"Mixing Miniatures? Etiquette?" Topic

I am new to war gaming and was wondering if it is frowned upon to mix miniatures from different manufacturers in the same game (ex. play with figures from Mark Copplestone's Gangsters and The Chicago Way in the same 1920s skirmish game.) Any additional gaming etiquette advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

No problem at all!

Sometimes it just doesn't look right in the same unit if the figures are from different manufacturers with different styles and sizes. But if they look OK then go with it.

Not at all. That is what makes our armies/forces unique. Mix and match away.

Games workshop forbids it

Recomended for variety. Especially in skirmish type games.

I mix manufacturers with abandon.

go for it! teir yours so who cares what others think. afterall, you may not be the only one!

Go for it! The more the merrier, and this is especially true in skirmish games.
However, like forage fees, mockery is part of wargaming and you can expect a bit if size and proportions get too far out of whack. My group once fielded a hussar regiment, half of which were Staddens or Surens, and the other half of which were Ericsons. They were widely known as "the dachshunds and the giraffes."
Take it in good part. The good old D&G Regiment fought just as well as regiments which were single sourced.

My little boys mix Fisher Price, Playmobil, Thomas the Tank Engine, and pretty much anything else they can find all into the same game. I'm If they can do it, then I figure I'm ok to mix Perry, Warlord, Old Glory and anything else that inspires me into the same army!

Very few manufacturers may make everything you want, so mixing is pretty common.

It's especially easy to mix civilians, I think. With military units, differences in scale of weapons and equipment -- like the same rifle in two different sizes -- can be a problem.

I have some science fiction armored units where I applied the same camouflage scheme to vehicles from different manufacturers, and they ended up looking like they all belong in the same unit. I was in a Full Thrust game where the referee had done the same with space ships from different sources, with the same good result.

I mix all the time.

If they look good together, I use them.

Mixing figures on the table is almost the rule rather than the exception.

Most to me worry about size compatibility, personly I have always tried to get different manufacturers (15mm is what I have)and the only ones who stick out are true 18mm, but only have a couple so I can live with it
p.s. I have over 5k so it would get a bit boring with same even if they were the best figures avaliable.

Go ahead, I mix second generation minifig 15mm Prussian musketeers with OG 15/18mm prussian fusileers in my SYW games. Not even close in size. We just pretend that the musketeers are from an especially impoverished region of Pomerania and were never fed.

I did a quick count. My Napoleonic forces come from at least nine manufacturers, and I may have missed somebody.

> Any additional gaming etiquette advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

If anyone mentions your different manufacturers are slightly different scale – slap them in the head. Running may be required after that.

It's only a problem if you are playing in some official tournament that has a rule against using figures by a different manufacturer. Games Workshop is notorious for doing this. But that is the rare exception. You can safely assume that figures can be freely mixed otherwise.

We mix, but only as a unit, thus an army may have OG, Front Rank, Foundry and Calpe in different units.

In my AWI Continental army I have Perry and Foundry mixed with Eureka and Old Glory,and some Front Rank. I paint them all in the same style so they mix together. Some just look taller or heavier than others, just like in real life. Mix away!

Gentlemen, please. Robber Baron – welcome to the hobby, we're glad you decided to join us. You've joined the ranks of one of the most esoteric hobbies imaginable.

As to your question, the etiquette of gaming should be focused on the camaraderie of the shared hobby. Pretty much everything after that is wide open. And have no fear if you are not a great painter, most of us aren't. We see true artwork from some but mostly we just want to get a decently painted figure – or unit – ready to play on the table.

Again, welcome. And keep the focus on the fun.

Excellent. This was a lot of good info. I'm happy to be here.

Here on TMP, you'll see periodic inquiries along the lines of "Does Brand A mix well with Brand B?" There will usually be plenty of responses, too.

Grelber

As long as it looks good to you, go with it. Some wargamers are more relaxed with mixing various types of figures, others are interested in keeping a more coherent look and stick to a single manufacturer. But that's a personal choice, and has not much to do with etiquette.

I read a battle report once from the old days, in which 20 and 15mm figures were mixed (although not in the same unit) to make up for the big numbers of figures needed.

You can even mix different parts of miniatures e.g. with the perry and fire forge or Gripping beast plastic sets!

"I read a battle report once from the old days, in which 20 and 15mm figures were mixed (although not in the same unit) to make up for the big numbers of figures needed."

I did that a few years ago. All the 15mm units were at one end of the table, they were smaller as they were 'further away'. I've also done it in depth – 6mm artillery offtable and 15mm ones on it.

Mix away to your hearts delight.

Since I do figure conversions, sometimes I mix companies in one figure!

It's your game, do what you want.

Freedom!

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

I do it all the time. As long as they are scaled similarly.

Our last Hammer's Slammers game had product from nine different manufacturers.

I'm considering mixing 6mm buildings with 15mm figures for a Waterloo game. Any thoughts?

Like most on this thread, I mix all the time. In fact, my latest project – a Trojan-esque conflict has every single 15mm Biblical manufacturer I can find.

My 1788 Norwegian army has Minifigs, Jeff Valent, Musket Minis, Polly Oliver, OG15s, Essex and Peter Pig. As mentioned by 14Bore, 15mm is a great scale with only the larger 18mm manufacturers standing out.

Welcome to the wacky world of miniature gaming, Robber Baron. Glad that you decided to join in the fun!

It's a matter of look. I have a complete SYW Swedish army that are Condary small 15mm figures and other armies that are Old Glory and AB. They don't look well together. If that doesn't matter to the players, then there isn't any
Etiquette involved.