"15mm WW2 Infantry" Topic

Just getting to a point where I'm ready to order. I see a TON of 15mm makers.

Who do YOU like for 15mm world war 2 infantry? I'd like nice detail and a nice variety of poses/weapon types.

Thanks

You'll probably get better tips if you're more specific about what armies you're after. Most manufacturers have some ranges that are strong, and others that are weak or downright dogs.

As a general rule, Peter Pig are my first port of call, but there are exceptions depending on the specific army. (Eg. their Russians are too short on variety for my liking, and their Fallschirmjager are showing their age. Most of their ranges are my first choice though.)

Yes – definitely agree with Dom regarding Peter Pig – great sculpts and generally wide range of poses and weapons/equipment etc. Much better than most BF figures IMO.

My first choice is PSC. PP is good but a bit expensive here in the US (worth it though). The Old Glory Command Decision range is a good value though the mold lines and flash can be excessive.

I tend to select one manufacture as the main source of my collection, but I then supplement that with the compatible figures from other manufacturers who make figures that my main source does not provide. My WWII (late war Northwest Europe) has as its main source Command Decision/Skytrex but it is heavily supplemented with Peter Pig and Flames of War figures and equipment. You can see my collection in diorama form in two galleries at link and link

At the moment a lot of the ranges out there are kept to a reasonable height because of the 1/100th vehicle size. This allows players to mix and match. This also means players can put together armies from a variety of sources in order to produce just what they want. It is possible that some companies might go for super size 18-19mm in order to create a fresh market with themselves at the centre. This would be a shame methinks. Most gamers seem to agree that infantry can be mixed easily but support weapons might need to be homogenous for each weapon type. In closing, why not build a platoon from each manufacturer and see which rolls the best dice in combat. Then it would be easy to identify units by saying "my PP grenadiers etc…

martin

I like the Command Decision/Skytrex/Old Glory figs. Their infantry are rather nice and have a good variety of poses.

The only downside is that you have to order large packs, which is good for riflemen, but not so hot for things like Bazookas and commanders (Unless you HAVE to have 25 bazooka teams!)

If you order from Skytrex you can order in smaller packs which will help that out.

If you will be gaming with only a platoon of individually based figures per player with some support elements, then Peter Pig is your choice as they are mine. The cost is worth it. They are a breeze to paint as well because they are so cleanly sculpted.

If you want to field masses of infantry for something like Flames of War, then cost will become a factor and detail/pose variety might not be such an issue. Then PSC and FoW comes into play. Command Decision figures just are not up to snuff as mentioned above. (I sold all mine for PP and never regretted it.)

If you are playing skirmish, you might want to consider 20mm as well. Just sayin'.

Pics of my PP figs. I've since touched up the painting with better highlights and shading, but no photos. These were the first figs in any scale that I painted 7 years ago.

Blog: ordinarygaming.blogspot.com

My first choice are Peter Pig, fleshed out with QRF, Old Glory/Skytrex and a few BF. My Russians are almost all PSC though as I couldn't resist a whole company in a box:) Again, they have some items fleshed out from other manufacturers.

Peter Pig are more economical for us Brits though.

Another vote for Peter Pig, although as Dom points out, some of the older figures are showing their age.

What are you looking to collect, specifically? I'm sure we could generate much larger arguments about what you should buy if you gave us a hint! Different companies are best, depending on what you want to build. For Germans or late-war Brits I'd choose PP hands-down. For Japanese I prefer Command Decision (although the PP are good too). Others will, I'm sure, tell me how wrong I am.

Eventually, everything….

I'm starting with North Africa Brits vs Germans, then Germans vs Russians….going to play in chronological order (or try too)….next would be US vs Japan, etc…..

Thanks for the suggestions…time to order!

Essex.

I like the Command Decision/Skytrex/Old Glory figs. Their infantry are rather nice and have a good variety of poses.

The only downside is that you have to order large packs, which is good for riflemen, but not so hot for things like Bazookas and commanders (Unless you HAVE to have 25 bazooka teams!)

First rule of the American Army: You can NEVER have too many bazookas.

I'm actually going to generally disagree with the guys here. Yes, Peter Pig and others make nice stuff, but for walking into a store and grabbing a whole platoon at once, it's hard to argue with Battlefront/Flames of War. Their Japanese are quite nice, and I think they're the only source for the Soviet Engineer-sappers in body armor.

it's hard to argue with Battlefront/Flames of War

Yes and no. I like their packaging, and many of the figures are very good. Some of them are very awful. What bothers me about BF is that some of their older (early 00s) figures are actually better than the ones that replaced them (e.g., BEF Brits. Americans). Preferring the older ones, I am ambivalent about recommending the line as a whole.

The only downside is that you have to order large packs, which is good for riflemen, but not so hot for things like Bazookas and commanders (Unless you HAVE to have 25 bazooka teams!)

Sometimes. The German MMG pack gives you 50 figures, but only 5 set-up MGs, the rest are being carried in pieces. Compare this to the Japanese MMG pack, which comes with more than a dozen.

http://www.peterpig.co.uk/russianengineers.jpg

Peter Pig makes some:

I'm starting with North Africa Brits vs Germans,

The PP 8th Army are very good, but their AK figures are older and the line isn't as extensive as the 8th Army. Perhaps Martin will get around to fixing this discrepancy one day.

Most of my figures are Old Glory 15s/Quality Castings, but of late I've been buying mostly Peter Pig. Also depends on which army as OG15/QC doesn't make all of them, so I hunt around for decent models that fit what I'm trying to do.

Just starting up myself in 15mm (again!!!) will be ordering PP infantry platoon packs this weekend, doing mid war. Platoons already sorted for you, great selection and a bit at a time so not breaking the bank.

Personally, I like the Battlefront stuff since they sell platoon packs which you can pretty much put on the table right away (after painting of course).
They do look a bit more chunky than some other ranges but I rather like the "comic book soldier" look they have going on.

Peter Pig has wonderful detail, are a bit slimmer and you buy them in packs of 8. I tend to buy them for various things I don't need tons of, like mixing a few PPSH sub machine guns into a German unit.

I have some of the Command Decision soviets and Germans and they are decent and VERY cheap.

The New battlefront plastics are fantastic, and I also like the Plastic Soldier Company figures. Be warned that Plastic Soldier Company figures (up until their last release of late war British) are slightly smaller and significantly thinner (i.e., more realistic) than most metal manufacturers.

Another vote for PP although every range has some good ones. The things I like about Martin's figures are the poses – they look like they are leaning into fired weapons and sighting down the barrels, not like someone has bent the arms up and shoved a rifle into it. Also the research he puts into it. He makes a point of getting uniforms and equipment right.

+1 Battlefront

…just sayin' is all!

Yes and no. I like their packaging, and many of the figures are very good. Some of them are very awful. What bothers me about BF is that some of their older (early 00s) figures are actually better than the ones that replaced them (e.g., BEF Brits. Americans)…….

Agreed. Their original US paras were great. They then replaced them with lesser sculpts…….

Avoid their British paratroopers though, whatever you do, they look like mushroom men…

Cool, I will have to add those Engineer-Sappers to the next Peter Pig order!

Peter Pig followed by Battlefront (if the sculpts are ok). You can always buy seperate heads from Peter Pig and re-do them. I've done this with PP ones to increase the number of poses and battlefront chaps because their faces are often awful (IMHO) or simply deformed.

I was going to say Peter Pig but everyone else has already :-)

Ok – Peterpig – their 8th Army are rather nice – streets ahead of the Battlefront ones anyway

Been super tempted by those PSC plastic guys.

I've gone with PSC late war Brits and have just ordered some Battlefront plastic German grenadiers.