"Should I go with 15mm or 6mm?" Topic

I'm looking to start a new ancients/fantasy project and am trying to decide between 15mm and 6mm. This will be for massed battles (using Piquet rules) so I will have lots of units on the table.

I've found a number of manufacturers for both scales that look very nice.

I would appreciate your thoughts on which scale to go with?

I have lots of experience with painting 15mm and 6mm models (mostly sci-fi) so I'm not worried about painting the smaller scale.

If I was starting out in Fantasy then I'd certainly go for 15mm. Fantasy is not only about massed battles but also about major heroes and villains. Such individual figures would be almost indistinguishable in 6mm.

OTOH I have 6mm ancient armies for large scale battles.

see the fantasy thread

I plan to build at least two historically accurate ancients armies to face off against each other. I will also have some fantasy armies that can join in the fight as well.

In my mind heroes can be distinguished in 6mm by mounting them on Dragons or basing them in special and distinguishing way.

I want to do both in the same scale so I thought I would ask on this board about their preferred scale for ancients.

Both scales have their own pro and con factors but it usually will come down to a personal choice and what you want to achieve with your games Another factor is what scale are other gamers in your area using, unless you plan to do both ?

I recommend 6mm, both for cost and the look of a massed battle you can achieve. And morphing Historicals armies to fantasy is pretty easy, Microworld Games has an extensive fantasy line and so does Baccus.

See Peter Berry's essay on why 6mm is better for big battles:
link

Both are great but while I love my 6mm for ACW and Napoleonic I would be tempted to use 15mm for fantasy for the reasons stated above

For ancients either would be good

15mm will usually give you a much better variety. Lots of folks game massed battles in 15mm. You can still pick out the fine detail on 15mm better than you can on 6mm.

6mm does look great en masse. You can paint 6mm with a simple block scheme and they will look fine.

I guess the real question is how much do you love painting? If you really love it then go with 15mm. If it is just a means to an end, go with 6mm

I'm not sure if anyone makes 6mm in the US. Scale Creep stocked Baccus 6mm figures, but something has happened, and it is not clear when or if they will get in new figures.

There is also 10mm.

Microworld is in the US.

There are a lot fewer pikes to replace with wire in 15mm than a 6mm unit…

More seriously, I just prefer the look of larger figures for both Ancients and Fantasy, they have more character. 6mm massed stuff looks better for more regimented periods like Napoleonics. IMHO, YMMV etc

I'm not a gamer but I collect and paint a lot of figures and love putting together large 15mm armies. I think 15s lend themselves both to big armies and offer a figure size that allows one to paint up good looking figures that can be easily viewed and appreciated. You can see my Romans vs. Germanic tribesmen at link

My personal preference is 15mm.
I've tried 6mm a few times, but I like the look of 15mm a lot more.

I prefer the spectacle of large battles in 6mm.
I pulled these images off the internet. See which image you prefer, that should inform you of which scale is right for you.

15mm

Now 6mm

Never seen anyone play 6mm anywhere myself so I would say 15mm but the whole thing really depends on what others have around you to play against.

You all make good points. Individually, 15mm models have superior detail, but in a massive battle, I'm not sure you will notice the difference.

While I do enjoy painting, I tend to paint to a table-top standard and that is very easy and quick with 6mm.

I plan to build and paint multiple armies, so I will be able to play with myself. I have one friend that has some 6mm armies for ancients, but since I will be putting together both sides, that isn't really a concern. Though it would open up more options if I don't duplicate his forces.

What size tables do you normally play your games on? 6' x 4'? Does the scale change the size of your table or just increase the size of your armies?

For table size, I'm going with Mighty Armies as my rules, and for both 15mm (the default figure size for the rules) and 6mm (what I'm using), the basic table is only 2'x2' for a pair of 40 point armies fighting each other. That's about 8-12 units per side. You can go larger, adding more width (not depth) to the table.

6mm for rank and file and 15mm for commanders.

6mm always 6mm

10mm should be a serious contender in this discussion. Tons of new fantasy figures coming out from Pendaken, plus many available already. As for 10mm ancients, check out all the battle reports in the Warning Order pdf newsletter. Looks as good en mass as 6mm, easy to paint, good detail from across the table, ect.

Get some samples from the manufacturers in 6mm, 10mm, and 15mm. Pendraken, Baccus, Adler, Microworld, and Splintered Light will all send some free samples. I don't know if Old Glory will do the same for their 10mm and 18mm.

Mess around with them, seeing what you like. I did this and realized painting and basing 6mm was not for me outside microarmor, though I will gladly play 6mm ancients or any 6mm game other than skirmish.

I'm a Warmaster fantasy and ancients guy.

Great thing about 6mm Fantasy is using 10 or 15mm figures for monsters.They look huge on the table and are cheap enough to use lots.
If your idea of Fantasy is endless hordes swarming all over the battle field well in 6mm it's pretty impressive.
Regarding table sizes it generally just increases your army size,I do 2mm Ancients at 1:2 figure ratio so a 6 foot table can cover 2 miles.

15mm, smaller are just blobs. just imho of course

10mm. Lots of options pendraken, magister militium , copplestone are excellent. Best of both worlds.

Depends on the rules, really, and the kind of game you want. If your rules are unit based, and don't need individual casualties being removed, then 6mm is fine. If you are looking at removing individual figures, then I'd probably go for 15mm. 6mm is quick and easy to paint – you don't have to worry about lots of detail, just the main points. It's now my preferred scale for pretty much everything, but then I like element based rules sets, not individual figures.

I prefer 6mm for ancient battles due to the effect of mass. Rapier and Baccus are fully compatible in the same unit. Microworld and Heroics and Ros are compatible, but a bit smaller than Baccus and Rapier. Irregular ten to fall between the others as far as size. I have seen some 6mm done with a great amount of detail, including lace on the hats of 7 years war figures.

Some massed battles and armies
link
link
link

6mm for the win!

Although I game with 28's, I really like the look of the smaller scales, especially Harry's 6's. Re 15's and 6's I am reminded of the Immortal words of Father Ted "These are small… but the ones out there are far away."

I used to game in 15mm, then got interested in 6mm and built up several ancient armies. But when I actually got around to putting them on the table and fighting battles I was appalled by the lack of visual appeal because they were so small. It felt like pushing board game markers around.

So, needless to say I went back to 15's and am content. The one benefit is that you can play on a smaller table. I have an 8' x 6' that I use for the 15's, but was able to do the 6's on the dining room table. That can be a key consideration for some people.

I have a lot of 6mm ancient armies but have been switching over to 15mm.

1:1 or solo 6mm works great and I really like the 6mm look. I am switching due to the reaction of the other players in mulitplayer games (CC Ancients)- they just can't pick out the differences in the figure types at 6mm. It doesn't really matter that I can, they claim they can't – which is slightly deflating if not depressing when the 6mm figures look really good.

Bill

Get some samples from the manufacturers in 6mm, 10mm, and 15mm.

Wise words. Seriously. I did that for Napoleonics and it taught me a lot – I liked the look of 6mm but didn't enjoy painting them. Everyone's painting style is different so you may even prefer smaller figures

Baccus decided to do 10mm for ancients rather than 6

My vote was for 10mm Ancients

John

After reviewing all your input and doing some research on the models that are available, I have made a decision.

I've decided on 6mm.

Both scales (and 10mm) have some great models available, but the one guy I know that plays the same game has 6mm. While I plan to paint multiple armies, it will be nice to have another player that I can face off against without having to provide two armies. This will hopefully let me get some games in sooner than later.

I appreciate all your input and have found a few manufacturers that I wasn't previously aware of.

jwebster,
Have you got that right? I know Ive gone up to 10mm to make ancients…………
L

25/28mm or nothing.

Go big or go home.

@LeonAdler
Sorry, it was you – brain is unfortunately functioning no better than it ever did

It was Adler who have started 10mm ancients

Very nice they are too – I particularly enjoyed painting the gallic heavy and noble cavalry

John

The thing is to try out a scale but don't go mad on initial purchases and see how it goes. DBA (any variant), Basic Impetus or similar would do ok for small army actions.