Scaling


  • So far everything we've seen from Wargames Atlantic is 28mm. Any thoughts on what may be successful for a different scale? Curious as to what could be fit on a sprue for say 10mm, and how big each sprue could be to spread out different armies. Thoughts? 



  • I wouldn't mind some 6mm sci-fi Infantry.  Grognards perhaps.

    Those would be .


  • I kind of would like to see off brand 1/144 sci-Fi/modern troops to go with things like gundam kits.


  • The Release Schedule has listed an "Alternate Scale Test" for the last several weeks.  I have no idea what that means - it can be read a few different ways.

    Seems like some of the more popular military figure sizes that might work include:

    • Making exaggerated 28mm "historic" vs. "realistic" "heroic" (or vice-versa) versions of the same figures seems kind redundant to me, and the least adventurous thing to try, but there is apparently a market for WGA's figures in a less exaggerated version of the 28mm scale, if they were to try that. I'm not quite sure I can see this happening though. Between them, these are easily the most popular wargaming scale today, and I think most gamers can use the two variants interchangeably, but there can be enough difference in the proportions to consider these to be different scales, and some gamers are more sensitive to one versus the other, and might find not having a choice to be a deal-breaker; I'm not sure if WGA can get much mileage from effectively competing against itself like this though.
    • 15mm - I take it this one is popular for games focusing on mecha and other vehicles, rather than infantry.  It's apparently the second most popular scale for tabletop gaming.  I believe this to be about the same as 1/144 scale modeling vehicles.  If Wargames Atlantic were to produce a range of mecha or other vehicles in a different scale, this might be the scale to do it with.  (A Death Fields themed mecha or tank combat game might be fun.)  Tiny infantry are made in this scale, WGA might find a niche here.
    • 1/72 - popular for relatively inexpensive soft plastic gaming soldiers, military vehicle models, and equivalent loosely to HO railroad modeling scale, I believe.  It seems like it would be a tough scale to compete in, at least with historical figures, because there's a lot of competition from established, low-cost, soft plastic manufacturers with some great figures already.
    • 6mm - apparently a less-common scale for tabletop gaming, focusing (I believe) on vehicle combat.  Another possible scale to work with if WGA were to produce sci-fi vehicles.  I think this might be one of the smallest scales that infantry is made for, but I can't imagine infantry at this scale being very detailed.
    • 2mm - apparently an uncommon scale for tabletop gaming, which seems likely to focus on large vechicles, like battleships and carriers, starships, etc.  Wargames Atlantic might trysomething in this scale, but it would surprise me as something that comes completely out of left field for them.  A space combat game might be interesting to see from Wargames Atlantic, though it seems to be a genre that favors licensed products like Star Wars, Star Trek, and the like.  (I believe this isn't far off from 1/700 or 1/720 scale for ship models - aircraft and tanks at this scale are very tiny!)
    • 1/48- a larger model scale that favors scale aircraft, and WWII vehicles.  Some nice, detailed wargaming figures with realistic proportions are possible in this scale, but not a lot of stuff seems to be available except for e.g. pilots, drivers, passengers, and service crew for aircraft and halftracks, and the like.  Wargames Atlantic might find a niche here.
    • 1/35 an even larger model scale that seems to be mostly dedicated to armor.  Some very detailed multi-part, poseable wargaming figures are possible in this scale, where it would be pretty easy to choose options for spare gear and weapons, posed hands, and so on.  I believe there are scale model infantry kits in this scale out there, to be posed on tanks, APCs, and the like.  WGA might find a niche here, and lots of vehicles in this scale are available from established companies, but I don't know how common wargaming at this large scale might be.
    • 54mm Scale - I don't think this scale is popular for anything but toy soldiers on one hand (I believe this is the classic "Green Army Man" scale!), and very detailed display pieces on the other for statuettes or dramatic figure dioramas, showcasing the modeling and painting skill of the hobbyist, I believe.  Wargames Atlantic might find a niche here with some art figures, and it might be fascinating to see how WGA makes this work, if they were to go in this direction.
    • Other, larger scales are possible - fantasy and sci-fi figure busts have a niche painter fanbase, I believe, and there are various statue and action-figure scales possible up to 1/6 scale (12") dolls and beyond (the classic, old-school G.I. Joe dollsfor example)!  I don't see WGA trying anything like this, but I guess there's always room for surprises!

     

    My guesses?

    I suppose anything is possible, but it seems to me like 15mm might be the safest non-28mm scale for Wargames Atlantic to dabble in, and 15mm or 6mm vehicle-oriented Death Fields sci-fi wargaming - mechs and the like - might be the most interesting territory for Wargames Atlantic to try.

     


  • 15mm is closer to 1/100.  1/144 is closer to 10mm.  10mm is the scale of Adeptus Titanicus, Dropzone Commander, CAV, and at least one version of Battletech.  15mm seems to be the WW2/3 scale of choice.


  • 6, 10 and 15mm are also used for infantry. Not many vehicles around between 3000 BC and 1900 AD. The great thing about smaller scales, particularly 6mm, is that they are easy and quick to paint and you can field large armies relatively cheap. Probably have a bias due too the crowds I find myself in, but it seems 6mm has been quite popular for decades and 2mm is growing.

    Why have 200 28mm figures for a Napoleonic army when you could have 2000 if not more? Also the reason I start to like 2mm more.

    I particularly like 28mm for kitbashing and skirmish level games or dioramas. But I gravitate towards 6mm (tho not yet set) for company-level games like Crossfire. For ancients to Blackpowder eras's I am looking at 2mm.


  • How do 2mm infantry work?  I don't think I could tell the difference between a 2mm Napoleonic army and a strip of Velcro hooks painted Napoleonic clothing colors and dry brushed Napoleonic hat colors.  

    Isn't 2mm the scale of the spaceship game Dropfleet Commander?


  • Talk about 54mm scale reminds me... to bring in the D&D 3.5 angle again (I seem to do that a lot): There is a number of creatures that either have their own size-increasing abilities, or could reasonably expect to have those available in the group. Clerics with righteous might, duergar with their enlarge person SLA, a druid's summoned wolves with a sprinkling of animal growth, a barbarian with a wizard friend, etc. For many of those I could see getting the same mini twice, in the same pose and with the same gear, once in 28mm and once in 54mm.

    No idea how economically viable that would be though, outside of classics with that stuff baked into the identity (like duergar, which Reaper is already doing... barely, as in they have it for one of their seven or so minis).


  • @BS Kitbasher Ey, that's not a bad idea 😂 but yeah, people make them from matchsticks, cardboard, foam, greenstuff, resin, metal or 3D printed. It's not about the individual soldiers but about large formations.

    No photo description available.

    May be an image of indoor
    Jim's Wargames Workbench: Shout Out for Strength and Honour


  • Those are almost adorable, like armies of Weebuls marching off to war.  I imagine they make chittering little meepmeepmeep noises as they kill and die.


  • @BS Kitbasher I imagine the Mamukill charging at the fields of Pelennor. (Lasercast, from whom the first two pictures come, is actually planning to create some large elephant/mammoth in the future)


  • Thanks for the corrections!  I should note that I do almost no gaming outside of 28mm, most of the rest was in games where no scale in particular was mentioned ("Pirates of the Spanish Main", "Battletech"), and most of my experience with scale model scales was simply for scale modeling rather than wargaming.  I've got a reasonably good grasp on handful of scale model scales (1/720 for modern warships, 1/72 for modern aircraft, and the occasional 1/48 exception), while the translation to wargaming is going to be based loosely on faulty memory, and really rough guesstimates!  :D 

    That's really the first time I've seen 2mm infantry - that's fantastic!

    I'm vaguely familiar with battlemech, naval, and starship wargaming in the really small scales, but I've never really looked at it in any detail.  I really ought to check it out sometime!

     

    @Blutze - Reaper miniatures reacently produced a large-sized plastic Duergar matching a set of normal-sized 28mm Duergar, to represent one of these evil dwarves who has cast an Enlarge spell.  I think that's the only time I've ever seen anyone do that - I'm not sure whether the sales made it a successful product, but there were at least a couple gamers wishing Reaper had made more than one of these enlarged figures!

     


  • 54mm is also seen used in some skirmish games.  Probably most famously, Inquisitor. 

    I also remember a Wargames Illustrated article where someone was doing big Hoplite battles in 54mm - LIKE A BOSS.

    54mm is considered to correspond with 1/32 scale.  It is reasonably easy to find some airplanes in this scale, and some older armor kits.

    To preempt the question 1/32 is noticeably larger than 1/35 but it's not ridiculous.


  • @Yronimos Whateley 

    6mm is small, no doubt.  But you might be pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail they can have.

     


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