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Exciting developments: after a trial game, I've managed to get some of the locals interested in CoC, putting my cold war plans on hold for now. We'll probably be playing it in 15mm, so now I'm looking for manufacturers with decently sculpted and reasonably priced miniatures. Does anyone have recommendations for 15mm WW2 stuff? My only experience in that regard is with Battlefront, who back in the day managed to combine inflated prices with samey sculpts and piss-poor quality control.
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Jun 10, 2016 22:58
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SRF posted:Exciting developments: after a trial game, I've managed to get some of the locals interested in CoC, putting my cold war plans on hold for now. We'll probably be playing it in 15mm, so now I'm looking for manufacturers with decently sculpted and reasonably priced miniatures. Does anyone have recommendations for 15mm WW2 stuff? My only experience in that regard is with Battlefront, who back in the day managed to combine inflated prices with samey sculpts and piss-poor quality control. Battlefront are a little better now they've started releasing plastics, but I believe large parts of their old range can be kinda poo poo. Plastic Soldier Company, however, will sell even cheaper plastics, which are about as good. Their american infantry are incorrect, though. There's also Zvezda for vehicles, who make snap-fit 1/100, though quality is pretty variable. Generally, newer models are better. In addition, Peter Pig and Old Glory do metal and metal/resin figures at a more reasonable price point, though I've heard Old Glory stuff is a little off-scale (can anyone confirm?).
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Jun 10, 2016 23:35
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Honestly Battlefront are better quality than Peter Pig and possibly even cheaper depending where you are. Peter Pig do have great service and metric fucktons of charm though.
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Jun 11, 2016 03:25
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Back when I considered 15mm WW2 I got some Germans from Old Glory. They were nice, but you really buy them in bulk, 50 miniatures in each bag. It works out great for your average riflemen, but you don't really need 50 LMG and 50 Mortar crew members to play CoC.
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Jun 11, 2016 07:42
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Yeah if your plan is to play CoC you're probably better off just hitting up random people like me in this thread who have random amounts of extra 15mm WWII stuff laying around that we can send/sell you. Otherwise you end up with hundreds of extra dudes when you really only need like 50.
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Jun 11, 2016 08:21
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Where do you buy 28mm scale aircraft? I want a Ju87 for my planned BA German army. Warlord does them in 1:72... would 1:56 be too big? Negative Entropy fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Jun 11, 2016 |
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Jun 11, 2016 08:36
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El Estrago Bonito posted:Yeah if your plan is to play CoC you're probably better off just hitting up random people like me in this thread who have random amounts of extra 15mm WWII stuff laying around that we can send/sell you. Otherwise you end up with hundreds of extra dudes when you really only need like 50. People can always send me all the minis they don't need!
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Jun 11, 2016 09:44
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JcDent posted:People can always send me all the minis they don't need! Same here!  Arquinsiel posted:Honestly Battlefront are better quality than Peter Pig and possibly even cheaper depending where you are. Peter Pig do have great service and metric fucktons of charm though. I don't have a ton of experience with PP, just a few infantry to pad out a unit, but their only real downside is their weird faces, which their logic for is that you don't see faces under helmets anyway, and which to be honest makes sense. Otherwise I'd put them on par with my battlefront metals, some of which are amazing but many of which are really mediocre. My bikes were pretty much formless masses of lead. lilljonas posted:Back when I considered 15mm WW2 I got some Germans from Old Glory. They were nice, but you really buy them in bulk, 50 miniatures in each bag. It works out great for your average riflemen, but you don't really need 50 LMG and 50 Mortar crew members to play CoC. Is the scale comparable to other manufacturer's figs then?
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Jun 11, 2016 11:09
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Kommando posted:Where do you buy 28mm scale aircraft? Look at aircraft model makers, not Warlord. Their aircraft are just resales of other manufacturers anyway, in this case a 1/72 diecast plane. 1:48 is one of the most popular scales for aircraft. 1:56 pretty much doesn't exist. If you want aircraft that is the same scale as your troops you should look at 1:48. If you are ok with smaller aircraft representing that they are flying around high above the battlefield you should look at 1:72 or even 1:144. There are thousands of cool kits available if you look at a model kit shop: http://www.hobbylinc.com/plastic-model-airplanes Be adviced that building airplane kits requires slightly different skills than building and painting miniatures. Here's a review of the 1/48 Italeri Ju87 (which is way more affordable than the flashier Hasegawa kit), which can give you an idea of what to expect. https://20thcenturybattles.com/2014/03/09/italeri-148-no-2709-ju-87-d-5-stuka-kit-review/ There's a scale model kit thread here on SA that can give you tons of advice if you decide to build an aircraft kit. It's like an entire hobby in itself: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3148869 EDIT: Whoa, Scalemates, which is like the IMDB of model kits, has a nice page for the Ju87, with pictures and tips for model kits to look for. Can't believe I forgot to link that. https://www.scalemates.com/topics/topic.php?id=2680 quote:Is the scale comparable to other manufacturer's figs then? Dunno, I only had Old Glory Germans. A friend was starting an army and, of course, got tons and tons of miniatures left over since he bought bags of 50. lilljonas fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Jun 11, 2016 |
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Jun 11, 2016 11:43
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Is it significantly cheaper to collect 20mm instead of 28mm for something like Bolt Action? I'd be interested in collecting it but it's super expensive, and 20mm seems like a more reasonably priced alternative. Any particular reason not to collect it instead?
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Jun 11, 2016 12:27
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None at all, as far as I know. 1/72 or 20 mm can get ridiculously cheap at times
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Jun 11, 2016 12:34
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Yeah, 1/72 and 28mm are quite different painting experiences, but 1/72 is very cost effective and you'll find that it's very nice for making and storing terrain. It's also a lot easier to store and transport smaller miniatures.
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Jun 11, 2016 13:11
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INinja132 posted:Is it significantly cheaper to collect 20mm instead of 28mm for something like Bolt Action? I'd be interested in collecting it but it's super expensive, and 20mm seems like a more reasonably priced alternative. Any particular reason not to collect it instead? BA plastics are super affordable, imo, but I don't know what your frame of reference is. If it's just you and your buddies in a basement 1/72 would be good but if you plan on playing with others at any point 28mm is way more popular.
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Jun 11, 2016 14:07
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Also I wrote an article a while back on super cheap. 1/48 prepainted planes for BA. I still see these in my local shop http://freshcoastgaming.blogspot.com/2014/11/air-support-for-tarawa-in-air-ezbuild.html?m=1
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Jun 11, 2016 14:14
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Blitzkrieg Miniatures makes a resin JU-87 in 28mm scale. I think there's one for sale on eBay right now, actually. It's a nice multi-part kit with clear plastic canopy. 1/48 planes are a little big, but depending on the scale creep associated with your 28mm figs (I'm looking at you, Crusader Miniatures), they look fine on the table.
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Jun 11, 2016 15:33
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lilljonas posted:Yeah, 1/72 and 28mm are quite different painting experiences, but 1/72 is very cost effective and you'll find that it's very nice for making and storing terrain. It's also a lot easier to store and transport smaller miniatures. Yet another option-- 20mm metals! They're pretty expensive. http://eurekaminusa.com/collections/ab-20mm-world-war-ii
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Jun 11, 2016 15:56
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15mm is also a cheap alternative, with more and more plastic options these days. I think it's a matter of taste to a certain degree, 15mm and 28mm miniatures often look more "wargamey", while 1/72 models are often slimmer, realistically proportioned and more "scale modelish" for lack of better terms.
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Jun 11, 2016 15:59
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15mm is also weirdly more expensive than 1/72 sometimes, or at least the same price for smaller figures.
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Jun 11, 2016 16:40
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spectralent posted:15mm is also weirdly more expensive than 1/72 sometimes, or at least the same price for smaller figures. True. If you really want to try out a platoon sized game on the cheap, a box of 1/72 soldiers are like 10 bucks or less, and will give you everything you need.
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Jun 11, 2016 16:48
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That is one of the things irking me about some 15mm stuff. I don't mind slightly exaggerated proportions, but a lot of the earlier Battlefront stuff in particular is just awful in that regard. Giant heads, fists that are about the same size, and comically oversized weapons. After checking out some of the manufacturers mentioned so far, I'm leaning towards getting PSC plastic British (even though I'll end up with far more than I have use for) and possibly supplementing with Peter PIg for variety. I'm also interested in PSC Americans, but weird webbing issues aside, I assume the more realistic proportions measn that they'd be incompatible with other ranges, so I'd be stuck with PSC. Does anyone have one of the more recent PSC infantry sets and can comment on how well they're cast and the quality and variety of the poses?
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Jun 11, 2016 16:48
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SRF posted:That is one of the things irking me about some 15mm stuff. I don't mind slightly exaggerated proportions, but a lot of the earlier Battlefront stuff in particular is just awful in that regard. Giant heads, fists that are about the same size, and comically oversized weapons. PSC's brits are recent and I think they look pretty great.
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Jun 11, 2016 17:13
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I think the recent PSC stuff mixes well with other manufacturer's now, including newer BF stuff. Its only their early infantry sets that didn't mix well (Germans and soviets?)
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Jun 11, 2016 17:17
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Yeah, as far as I'm aware it's Germans, Soviets and US that are more slender and multi-part. I rather like the proportions of their earlier stuff, but from what I've read so far, they have limited and often rather awkward poses, which is less than ideal for a skirmish game with individually based models.
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Jun 11, 2016 17:34
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SRF posted:Yeah, as far as I'm aware it's Germans, Soviets and US that are more slender and multi-part. I rather like the proportions of their earlier stuff, but from what I've read so far, they have limited and often rather awkward poses, which is less than ideal for a skirmish game with individually based models. Notably the newer Germans (Normandy and Early War) have the new sculpts.
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Jun 11, 2016 18:12
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28mm supremacy.
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Jun 11, 2016 18:19
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muggins posted:BA plastics are super affordable, imo, but I don't know what your frame of reference is. If it's just you and your buddies in a basement 1/72 would be good but if you plan on playing with others at any point 28mm is way more popular. Just that their D-Day starter kit thing is like £70 and doesn't get you that many actual guys. Just buying a full army is also £70 or so plus all the rulebooks, dice, terrain etc. I think their minis are really cool and they look great, but if I can get them for a respectable amount cheaper at 1/72 instead then it seems like that's a better move. Unless 1/72 is significantly worse in sculpt quality and it screws with the distances etc.
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Jun 11, 2016 18:51
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INinja132 posted:Just that their D-Day starter kit thing is like £70 and doesn't get you that many actual guys. Just buying a full army is also £70 or so plus all the rulebooks, dice, terrain etc. I think their minis are really cool and they look great, but if I can get them for a respectable amount cheaper at 1/72 instead then it seems like that's a better move. Unless 1/72 is significantly worse in sculpt quality and it screws with the distances etc. Yeah, but there are also cheaper options for 28mm. Like the platoon boxes from Perry for £20. Then you can be cool and awesome with your Desert Rats or DAK all day erryday. But really, both scales have pros and cons. The only objectively bad thing with going 1/72 in my mind would be if there's already an existing gaming scene in your area that play exclusively in 28mm, and you end up having to make a new set of terrain and stuff. Some people are convinced that 28mm is the way to go for everything, but there's nothing stopping you from making great looking things in 1/72 scale, like this dude: 
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Jun 11, 2016 19:14
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INinja132 posted:Just that their D-Day starter kit thing is like £70 and doesn't get you that many actual guys. Just buying a full army is also £70 or so plus all the rulebooks, dice, terrain etc. I think their minis are really cool and they look great, but if I can get them for a respectable amount cheaper at 1/72 instead then it seems like that's a better move. Unless 1/72 is significantly worse in sculpt quality and it screws with the distances etc. Yeah, I'm not sure the starter set is actually a very good deal. Plus, other sites typically have better prices on Bolt Action Stuff than the actual company storefront. I built 750pt armies for both USMC and Japanese for only $100 total using this site, for instance: https://www.nws-online.net
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Jun 11, 2016 19:46
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Flippycunt posted:Plus, other sites typically have better prices on Bolt Action Stuff than the actual company storefront. Wow, you aren't kidding, I guess I hadn't really looked hard enough and had taken a bit much for granted, but their prices are quite a bit higher than some other places. lilljonas posted:But really, both scales have pros and cons. The only objectively bad thing with going 1/72 in my mind would be if there's already an existing gaming scene in your area that play exclusively in 28mm, and you end up having to make a new set of terrain and stuff. Some people are convinced that 28mm is the way to go for everything, but there's nothing stopping you from making great looking things in 1/72 scale, like this dude: It'd just be me and some friends, so it's not a huge concern, although I guess if I moved or whatever then it might become one. (Also that picture is totally baller) Well, thanks for the replies, got some calculating to do I guess 
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Jun 11, 2016 20:10
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Well, people bitch that BA has rifle ranges that don't reac the end of the street, so it might be better at 20mm
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Jun 11, 2016 20:18
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JcDent posted:Well, people bitch that BA has rifle ranges that don't reach the end of the street, so it might be better at 20mm In other news, I played a closely-fought wargame today; my opponent was my 5-year-old son. It all started the other day when I was painting some minis. My son came down into my man-cave to see what I was up to. He knows he's not allowed to touch without asking first, and I let him play with a couple of GIs that were stripped and awaiting priming, and he poked around at a couple of my old Necron vehicles. He looked at the table (still set up from my last Chain of Command game). He was all, "Daddy, can we play a game with your army men?" On a whim deeming it time to broach "The Subject," my immediate response was, "No, not until you're a little older - but we can play a game with your army men." This met with enthusiastic agreement. A short while later, we had a "game" set up on the floor of the playroom, where there's a carpet that has grid squares. We each had three squads of five men each, and I explained that when it was your turn you could either move or shoot, and the objective was to capture the flag in the middle of the field. We each had a couple of "special materials" as he called them - he had a guy with a machine gun, a tank, and a humvee "army transport." I had a fixed emplacement (the turret from the other tank, which is broken), a couple of guys withu flame-throwers, and a giant ant. He's five, whatever, I went with it. He was the green army men, I was the tan army men. Well, my giant ant was black. Well, rolling dice and moving guys all over the floor and taking cover in sandbags and whatever, it came down to his last three guys versus my last three guys duking it out in melee on top of the objective. We both killed two opponents with our next roll, so it was one-on-one for the whole shebang. We threw our single die each and when the rolling stopped:  I don't think I've ever been so stoked to lose a game by the slimmest of margins. He had a blast as well, and is now harassing me pretty regularly to play "capture the flag." He's currently up on me, two games to one. According to him, this makes him "president of the army." Solid. I'm hoping it sticks, and that I've introduced another little wargamer to a life-long love of games.
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Jun 11, 2016 23:22
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INinja132 posted:Wow, you aren't kidding, I guess I hadn't really looked hard enough and had taken a bit much for granted, but their prices are quite a bit higher than some other places. If you want to play historicals you buy both sides, that's the general rule.
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Jun 11, 2016 23:26
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Yeah, unless you have a well-established group that is willing to share the load, you're pretty much always going to end up doing both sides.
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Jun 11, 2016 23:28
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On scale, my preference is 28mm, but that's because my preference is skirmish and small unit actions, and 28mm means I an still play on a large table, which I also like.
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Jun 11, 2016 23:49
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lilljonas posted:Look at aircraft model makers, not Warlord. Their aircraft are just resales of other manufacturers anyway, in this case a 1/72 diecast plane. I never really got this thinking because as a player you are mostly looking down on your mans from above so essentially the aircraft are closer to you perspective wise and therefore should be bigger. I know it's an old modelling trick to mix scales and to force perspective; but that all depends on where the focal point is. I'm pretty sure we don't always play from the eye level of our mans. No Pun Intended fucked around with this message at 00:04 on Jun 12, 2016 |
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Jun 12, 2016 00:01
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No Pun Intended posted:I never really got this thinking because as a player you are mostly looking down on your mans from above so essentially the aircraft are closer to you perspective wise and therefore should be bigger. What, you don't use 2 meter tall telescopic stands and elevate your planes to fly just under the ceiling? tsk. tsk tsk. E: but really, planes can get pretty big, so I have no problems with a player using a few 1/72 planes to zoom around the airfield, pew-pewing close air support on the enemy.
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Jun 12, 2016 09:18
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I think most planes are smaller scale not because they're meant to be above the infantry but because planes are loving massive and if they were the same scale they'd be unreasonably more tricky to transport.
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Jun 12, 2016 10:29
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Yes, even small fighter planes are quite big, and a large 1:48 plane can be tricky to transport without damaging it.
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Jun 12, 2016 15:32
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Ilor posted:I'm hoping it sticks, and that I've introduced another little wargamer to a life-long love of games. This is super cool
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Jun 12, 2016 18:54
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Colonial Air Force posted:On scale, my preference is 28mm, but that's because my preference is skirmish and small unit actions, and 28mm means I an still play on a large table, which I also like. 1/72 is great for skirmish because you usually end up paying less than 20 bucks for everything you need.
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Jun 12, 2016 22:40
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