"Scale Question" Topic

Ok. I am sorry to ask this question, but can someone tell me what 1:285 means in millimeters?

If I am interested in starting some GHQ moderns, what scale are the buildings and relevant terrain?

I am sure this has been covered a zillion times before, but my search function is acting up and I am rather crunched for time.

Thank you.

6mm terrain is what you're looking for.

Yes. Both 1:285 and 1:300 are both referred to as 6mm.

Many vehicles (tanks, etc.) are about an inch long in this scale, so roughly 25mm or so.

1mm = approximately one foot in size, so troops are about 6mm high, hence the name.

Perfect! Thank you all for the super quick replies.

for future reference:

TMP all about scales
TMP link

Thanks TNE.

Can 1/285 and 1/300 mix just fine on the table? Meaning, if I ordered some GHQ Abrams and Heroic & Ros Abrams, perhaps not in the same unit group, but in the same area, would there be a noticeable difference in size?

Like any miniatures the same subject from different manufacturers will almost always appear different. There is some size difference between 1/285 and 1/300 but both companies have had a history making models larger or smaller than "true" scale.

GHQ tends to have lots of oversize detail making it still stand out after painting (a history of helmet size rivets is common) and H&R has varied from little detail to more pronounced. You would almost have to have the particular subjects on hand at the same time.

As for compatibility it will depend on how close and primarily your opinion. If you are acquiring a collection or two I would just go ahead if the price is right, repaint to match, if desired and field them on the table. Someone, or yourself, complains tell them where to order you replacements from!

I mix many makes of micro armour minis. I particularly like H&R infantry but happily mix theirs and GHQ on the same base. Hope this has helped.

@ccmatty:

As you suspect the size difference from 1/285 to 1/300 *is* noticeable during a game. Whether anyone cares is a different matter.

I happily mix 1/285 and 1/300 just not in the same unit.

I have, for example, Pz38t from GHQ, CinC and H&R. The two American brands are both supposed to be "exact" 1/285 (check old advertising claims) and there is a major size difference. GHQ's are much larger while the CinC castings are very close to scale. These minis were from over 30 years ago though. The H&R were close to the size of the CinCs but details were much cruder including very over thick (but survivable) barrels. Since I had plenty from each manufacturer I chose to keep the CinC models.

As you suspect the size difference from 1/285 to 1/300 *is* noticeable during a game. Whether anyone cares is a different matter.

I happily mix 1/285 and 1/300 just not in the same unit.

I too happily mix 1/285 and 1/300. But I mix them even in the same unit, and sometimes even on the same stand. Not always, mind you, and I don't suggest that even I would mix them on the stand or in the unit without some examination of the models in question.

But mix 'em I do. And it is not because I don't care how my 6mm armies look. Quite the contrary, I do care, very much. But among the major vendors I don't find universally applicable rules of mixable vs. not-mixable. And a nice paint job dominates any minor differences.

I thought I might put some images up on this very matter.

This is a pic of some AT guns from my 6mm WW2 Romanian force. In this one pic you can see vehicles (SdKfz 15 and Laffley W15 prime movers) from GHQ, guns (Pak97/38s) from C-in-C, infantry (rifle-armed battery HQ and LMG security section) from GHQ, and kneeling gun crews (older models) from H&R.

Here is my Romanian gun line. 75mm horse-drawn field guns are H&R, security section (LMG) is GHQ, standing gun crews are a mix of GHQ and (older) H&R artillery figures, and the HQ stand is one (older) H&R standing figure, 1 GHQ standing figure, and one Scotia kneeling figure.

To my eye, the Scotia figures are too large. They claim to be 1/300, but I feel that the kneeling radio man on the HQ base is too big compared even to the standing GHQ figure (1/285). That said, I don't find a lot of sources of kneeling figures with radios (or field telephones), and so I took what I could get.

To my eye the differences between GHQ and H&R are noticeable, but not so great that I fear mixing them even on the same stand. If you look at the artillery crews, in the third and fourth guns from the bottom you will observe a figure standing on the left side of the gun, a GHQ artillery crew figure, who is taller than the figure standing at the back of the gun, an H&R artillery crew figure. I can see the difference in height, but I do not see it as greater than the differences in height I see in any normal group of actual 1-to-1 scale human beings. And I've never experienced a gamer criticizing my forces for it.

I mention that the H&R figures are older, because I have just received my first order of some of the newer H&R figures, in this case some Italian figures, and they are really very nice figures. Substantially more detailed than the older H&R figures, still nicely proportioned, in some very good stances, and still seemingly pretty robust (meaning non-fragile, not meaning bulky). Size-wise they appear to be somewhat larger than the older H&R figures, but perhaps not quite as large as the GHQ figures. All based only on first observations -- haven't done more than open them up and looked at them so far.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)