"Preferred Scale for WWII Gaming?" Topic

I have large 15mm armies for Flames of War.
I could have gone into other scales but none of the games rules interested me.

It is 6mm for me (or 1/285 – 1/300 if you prefer). I like to play battalion-sized games at one-to-one unit scales. Can't really see doing that at any other scale.

I've done some skirmish gaming at larger scales (mostly 1/76) and thought it was kind of fun. I painted about 30 figures and two vehicles at that scale. I have more than 1,000 vehicles, a few battalions of figures, and a few dozen aircraft and 'copters at 6mm.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

20mm-ish. I have lots of it and teraain for it. I would have liked to have started with 15mm but now I am getting older and my eyes are not what they were, I am thinking 20mm is perfect.

If starting from scratch and doing it all over again, 15mm. I generally prefer larger scale actions, battalion up to multiple corps, although size of toy doesn't really influence scale of battle.

Luckily I don't have start all over again, so I have my 6,15 and 20mm stuff to play with.

It's a false premise. But I'd exclude anything over 20mm.

In order of preference

15mm
20mm
10mm
6mm/1:285
54mm/1:32 skirmish
28mm

Phil

I have 6mm, 10mm, 15mm and 20mm but have never been tempted to invest in 28mm, although I've played with friends' collections. Great figures but not the type of game I prefer and where would I store the buildings I would inevitably buy?

Of them all, I think I would have to say that 10mm is now my preferred scale, as it allows battles to be fought at battalion level and above, which is where my main interest lies.

20mm. I've got some 15mm FoW but 20mm just has that x factor for me.

Well 10mm has a bigger range of WW2 models available than any other scale and its comparatively inexpensive compared to other scales so its got to be a strong contender.

6mm

I have and use both 20mm and 28mm armies for WWII. We also play with 1/144 scale for all tank battles. The 20mm work for bigger games with more armor and the 28mm works for more skirmish level games. I enjoy all three scales.

20mm

Interesting question, so I did a quick count and the results show(of those who responded):
#1 – 20mm
#2 – 6mm
#3 – 15mm
#4 – 28mm
#5 – 10mm
#6 – 54mm
#7 – 3mm

Note: I only counted 1 scale per respondent and if they listed multiple scales then the first scale they listed.

Dave

You omitted 1/87. If you have to give it a non-scale listing it would be 18mm.

For those of us who do WW2 gaming with actual scale models, neither 15mm nor 20mm castings very clearly do not match with 1/87.

20mm! Although I have lots of 15mm and a few 28s as well.

3mm for me too – I prefer larger scale operations, not the minutiae of skirmishing.

I do 20mm for VBCW but only because the group had that as an established fact before I joined in. Take up loads of storage space and I wouldn't have room at all if I had to provide the terrain as well.

20mm

15mm is my preferred scale, but I am intrigued by all of the miniatures and terrain available in 20mm plus all the cool HO scale terrain.

I started with 20mm and changed scales as the local group moved on to the next hot thing, 6mm, 15mm, 28mm and now back to 20mm. I should have stuck to my guns and kept all of my 20mm figures and terrain!

God's own scale of course, 20mm.

20mm… anything else is just a toy ;)

I've got 15mm, 20mm and 28mm.

My personal preference is 20mm. IMO they're proportions are outstanding compared to my 15mm (Battlefront) and 28mm (Artizan, Warlords BA etc, etc)

Having said that; when my uninitiated buddies come over and I show them my toys they gravitate immediately towards the 28mm?!?

They are far more inclined to see them as a game piece rather than a "toy". IMO my 20mm are painted better and are superior sculpts (mostly AB)

Now to completely nullify everything I've just said; if I could only pick one scale/size for all my WW2 wargaming needs I'd pick 15mm. They have real decent detail and of course look great en masse. If you need lots of troops on the table they are great. I'm sorry but 10mm just looks too small for my tastes but I appreciate others love them

So in summary: I've been no help…I'm sorry

Utter lies are being spoken. Gods scale is 12mm (well 1/144 really)!

We started out with 1/72 as its cheap and lots available. The limitation is that at 1:1 i.e 1 tank = 1 tank, 1/72 has a lot of limitations but its good for very small urban games.

We then looked at 6, 10, 12, 15 and 20mm.

We settled on 1/144 (about 12mm), at least with a real scale you know what you are actualy getting. As a bonus its currently the best scale for 3D printed models. I have a 3D printer and a lot of stuff is comming out for this scale.

1/300 or 1/285 has limitations. GHQ do lots of vehicals but as a wargamer they are worthless to us, the guns are too fragile to use in a game. Also they are too small to move the turrets on small vehicles, vital if you don't want absurd looking formations. Plus at the (to us) optimum ground scale 1mm = 1m there are too many houses in a village at 1/300. Its correct but too many to be playable. Also the roads are too narrow to get your fingers in.

10mm never was. Some vehicles were 10 mm but 10mm troops were always 12mm any way.

12mm lots of good plastic. its UK N gauge so lots of scenary if you want it. Turrets on small vehicles are just ok. Optimum match to ground scale.

15 mm – many 15mm are nearer 20mm but even real 15mm is for us too close to 1/72 which is about 20mm. Worth a look if you go for the new real 15mm plastics that look to be genuine 15mm and not too costly.

20mm interchangeable with 1/72 in many cases, where we started out. These are more about the modelling than the playing and limit the size of the game.

28mmm and above. Not realy very practical for other than very small games and even then you proably don't want proper rules. At that scale having your expensive Bren carrier 400 yds away from the enemy as it should be means its off the table. Really these are modllers scale not players scale.

In the end its a compromise and depends on you take. Some folk like us (MG) are players first that just need somthing reasonableas a model. They go for the smaller scales. Some folk are modllers first and gamers second. They go for the larger scales to better enjoy the really fine detail.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd go with 20mm for skirmish and small battles.

1/285th for the large, armored clashes.

20mm. It's the sweet spot scale. 28mm is too big, 6mm too small. 10mm and 15mm are OK, but 20mm just has everything for me…it's the first true love.

15 mm

Since my interest is in larger units (multiple battalions or brigades), I use 1-5 ratio rules like Command Decision or Spearpoint. For this, 6mm looks best to me, but only if minimalistic basing is used (no bases for vehicles, and thin bases for infantry). My ideal is an approximation of the view from a small plane, with the ability to move in closer to see more detail. So this is the type of setup I use.

The majority prefer larger scales like 20mm, but games with these scales usually look too toy-like to me. To each his own I guess.

MH

15mm for me. however I do have 28s also.

20mm for skirmish and up to 2-3 platoons.

6mm for anything over a company.

28mm offers nothing that 20mm does not do better [my opinion others are entitled to theirs of course]

15mm? I remember when 15mm started in WW2 [about 1990?] and I thought – what is the point? Well – history has proved me wrong [not the first time]. But I still contend that FOW would be better in 1/300 or 1/285. They wouldn't have made much money though, so yeah. I get it.

As a rule I only play aerial WW2 and it is in 3mm.

I do have 1:6000 ships for the Java Sea battles and a time warp modern/WW2 scenario.

15mm. Everything else is either too big and expensive or too small and meh to me. I bought the Bolt Action starter ages ago and it remains in its box. Maybe one day.

I skirmish and Flames of War, so 15mm is perfect for me.

15mm is my preference as a good universal scale, where vehicles aren't too cumbersome to cart around, yet infantry are sufficiently detailed.

15mm for platoon level (1 vehicle = a platoon ), 28mm for 1:1 skirmish.

15mm if I had to pick just one, but Imhave 28mm as well. I sold all my 20mm many years ago when 15mm came out.
28mm is new for me and takes me back to my days as a modeller. Cheaper and takes up less space than 1/35, but you get the big kit experience. Decent plastic kits and multipart hard plastic infantry makes conversions and customising a pleasure.

I would add my vote for 20mm. I have just recently shelved or sold my 28mm WWII in favor of 20mm. Beautiful AB figures and loads of vehicles that look appropriate on a standard sized gaming table.

20mm – but mainly because I've got a huge amount of stuff in that scale.
If I were starting from scratch, I'd probably go for 10mm. Big enough to see detail, small enough to fight bigger battles if required.

28mm and 10mm gives the best of both. 15mm is too pricey for larger armies and 6mm is too small …

20mm for Burma, 28mm for Europe…but just recently we've turned to 54mm for Normandy/Belgium/Netherlands – bought loads of John Lander's stuff…what a brilliant bloke to deal with; incredibly helpful and patient.
We're going to try out Crossfire, which is how the figures are based, but in the meantime we're using Bolt Action with loads of scenery to interrupt LoS and no ground scale, so if you can see a target (12 foot x 6 foot table) you can shoot at it.

20mm – quite years ago and now coming back. Same Same for ACW.

Anything smaller and these old eyes just can't tell a rifle from a broomstick.

For AFV tactical combat, I have 1/285 with limited space and 10mm if I have a lot of space. 10mm is more cost effective than 15mm.
For skirmish gaming, I use a lot of 28mm.

15mm. Although this is subjective choice not some arrogance of conceit!
For my personal uses 15mm fits my limited gaming table size. It is also ideal for my recognition and tactile purposes.
All scales have merits but the merits vary from player to player. Anyone that thinks WW2 can only be played in 1 scale needs to get out more and grow up!

martin

My ww2 stuff has 1/3000, 1/1258, 1/600, 1/300, 15mm and 28mm.

…"picking only one scale for WWII gaming is crazy talk"

well said Mako11

20mm

I can look to the wealth of 1/72 and 1/76 vehicle models and HO model railroad buildings and terrain to go with my 20mm figures and 20mm buildings/terrain.

Surprisingly, I do not like using 20mm (metal/resin) vehicles unless I am desperate. Plastic model kits all the way.

Mike

20mm for this rabbit. The model kit (resin & plastic) and miniature selection covers almost all nationalities. The big difference from 15mm is the ability to see across a larger gaming table for the miniatures and take pictures. 15mm tend to be hidden in the tabletop clutter. Great for battalion or lower level gaming. For the higher level stuff… 1/285 would be my scale (GHQ).

M

For the record… I play 20mm with FOW.

1/32 or 1/285

20mm

20mm
15mm
28mm

All for different sets of rules.

28mm has a very good relation between size, detail and gameplay.

The models are increasing every day. High detail miniatures, vehicles, scenography for all the human ages. A lot of materials to do it, wood, metal, resine and plastic.

Relating to WW2 now we can get a lot of miniatures, vehicles, tanks, trucks, river boats (from Warlord, Old Glory miniatues, …), and now aircrafts too, from Blitzkrieg miniatures (JU 87 Stuka) or Shapeways (P51D Mustang, BF109G Messerschmitt). And all in only few years. I think this is only the beggining :)

28mm

20mm of course – cost quality variety – just can't be matched.

Odd though that someone mentioned using 5mm for platoon level. A 5mm model is much to small to cover enough ground in a typical 1" = 50m platoon level game. A 20mm model at least approximates the area covered by a platoon.

I guess you could mount several 5mm models on a 2X2" card and call it a platoon.

TomT