David Bickley's Wargames Blog

The occasional ramblings of an average gamer, journeyman painter, indifferent modeller, games designer, sometime writer for Wargames Illustrated and host of games in GHQ.



Sunday 4 July 2021

More on this Scale/Size issue

In an earlier blog post last month I wrote a shortish piece on the issue of Scale/Size discrepancies between different manufacturers of wargames figures. It was well received by those visitors who kindly took the trouble to leave a comment in reply, so heartened by this I thought I would return to the issue briefly if you will indulge me.
In part my reflections on the Size/Scale issue have stayed fresh in my mind largely because I have recently completed a unit of Sepoys for the 1st Native Cavalry regiment of the Army of Pendawar (see previous post if you missed them). Those figures by AW Miniatures were sculpted I believe to fit with the Redoubt Enterprises' Wellington in India range, so are on the stout end of the figure spectrum, a bit like me sadly. They were certainly much heavier than the Perry Miniatures or Foundry cavalry I've already painted for this project!
In the picture below I've composed three units here in GHQ awaiting varnishing: Perry Miniatures infantry in the foreground; Trent Miniatures British Light Dragoons in the left rear; and lastly AW Miniatures Sepoys of the Native Cavalry in the right rear. You are seeing these three units at the same distance you would see them if you were here playing a game with us in GHQ, as wargames figures are meant to be seen of course. Certainly if you allow for the somewhat enlarged turban the Sepoy cavalry sported I really think you'd struggle to notice any significant difference, especially during the heat of battle!

Of course you are not obliged to agree with me on this issue, or any other for that matter. They will do for me, and by extension for the other GHQ Irregulars, and really that is all that matters in the final analysis!
 

17 comments:

  1. "They will do for me, and by extension for the other GHQ Irregulars, and really that is all that matters in the final analysis!"

    I couldn't agree more!

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  2. Looks fine to me David…

    Being cavalry they are probably better fed…

    And more importantly… they are your toys and you are happy.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly, they certainly have the heft if the well fed. I know, I speak from experience sadly...

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  3. Those three units look great individually and as a group. I’m a big fan of going with what works for you. I tend to care more about availability of figures, poses and sculpting than size compared to other makes, although I do find Redoubt to be on the hefty size.

    Humans come in various heights and builds. When I teach intro stats I find that heights of a group of students is a great concrete way of teaching mean and variance..

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    1. Thank you for your kind words of support Peter.

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  4. Hello David, nice article again and I'm glad you have raised this topic as it should not be a vexing issue for anyone wanting to raise and paint a collection for gaming purposes etc, especially if a certain miniature availability happens to be on the plus size. Whilst I may preach to others I somewhat don't follow my own advice, but that only falls on me alone. Glad to see such lovely miniatures being showcased. Cheers, Helen

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    1. Thanks for the continued support on this issue Helen.

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  5. An interesting and thought provoking topic David, I am certainly of the school that if it looks ok then it doesn’t really matter. In most genres some variation in figures if they are kept in separate units is fine key is same quality of painting and basing which matches, I do think we subconsciously notice the base sizes and style more than the figures sometimes.

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    1. Basing can certainly unify the look of an army on the tabletop Matt, as can flags, shields and the like.

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  6. Though different in style and proportion the painting style and basing being in union brings them all together, it will noticeable even less when arrayed on the table en mass and will indeed matter not one jot.

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    1. We are of one mind on this. Not surprising really given our long friendship. See you later this morning for our ECW bash.

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  7. I routinely use a mix of manufacturers - the more, the better, really. There are some I wouldn't mix in the same unit, but beyond that, not really a concern.

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  8. I basically agree with all the other comments although there are some figures that don't mix well with others eg Redoubt are generally enormous compared with almost any other range....but even they can get by on the same table as Foundry or Old Glory if necessary.....

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  9. It's down to individual (or group) choice in the end. These are toys or markers if you like in a game, no more, no less. If gamers are happy to mix the choices available to them are generally far wider than those with an anal size/scale hang up enjoy.

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