| Saber 29 | 12 Jan 2015 11:32 a.m. PST |
What scale do gamers use for vehicles to go with the AB line of 20mm WW2 miniatures? I see many posts on 1:72 / 1:76 however it is my understanding that AB 20mm are true HO scale 1:87.1 miniatures. There are many vehicles in the 72/76 scale however very few if any in 1:87.1. Opinions? Many thanks |
| MajorB | 12 Jan 2015 11:38 a.m. PST |
20mm is generally reckoned to be equivqalent to 1/72 or 1/76. If the AB figures are on the smaller side of 20mm then I'd suggest you go for 1/76. 1/87 is equivalent to 18mm figures. |
| steamingdave47 | 12 Jan 2015 12:45 p.m. PST |
I use my ABs with 1/72 scale vehicles, as there seems to be a much better range available than for 1/76, at least in cheaper kits. The ABs are based on pennies with magnetic strip, so that pushes them up by about 2 or 3 mm. The actual figures are probably 22/23 mm tall anyway. I think 1/87 would be far too small. I have a few 1/76 scale vehicles (mainly M3 carriers) and the AB are OK with them, but, of course, the vehicles themselves look tiny against 1/72. |
Pat Ripley  | 12 Jan 2015 1:03 p.m. PST |
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| nazrat | 12 Jan 2015 2:48 p.m. PST |
AB are definitely 1/76 and so work well with either 1/76 or 1/72. I don't think I have ever seen anybody say they were 1/87. |
| spontoon | 12 Jan 2015 4:49 p.m. PST |
they should go well with 20mm vehicles or 1/72 vehicles. These are 1920's and 30's people after all. Bit smaller than nowadays! |
| jacksarge | 12 Jan 2015 5:15 p.m. PST |
1/72 & 1/76 both work with AB. The whole "20mm" thing can be a bit confusing, but I'd definitely avoid 1/87. |
| Saber 29 | 12 Jan 2015 7:05 p.m. PST |
Great; thank you all very much for your responses! |
| agrippavips | 12 Jan 2015 7:21 p.m. PST |
15/18mm minis is closest to 1/100. It is OK to use HO scale (1/87) railroad buildings and accessories with 20mm (1/72 or 1/76) though. |
| Anthony Barton | 13 Jan 2015 4:19 a.m. PST |
The short answer is that they are intended to work with both .
The first issues ( Tank Crews ) were originally made to go with 1/76 vehicles , which is what UK modellers & gamers generally used. The world goes round, and in recent years 1/72 has become entirely dominant, with the vast majority of vehicles now issued in that scale.
So any more recent figures have been made to match that 1/72nd scale. A year or two back I redesigned all the British Tank Crews, for instance, to make them look better in 1/72nd .I try to make them about 22/23mm tall which works out about 5'7" tall, but the size varies a bit as in real people.
The sets deigned to go in vehicles are deliberately squashed somewhat to help to get them to fit. since trying to get a hard metal bottom into a seat can be very trying ! |
Ben Lacy  | 13 Jan 2015 1:40 p.m. PST |
Anthony…I have been gaming WWII with 20mm for 30+ years now, and I have all of your figures. They are THE BEST! thanks, Ben |
| Kungfucius | 16 Jan 2015 2:56 p.m. PST |
Mr. Barton, may I take advantage of this occasion to thank you personally for your work. This thread is just the right place because I had a scale issue for years with the 1/76-1/72 thing and, preferring the latter, i never bought your figures despite the praise they have always received by modellers and wargamers. A terrible mistake, as I found out when in the end I purchased some of them. Your minis work perfectly with 1/72 figures and vehicles and are so exquisitely sculpted and detailed and therefore so easy to paint that they are perfect even as stand alone models. I'm buying all the ranges as they are becoming available again, my last order was placed two days ago. Thanks again
Stefano |
| Vandamme | 20 Jan 2015 4:22 a.m. PST |
I wish also to thank Mr. Barton for his work on my favourite 20mm figures. John |
| Anthony Barton | 20 Jan 2015 4:55 a.m. PST |
Thanks to you all for the kind words, which are much appreciated. Unfortunately I am no longer able to work as much as I once could, but I have managed to make a few new sets recently, and hope to do some more.
We have just opened our new website, which hope you might visit. It's still building but is now open, as of this week : abfigures.com |
| Saber 29 | 24 Jan 2015 6:34 a.m. PST |
Mr. Barton your work is superlative. I been painting miniatures since the early 70s and I've never seen anything as good as your work in any scale. Many thanks for all you've crafted for us! |
| nazrat | 24 Jan 2015 8:56 a.m. PST |
AB models are the first and almost only reason I switched to 20mm from 28. Although there are a number of lines out there that are also quite nice it was the superlative nature of Mr. Barton's sculpts that found me selling hundreds of 28mm figures and trading out for 1/76. Thanks, Tony!! Jerry |
| trikefj | 19 Mar 2015 3:25 p.m. PST |
Superb figures, but can be too large for 1/76 vehicles especially certain milicast ones that can be underscale. |
