"15mm is best for ACW" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

What is your preferred figure scale/size for ACW miniature wargaming (land battles)?

46% said "15mm"
12% said "28mm"
7% said "10mm"

I'm still holding out for "it depends." Skirmish game with a bunch of friends and solo Gettysburg on a card table are both ACW, but they do not have the same requirements. (I don't have a preferred screwdriver, either: I pick the one suitable for the job.)

I have been selling 15mm since 1983. Only recently carried 28mm but supply is sporadic.
Never had a problem with 15mm resupply.

All of my ACW figures are 28mm and I really like them. Not a fan of 15mm.

My ACW stuff is old school – 1/72.

My favourite 15mm ACW that I bought were the Minifigs strips back in the 1970s?
Anyone remember those?

martin.

As so often, I agree with Robert.

Martin, they were referred as first generation or strip 15mm. My first minis as well. The second edition were known for their thick rectangular bases. A few releases were called 2nd generation-transition which were thin rectangular bases. The third edition were thin bases in a eight sided form.
Not sure what was the terms used in Britain. In the USA during the 1970-80s that is what we used as players or when I dealt with distributors.

Have ACW in 15 and 28. Have 15 for Fire and Fury, 28 for Black Powder and skirmish.

My ACW stuff is all 6mm. Just saying….

Mine too, no other scale creates the the impression of massed figures like 6mm. I use 15mm for skimish games. 6mm may not be as artistic, but IMO it gives you masses of troops that can represent whole armies in a reasonable space and look like the large units they are supposed to be. Not critical to a game, but my aesthetic preference.

I use 15mm only. 28mm is too big for the larger battles. It's not just the figures there are all the 28mm buildings and terrain. I don't play skirmish. I'm not too fond of the look of 15mm skirmish anything. 6mm is basically a board game

OC…have you ever seen Bruce Weigle's work? A good 6mm table is not a board game to me. There are plenty of rules that work just fine. Towns look like towns.

10mm all the way.

The ignorance of the scale difference was shocking to me when I compared 15mm to 10mm, as the savings amount to roughly 65% savings in square footage (or doubling depending on how you look at it) but if you are living in an apartment/condo, there is no comparison between the scale advantages of being in 10mm versus 15mm.

My friend who is 76 just shifted from 15mm to 10mm.
I can no longer paint due to health issues.
Back in 1979 when I was painting 10 to 20 battalions, 12-16 man units, of every Napoleonic nation and ACW, I used 15mm. I was play testing and demoing rules. If 10mm had been around, I would have went that route.

Personal preference. While I own a variety of scales, I ultimately found that 15mm and up satisfied my attempts at artistic painting, while 3mm – 10mm made for better games, both for massed armies appearance and practical aspects like cost and space to play.