased a Matilda in 1/72 scale for $8. USD You can get Shermans for $8. USD Several other tank types as well.

Availability is only part of the equation. Affordability is another. Miniatures, especially metal ones, are way too expensive for what you get. Warlord is on the higher end of cost when it comes to historicals.

Ahh, see for me scale is important, but I game in multiple scales. I play WW2 in 28mm as well as 15mm and 1/285. The thing is for me, I don't need a ton of vehicles in 28mm because we play infantry focused games at that scale. When we want to use a lot of armor we go to 15mm and when we want sweeping, company level combined arms operations, we go down to 1/285.

Why limit yourself to one scale? :-)

I try to keep to 28mm. Terrain is a huge cost as well

Why limit yourself to one scale?

Because I would rather have 3 armies in my favorite scale than the same army in three scales. I'd also rather have one set of terrain.

Plastic Soldier Company here – we will be releasing Battlegroup Blitzkrieg spring 2014 with some 1/72nd early war plastic kits. Everything in hard plastic

I'm having problems finding 28mm air drop supply canisters, and don't really want to model them myself again, as I did in 15mm. Anyone have a suggestion, in an apporximate scale? I'd settle for anything between 1:48 to 1:72 at the moment.