"1/72 figures – what scale buildings? OO scale/20mm/15mm?" Topic

I've started collecting 1/72 plastics and returning to the scale of my youth (currently, I like Caesar Miniatures link ), they're nicely proportioned and harder plastic. I did try Valiant Miniatures, but they seemed too big. I'll be also be using Plastic Soldier Company's troops and vehicles, plus some Armourfast.

I think I'll be playing Rapid Fire, Battlegroup Overlord to play battles in Northern Europe as well as a long-planned Sealion project.

So, the big question is, what scale buildings work best? I've heard people say that it's best to use a building scale one down, so for 20 mm use 15mm.

Alternatively, I was wondering whether to pick up some of the pre-painted OO scale Skaledale Hornby Railway buildings for the Sealion stuff, but not sure if it's going to look too big. So, should I be going for strictly 20mm wargame buildings – I look at stuff in the RF & BGO pics and they do look great, but obviously, they take up a lot of space n the table.

Any help, much appreciated!

Consider what the ground scale is and what a building represents. I'd normally go at least one scale down, but if you need an area six inches by nine inches to represent a town 5mm buildings might work better.

I've heard people say that it's best to use a building scale one down, so for 20 mm use 15mm.

Yup.

I bought 15mm buildings for my 1/72 troops.

An I am sticking with 1/72 scale or HO buildings. I am working on a nice Itailari Church at the moment. I like the MiniArt. Brand of buildings as well. I have a couple of the newer Arifix buildings, resin material. They paint up nicely.

Personally I like my buildings the same scale as the figures – I don't like to see my infantry marching down the street and looking in the upstairs windows whilst they do so.

And definitely would have to be that way for a skirmish game – where a figure is a person (not a platoon) and a house is a house (not a town).

And definitely would have to be that way for a skirmish game – where a figure is a person (not a platoon) and a house is a house (not a town).

Of course.

Another vote for 15mm buildings if you're not doing skirmish.

If you are doing 1:1 with individual figures it's probably better to use the same scale.

It's more important to consider what is usually a substantial disparity between figure scale (1/72 or whatever) and the ground scale you are using. The bigger the buildings the more space is warped around them…

Always use the same scale for houses as the figures are. Don't like figures being bigger then houses. Looks strange imho. Just use fewer houses for a village.

Isn't skirmish 1:1?

I play company level games with 1:1 figure representation. I don't consider that to be "skirmish". They are not singly based I hasten to add.

My figures are mostly old so tend more to the 1/76 end of the scale. These do not look outrageous next to many ranges of 15mm buildings. Means you can have a few big buildings like churches without taking up half of the table :o)

Hi guys, thanks for the feedback – very helpful.

I hadn't thought about the game scale (doh) – my 1/72 games will be either 1:1 squad based, or where 8 figures = a platoon, so about 1:4/5. As long as I decide the (sensible) max number of troops which can occupy a building beforehand, that should work ok.

Consequently, 1/72/76 buldings would be fine (am finding loads of railway-based stuff that would suit my Sealion project.) The downside of non-wargaming buildings is you can't take the roof off to put troops inside, so I've thought of creating an off table space for each building, where I can put troops who are occupying the structure.

For games where a stand = a platoon, I use 6mm troops, so that's not a problem.

I also found this thread with lots of links to 1/72 railway buldings.
TMP link

Thanks again guys :)

Don't forget the old airfix trackside range now made by Dapol :
link

Really easy to put together & you could leave the roofs as removable.

There's a famous picture of one of these link used as a front for a Pillbox

Don't forget these:
link

I'd agree that WW2 tends to be low figure ratio & buildings should be at the same scale.

With my Napoleonics (1:50) I use buildings at a scale lower. It would look odd to have a single building capable of holding an entire battalion.

I use a lot of card buildings from railways; Metcalfe being the main one. They are cheap, pre-coloured and in the case of factories etc they have different floors for each level. They generally do farms, pubs, churches and of course railway stations. Give them a look.

I use 20mm for my 25mm and it works fine.

Plus you save bucks scaling down and you can fit more on the table.

Thanks again for the links and examples.

I decided to plumb for same scale buildings and have been surprised and delighted at what's available – and to find many for sale at very low prices on ebay if you time things right – just bought a pre-painted church, pub and house :)

Incidentally, my comment about Rapid Fire units being platoons was incorrect, they are supposed to represent companies.

I have gone with card. Some strengthen these with foamcore or other such. Roof can be removed easily from card buildings. I can produce the same building in a variety of scales and all variants in between. Cheap to purchase (lots of ink to print though!) and can get the same building and customize it multiple ways so not all are alike. Do take time to build, but usually look pretty nice, incredibly light weight, and if stepped on are easily replaceable. Some of the British card companies for railway stuff, as mentioned above, would really look great for your Sealion thing.

Thanks, Brucka, have also just clocked the card kits and there are definitely some on the shortlist for the Sealion project :)

Ochoin ,
isnt it odd that figures are taller then buildings or can look at the first floor, doors coming to their waist?

What/who are the smaller medieval 20 mm ? (comparision between all the 20mm figures suppliers).I am looking for 20 mm figures who are close to HO figures ? Thanks

I always use 20mm buildings for 20mm games, but then I don't have to pay for them, which does help.
link

Same old questions? 1/72 is a scale, 20mm is not a scale but represents an approximation to height of a human figure (how high is an average human!?!) open to misinterpretation due to different manufacturers of figures saying it can represent measurement foot to eye ,foot to top of head,or foot to top of helmet. HO is a railway scale approx 1/87, and OO is a scale 4mm to the foot (imperial measurement) approx 1/76. Often in building or vehicles the term 20mm slurs the scale, giving a wide variation on size; meaning figures ,buildings and vehicles from different manufactures do not necessarily look right next to one another. I would suggest that you choose what looks right for you after a bit of research.