"skirmish game using 1/6 scale figure" Topic

This is a spin-off from a discussion in another thread. Essentially, the idea described here merges customized 1/6 scale figures, skirmish gaming, and role playing.

I start with a set of WWII skirmish rules. I'm currently using a modified version of "Nuts", by Two Hour Wargames. In the past I've used other rules, including a modified version of SPI's "Sniper". One advantage of the Nuts rules is that they give significant comic-book-type survival advantages to personal characters, thus facilitating a campaign.

All solders in the game are represented on the game map or table in the traditional manner. In addition, each player fields a 1/6 scale figure, typically representing that player's personal character, in the role playing sense. The figure is posed each game turn, in a manner representing its current game status, on a small vignette-style stand, reflecting its current location on the game map. (Note that posing a 1/6 scale figure realistically requires quite a bit of practice, including looking at real poses in a mirror. Note the improvement in the upper image, when compared to the much earlier lower image. Standing poses are the easiest, and prone the hardest.) I currently have an "urban" stand, and am planning an "outdoor" one as well. The urban stand has a replaceable floor and a generic-looking background wall, allowing it to be used either for inside or outside a building. The outdoor stand will be similar, but with a sky/treeline background, along with a replaceable base insert representing a either a field, or a cut-away foxhole. Thus the 2 bases allow a crude representation of any location on the game map.

Here is my Commando lieutenant character, kneeling-firing from inside a building, at an MG42 across the street. One can use such images for AARs. The figure itself has been customized from several commercial sources, and will be more so in future. These changes are analogous to modifying and painting a traditional miniature figure, and can include mods to the 1/6 scale mannequin, as well as to uniforms and equipment. "Nuts" rules were being used in this game.

This is an older (and less-well posed) image, showing the relationship of the stands to the skirmish game.

MH

Interesting. A friend and I have been threatening to do something similar for years. We have a lot (way too many) 1/6th infantry and vehicles (gulp). He recently started building 1/6th scale Arnhem buildings in LEGO for this.

Crazy, I know.

Wow, looks like fun!

The point of using only one figure is to avoid the space and playability issues which result when you do everything in 1/6 scale. Also, I personally prefer the focus on the single guy. Of course, we all have our preferences :-)

BTW my opponent in the original game at the bottom has quite a few R/C 1/6 scale armored vehicles. They are usually way too heavy for any one person to lift.

MH

Very impressive, thanks for sharing!

I also play Nuts! as my go to game and have also thought about adapting it to the Sniper! city map. Using the 1/6 figure and some of Nuts! rpg lite rules can really make each game immersive.

I'd like to see your field stand at some point.

On a side note, I would think you could use Nuts! pretty much as is on the Sniper! map without having to use Snipers' simultaneous fire and movement rules.

This is a great idea and thanks for sharing.

This looks like a very novel and excellent idea. You should create a blog to share this with everyone.

takes be back to when as a kid we would use our "G.I. Joes" back in the 60's for war games.

I remember, many year ago when Historicon was still at the host, someone set up and ran a skirmish game using 1/6 figures. If I remember correctly it was US paras and German troops and it was D-Day. A laser pointer placed along side the personal weapon was used for line of sight.

Of course I am old and it may have been 1/9th :)

Was going to ask if you rented a dance hall or basketball court to play on…

This looks really fun but I can't yet see what the 1/6th figure adds besides visual appeal and being cool.

Interested to see how you develop it.

This looks really fun but I can't yet see what the 1/6th figure adds besides visual appeal and being cool.

I claim it's pretty much analogous to conventional miniatures. The main difference is that it's not on the game map, and hence does not itself record the position of the soldier on the map, but relies on a separate counter or mini for that.

However it does as you say add atmosphere, which is the reason we use minis instead of bottle caps. The atmosphere it adds goes beyond the traditional miniature in that it is much more detailed, and is usually customized to represent one's (role-playing) character. In this context, note that you can modify its uniform, weapons, etc. from game to game (or turn to turn), which makes the role playing aspect more immersive. Finally, it is re-posed each turn to represent its current game state. For example, you can fire from the hip, kneeling, or prone; you can sidle along a wall; you can prepare and/or throw a grenade; etc. To some degree, this depends on the game states recognized by the rules. So if they have a "reloading" state:

MH

OK – I can see that. And if you have the 1/6th figures anyway you are going to want to play with them!

If the exact pose/action is important [and it could be in a ultra detailed skirmish/RP game] then I see it's more fun and more detailed than a counter on a card or side note.

Always like these figures – probably a flashback to my Action Man collection – but have never bought any. Came close a couple of times in Japan but really didn't have the spare cash.

You really only need one figure for this gaming idea; rules such as "Nuts" work well for solitaire games. Although commercial 1/6 scale WWII figures provide a starting point, they tend to have comic book physiques and matinee idol faces, which don't look like typical WWII soldiers. The fun part is learning how to customize them, which admittedly requires the purchase of spare parts. A sewing machine is also useful, although I don't have one, and so have to do it by hand. Some of the best such work is here link . Although Tony's level of quality is probably too delicate for the constant reposing which my system requires, it does show what can be done.

One area of 1/6 figure modification which hasn't yet been properly developed some sort of additional hinge for raising the shoulder and shoulder joint, for better firing poses. This is kind of like a shrug, but only on one side. link link The mod would not be easy to do, in part because the additional joint would probably need to be "lock-able". You don't want a figure which is too difficult to pose because it is constantly collapsing. Some day I plan to look into this. An appropriate 1-axis joint (up/down) could be cannibalized from a spare body (mannequin).

MH

I did this with a friend of mine. We had enough for a platoon each of German, US and British and had great fun playing games up to this level – but he did have a farm so we had the space. The key points in this scale of game are:
1. Keep wives & dogs etc out of the way. Eventually we counted doggie disruption as sniping.
2. 'Normal' Wargames rules don't work: we found a mix of free kriegspiel and some basic 'guides' were best.
3. The more figures you have the point of using poseable figures is lost. The best games were at section level.
We've sold our figures now so that particular avenue of pleasure is closed, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

I have done this with my Grandson Will and can field a full platoon of SS and a full platoon of American Infantry, also 10 man squads of American & German Paratroopers. I caught William once a few years ago with a shovel in my backyard wanting to create a trench line for his SS unit. We have always had great fun with these as we attach a nail with rubber bands on the inside of the boots so it is easy to get the figures to stand up in the yard.