OSchmidt | 11 Jun 2015 5:28 a.m. PST |
Are you adamant that everything be in scale, or do you find that using out of scale elements can sometimes emphasize a modeling scene or create dynamic visual effect that heighten a project. For example using 15mm building on a 25mm table top to save space or simply give an effect./ |
Rrobbyrobot | 11 Jun 2015 5:33 a.m. PST |
I've seen such done for photos. Smaller buildings and such in the background to give the impression of distance. But I don't do such on my game table. |
doc mcb | 11 Jun 2015 5:38 a.m. PST |
Depends. I use 10mm buildings in 15mm to reduce the footprint. |
steamingdave47 | 11 Jun 2015 5:55 a.m. PST |
It's pretty well impossible to play miniature wargames with everything in scale. The ground scale will invariably be out of scale with figure scale, even when playing 1/3000 naval on a big table. Closest I get is probably Chain of Command. We just have to compromise. |
DesertScrb | 11 Jun 2015 6:19 a.m. PST |
I use smaller scale terrain in my 6mm Sci Fi games of Ogre. It's practical for my purposes and it looks pretty good on the table. |
John Armatys | 11 Jun 2015 6:44 a.m. PST |
"These are small, those are far away" (Father Ted). I normally use buildings smaller then the figure scale (or you end up calling three houses a town). 1:1200 or 1:1250 scale aircraft work really well with 1:3000 scale ships, and 1:144 or 1:100 scale aircraft can be used with 20mm figures. Years ago I experimented with using 25mm Marlburian generals with 5mm figures – the idea was that size showed importance and to try to get the effect of the Blenheim tapestries, for example:
No defence or attack needed – use whatever works for you. |
Extra Crispy | 11 Jun 2015 6:55 a.m. PST |
Except in a very, very few skirmish games you don't have a choice. |
Frederick | 11 Jun 2015 8:40 a.m. PST |
Agree with Extra Crispy – terrain is almost always out of scale to some extent |
(Phil Dutre) | 11 Jun 2015 8:41 a.m. PST |
I consistently use buildings one scale smaller than the figures. E.g. 15mm buildings with 25mm figures etc. Looks more natural, esp. in mass battles. For skirmish not so much. As for mixing figures, I've always wanted to do Kadesh with infantry in 6mm, chariots in 25mm, and the Pharaoh/Generals in 40mm – to replicate the look-and-feel of scenes like this:
Similar to the Blenheim idea mentioned before. |
Rudysnelson | 11 Jun 2015 12:35 p.m. PST |
Hate out of scale use in a miniatures game. |
dsfrank | 11 Jun 2015 8:55 p.m. PST |
I'm ok with smaller aircraft in a game provided they are in the air I'm ok with smaller buildings if they look good on the table |
arthur1815 | 12 Jun 2015 2:30 a.m. PST |
I think it's a very interesting idea too – not least because one can just have basically painted troops that will pass muster en masse, whilst having detailed personality figures. |
John Armatys | 12 Jun 2015 5:44 a.m. PST |
Tim, it worked OK, I think people found it a bit odd but were kind enough not to say anything… |
Mobius | 12 Jun 2015 6:34 a.m. PST |
The only way to play most battles is with units grossly out of scale. To make up for this your rules have to make allowances for height distortions and for close in battles in towns and cities. The thing I have ever played that had true ground to figure scale was bar fights and Old West gun fights. |
McLaddie | 12 Jun 2015 7:29 a.m. PST |
Small skirmish games can be 'in scale'. I play Chain of Command with 15mm figures… the ground scale is 40 yards to 12 inches, so the figures are the right height etc. The whole issue of scale remains an important one IF you consider how fast units can move and be considered to have 'arrived' at some spot as well as how many troops you can maneuver in X amount of space. The usual height of figures is not even an issue. you can never make the figures short enough, so don't go there, but the area of the table and the area units reside on is important in recreating a battle. I can't count the number of times I have attempted to recreate a battle, only to find the units' fronts can't fit where the actual units did--by a wide margin. One the other hand, other rules provide adequate unit sizes to easily recreate battles. It all depends on what you are scaling. |
Bunkermeister | 12 Jun 2015 11:25 a.m. PST |
I use 1/72nd scale plastic figures with HO 1/87 scale vehicles and have since about 1960. I don't notice that they are not the same size. Mike Bunkermeister Creek Bunker Talk blog |
ordinarybass | 13 Jun 2015 6:17 a.m. PST |
I generally don't go for things that are massively out of scale, but… -I've got a few 15mm and 6mm items in 10mm gaming, -Aircraft are often out of scale with ground units -Often I use 1/43 vehicles with 28mm figures. -Almost all terrain is compressed in terms of footprint so that even if they are the right height, my buildings are almost always half or less the width or depth they would be if "in-scale" |
etotheipi | 13 Jun 2015 6:37 a.m. PST |
I don't mind different scales for things, and will deliberately mix them for effect. Because I play a lot of skirmish 28mm, I tend to use slightly bigger buildings and terrain so figures can go into them, move down hallways (including their bases!), balance on objects, and hide behind them. I like 1:48 scale buildings for that effect. |