In the last article we looked at how to categorize games by the number of models on the table, and today we'll look at how to categorize them by model size.
These numbers (and the subsequent model sizes derived from them) are not random, but represent the size of the actual human piece on the table. Thus, in a 28mm game, the figure representing the human is really 28mm in size. However, there is often a difference in how this size is calculated. Some manufacturers take the whole figure up to the top of the head, and others take it only up to eye level, creating a difference of one or two millimeters.
Before we start with the scales themselves, there are a couple of criteria that are reflected in the size of the figures - whether they are so-called heroic or truescale models, loosely translated as heroic/comics and realistic proportions. The name already suggests what it is. A classic example of heroic scale are Games Workshop's models, where soldiers often have almost chest-sized heads and long monkey arms (the old plastic models of the Imperial Guard are a nice example).
Realistic proportions are found in the more "artistic" figure lines and many historical wargaming. Most models often stick somewhere in the middle, and even with the new Games Workshop releases you can see that they are slightly trying to go the route of more realistic proportions.
32mm and larger
This is a very specific scale, which is currently popularized primarily by Games Workshop. The latter has continually increased the size of its models in order to "re-release" already released models between editions, indirectly forcing players to acquire more and more models for units they already owned. Why? Because they wouldn't fit aesthetically into his old army if every other marine was a head bigger. There is even a term for this phenomenon in the hobby - Scale Creep. Nowadays GW models are starting to slightly outgun even the 32mm ones. Yet Warhammer in its early days was a classic game with 25mm models.
28mm
Probably the most popular scale for "large models" is 28mm, which (in Heroic) includes some of the older Warhammer and more or less all skirmish games and regiments (more about them in the last article). The popularity of this scale has the advantage that it's no problem to get terrain and rules for pretty much anything you can think of.
In the case of World War II games, it even opens up a wealth of possibilities for buying military equipment in plastic, as 1/48 scale vehicles fit well with 28mm, giving you access to a plethora of kits - although even that advantage doesn't carry the same weight today as it did years ago, thanks to 3D printing.
The 28mm kits are large enough and ideally detailed enough, which makes them excellent for smaller skirmish games where a few nice models with tons of detail and a great deal of personalisation is welcome. However, this can also be a problem when you want to play bigger battles and you need to paint (and sometimes glue together) a couple of hundred (!!!) detailed models, a task so complex that it can take months.
Similarly, 28mm models run into space problems in larger games. There's a ceiling on how many can fit on a table, and from certain numbers you need to rent a gym. Or go to a smaller scale.
25mm
Here's a bit of an honourable mention. The 25mm scale was the most popular scale 20 to 30 years ago, but its place was gradually taken by the larger 28mm, and nowadays only targeted "retro models" come out in 25mm, or models are found second-hand from old wargaming veterans or even from some dealers within their "old" model lines.
But with a slight exaggeration, it is a dead scale nowadays, but it is still ok to combine on the table with 28mm. After all, different people tend to be different sizes too...
20-22mm aka 1/72
This scale is interesting in that, while it's not seen as "the true wargaming scale" that gets much attention in the rules, it's still a starting scale for some players who want to get started with (mainly historical) wargaming and don't know what to buy. However, they will come across boxes marked 1/72 in any random model shop, be it Napoleonic or possibly WWII.
Which is a huge advantage of this scale - you can get it in any brick and mortar hobby shop and for a couple of bucks you get a box with dozens of models. The downside, unfortunately, is that these are often monopose models made of not very good quality soft plastic.
15mm
Fifteen is by far the most popular "small" scale due to a combination of its amazingly versatile size, which allows you to fit a bunch of models with room to manoeuvre on a relatively small table, but is also big enough for the better models to have a level of detail close to 28mm.
This makes it a great scale for large skirmish or regimental games - you still have nice, detailed models, you can have hundreds of them on the table and still fit it and the models with room to maneuver. And if you want to play WWII or modern, you can buy vehicles in classic model shops here too, because it's 1/100 scale.
10mm+
Ten is a strange scale between 6mm and 15mm, which is not very traditional or represented in our country, because 15mm is simply more detailed and 6mm is (surprise) smaller.
Nevertheless, in the last year several armies have appeared in this scale in our country. Especially through Warlord Games and their Epic Black Powder line in "their" 12/13mm and through 3D printing in Warmaster (the regimental equivalent of fantasy Warhammer), which a few people also play now that they can print their own models and don't have to depend on exchanges.
6mm
This is a great scale for playing large battles where the models still have some detail, but at the same time you can fit not hundreds but actually thousands of them on a traditional table. This makes it possible to play battles of massive chic soldiers on a relatively small table. And in the case of smaller historical battles, it's not even a problem to play them 1:1 on models and soldiers.
This scale is equally prominent in battles of military technology. It doesn't matter if it's the Battle of Kursk or the Battle of Cadia, because this scale was chosen by Games Workshop for the now-defunct Epic (the large scale Warhammer 40k format) and Adeptus Titanicus.
And it is also, incidentally, the most widely used scale for the actual US Army. If you want to play with models designed for the Army, feel free to do so, as they can easily be bought from GHQ, a company that has been making wargaming miniatures for the US Army since the Vietnam War. You will probably be impressed by the level of detail on such a small scale, as well as the price.
3mm
With three millimeters we are reaching the ceiling of what can be technologically processed in the form of a figure, so that it is not just a bland blob.3mm already allows you to play really massive battles, but it takes a very good eye and commitment to paint very fine details that will not be visible in the game on the models anyway. Plus, models are easy to replace with tokens, as it's mainly the size of the unit on the table that's needed, but its height no longer plays a role.
2mm
In this scale we are not so much dealing with models as with scenic bases. What else to expect in such a size. Still, the figures in larger numbers on the table really evoke fighting armies, even if individually they have no "wow" effect.
Hexes, boats and planes
Well, when plastic models are not enough, paper/cardboard tokens come into the picture, which are usually used for hex wargaming.
And when naval or air games do use models (but they don't have to, as usually three-dimensionality of the model is not needed by rule), they almost never use millimetre size, but scale reduction as in model kits. So even though Warlords Black Seas is nominally a 3mm game, its models are referred to as 1/700 ships.
And that's the end of our talk about different scales in wargaming. Hopefully, you now know the difference between skirmish and regimental scale (read the last article for a reminder) and when it is possible to incorporate model scaling between millimeter size miniatures. Next time we'll look at how to get started with wargaming in the first place.
Also, if you find this article helpful, you can buy something from Warlord store with my affiliate link or just buy me coffee. :)
Originally published in Czech on the ZeStolu portal. Most of images taken from my Hobby Instagram page #Potan_CZ.
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