"How well does company "X" fit with company "y"?" Topic

First off, I am just as guilty of this as anyone else.
What I can't figure out is why?

Folks on this forum often ask about how well figures from one particular company would look next to another company. I wonder if we take this too seriously. As evidence, I present this picture of two troopers from 507/82 somewhere in Normandy. For comparison, the soldier on the right is 6'03"

But their weapons would be the same size, as would the width of their equipment straps (and note their helmets are the same size). Figure line compatibility/incompatibility _is_ a legitimate consideration.

While people come in different heights and stature, an M-1 garand rifle only comes in one size! People on the table of different sizes can be acceptable to a point. But taking non-organic items (like tanks) can be unacceptable to many. Again, the hulls of a PzKfw III G are expected to be very close to being the same by differing manufacturers of wargame pieces. It is not a matter of measuring to the eyes or top of the head as the PzKfw III G remains the same dimension's off the assembly line- variation is expected by the gamer not to vary yet they do. Guess it boils down to how much variance can one live with on the tabletop? "I" am not a "Scale Stickler" as long as the miniature is "close" and is what it is supposed to represent in the game. Sure, would be nice if all makers can scale down 8 feet, 3 inches exactly in the final rendition for sale, but wargaming is not Scale Modelling competition standards! Have fun and be thankful someone makes what you have been looking for.

The weapons ‘same size' stuff is valid, but if you are looking at anything pre-industrial then it is irrelevant.

Get a bunch of vikings from a load of different manufacturers, throw ‘em all together and you're good to go…

As noted above, it is an equipment size issue. Also, a lot of people find it to be an aesthetic issue. Differences in size become amplified the smaller the objects are.

Agreed, equipment size is what matters. As an example TAG Vietnam range has M-16, SKS, and RPGs that fit well with West Wind, however, the TAG M-60 and AKs are way to large. So, for me, figure size may be compatible and weapon size not.

Number of poses makes a huge difference. Even pre-industrial, you don't want 12 giants with spears grounded and 12 midgets with spears leveled in the same 24-casting unit.

My overall objective is (1) all equipment of any single type should be single-sourced (2) unless it's a skirmish/RPG game, people should be plus or minus 10%, no more and (3) horses should be close enough that it doesn't look like the hussars are riding Shetland ponies next to the cuirassiers.

I prefer my figures all be equipped with same-size weapons, but this is a goal, not a hard requirement. I live in the Real World, where sculptors vary the sizes of their figures…

I play two styles of games: Army Men (50mm-60mm sized figures -- even Army Men scales and sizes vary!); and fantasy, nominally 25mm-28mm. I have more leeway in sizes with fantasy, but the same issue exists. Actually, the size issue is even worse in fantasy: one man's Elf is 6+ feet tall, and another man's Elf is 4.5-5.5 feet tall; one man's Gnoll is 7+ feet tall, and… You get the idea. LOL!

I tried finding figures of non-Human races that closely matched the heights listed by Gary Gygax in his First Edition AD&D Monster Manual, based on 25mm = five feet. It was a challenge, but I found some figures which were sized properly, to some of my Humans. I gave up after a while.

I have a Gnome Army, which should be 2.5-3.0 feet tall, along with Hill (shorter) and Mountain (taller) Dwarves, which should be 3-4 feet tall. My Hill Dwarves are actually better sized figures for Gnomes, but the style is wrong. My Gnomes are properly sized for Hill Dwarves, but the Gnomes and Dwarves get mixed together, as needed, being re-skinned for whichever race I need them to represent on the tabletop. LOL!

I make do with what I have.

If 3D printing had come out 30 years ago, I would have bought STL files, and scaled/sized them properly to match Gary's heights, and I'd have the "perfect" armies ("perfect" for me, alone…). I hate the brittleness of resin printed wargaming miniatures, however, so that would have ended very badly.

If you want all of your figures to be properly sized, dive into 3D printing, and have at it! Cheers!

I've been mixing Battlefront, CD and Quality Castings miniatures on the bases liberally in my PTO collection (USMC, IJA, IJNSLF, etc.). These are distinctly different sizes, styles, and statures, but… look fine together on a base.

First, 15mm (and 18mm and 1/100 scale) figures are fairly small, so harder to distinguish.

Second, they're in mixed poses, and often very active poses, which helps hide height and girth differences.

Third, base decorations and terrain can help obfuscate the differences.

Really, the thing that makes the biggest difference is helmet size. Figures with little helmets don't mix so well with figures with big helmets. Weapons held at different angles and distances from the body are hard to compare to each other; helmets of different sizes are much easier to notice.

Yellow Admiral +1 Hats are the most noticeable thing ever ng on any figure.

It isn't size, it is anatomical proportion that is the issue. Sure, not every human has the same proportions, but most do. The photo above is a great example. Different sizes, same basic proportions. These proportions/ratios are pretty well known by anyone who has taken a drawing class.

Put a Tom MeierThundebolt Mountain Byzantine next to a Gripping Beast Byzantine. Both great figures, but the anatomical proportions are so different that I'd never put them on the same table.

It's a very legit concern especially for, but definitely not limited to, equipment.

I do mix and match quite a lot of different manufacturers to achieve height differences, and even make modification up or down as necessary. I do a lot of games based on movies, and the height differences within the cast can be quite dramatic.

The Last Dragon has Julius Carry at 6'5", Janet Bloem doesn't even come up to his shoulder height, Ernie Reyes Jr whose adult height is 5'5" was only 12 when the movie was filmed and a bit shorter then.

But some ranges just don't look like they are even the same species as others. I'm looking for figures of different heights, but still want a good sense of compatability.

It drives me crazy that so many manufacturers won't list the typical toe-to-eye height of their minis. I want to know what the baseline is when I'm considering options.

It also drives me crazy when manufacturers make all their character models the exact same height!
: P

Funky Skull has a great pack of figures inspired by The Warriors. But did the sculptor ever watch the movie?!? The actors in the gang are all different heights. I did what I could dicing and splicing at the knees and waist to drop the height for the shorter ones.