Miniature Question

By Shenannigan, in Star Wars: Legion

Posted at

Totally separate from IA discussions and etc, what does the size of these mini's mean?

is bigger generally better? I'm under the impression this is a larger scale than 40k.

Does the larger scale mean it's going to be harder to get vehicles in the game? Is that a good thing (at least balance wise?)

would smaller have been better because of more room to maneuver?

is bigger easier or harder to paint well?

etc. etc. etc.

bu being this scale, how does it compare to other (non ffg) miniature games out there?

Posted at

Higher number means larger figure. 15mm<28mm<32mm Most tabletop historical wargames (civil war, ancients, WW2, etc) are done in 15mm because it makes the field of battle that much "bigger" so you can field a huge number of regiments of figures for full size battle recreations. 40k and AoS are approximately 28mm which makes for bigger figure sizes but "shrinks" the battlefield to where you are simulating smaller engagements for the same table size (ex. 6'x4' table). All of your terrain (trees, buildings, hills, cover, trenches, etc.) will also have to modeled in the same size as your figures to look right and act appropriately. You typically can't play 28mm figures with 15mm terrain as it won't work or look correctly. General rule is that the larger the figure the less you are likely to need and have to paint to recreate the battle that the game is simulating.

Edited by DesignXception
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Yes, a bigger scale means bigger vehicles - and that means very big vehicles, like AT-ATs, will be hard to publish in the same scale without being super expensive. It also means that that such a model will take up a ton of space on the table.

I don't know if that will stop FFG from making an AT-AT for Legion, including the possibility of making an AT-AT that is not strictly to scale with the figures.

IME smaller models are easier to paint than larger ones because larger ones have more detail. Others say 15mm is harder than 28mm, even if they think 10mm is easier than both. There are many opinions.

As far as comparison to non-FFG minis games, it is about the same or maybe slightly bigger. Most comparably scaled miniatures lines have gotten bigger over the years.

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Yes, typically 28mm and higher scale games have a lesser amount of vechicles in play because they will take up a larger amount of table space and quickly become crowded. A 15mm WW2 game can have a lot of tanks on the table were a 28mm WW2 game typically wont have more than a handful of vehicles due to size.

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From wikipedia:

Figure Height Scale foot Scale Ratio Comments
2 mm ≈0.333 mm ≈1:914 Useful for gaming in tight spaces or representing large forces. Popular scale for Victorian science fiction (VSF) games.
3 mm ≈0.508 mm ≈1:600 As with 2 mm figures, useful for gaming in tight spaces or representing large forces. Primarily used for World War II and Modern land and air games. Sometimes referred to as "pico" scale.
5.92 mm ≈0.987 mm 1:300 The NATO/EU standard scale [ citation needed ] for sand-table wargames involving micro armor . Closely related to 1:285 scale and generalized as "6 mm" figure scale.
6.2 mm ≈1.033 mm 1:285 The US standard for large-scale historical armor battles involving micro armor. Also popular in other genres, such as ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. Closely related to 1:300 scale.
8.0 - 9.14 mm ≈1.524 mm 1:200 - 1:182 The standard for old 1970-1980 large-scale display plastic aircraft, a large majority of diecast aircraft, and science fiction plastic kits. Also popular in other genres, such as ancient, fantasy, and sci-fi. One scale inch is equivalent to approximately 1/200th of an inch, 0.005 inches and 25.4 millimetres. One scale foot is equivalent to approximately 12/200th of an inch, 0.06 inches and 1.524 millimetres. One scale yard is equivalent to approximately 1/36th of an inch, 0.18 inches and 4.572 millimetres. Figure scale is 8mm generally squared off to 1/160 - 1/200 scale
10 mm ≈1.667 mm ≈1:182 A newer scale, growing in popularity, especially for World War II and science fiction gaming, but increasingly for historical games as well. Roughly equal to N scale railroad trains. Notable manufacturers include Pendraken Miniatures, Newlines, Irregular Miniatures, Magister Militum, Steve Barber, Kallistra, Minifigs UK, Old Glory, and Games Workshop's Warmaster line of miniatures.
12 mm 2 mm ≈1:152 A newer scale, growing in popularity, closely related to 10 mm. Roughly equal to 1:144 scale and N scale model mini armor.
15 mm 2.5 mm ≈1:100 The most popular scale used for historical wargames set in the modern era, such as Flames of War or Axis & Allies Miniatures . Also widely used in ancient-era wargaming, such as De Bellis Multitudinis , De Bellis Antiquitatis , and Fields of Glory . Seldom used for RPGs. Ranges roughly from 1:100 scale to 1:122 scale. This is TT scale in miniature railroading.
20 mm ≈3.33 mm ≈1:72 Highly popular for World War II wargaming, as the figures are of roughly the same scale as H0 model railways . Seldom used for RPGs.
25/28 mm ≈4.17 mm ≈1:56 The most common size of miniatures, as it is used by Games Workshop . While original 25 mm figures matched 1:76 models ( 4 mm scale or 00 gauge ), there developed wide upwards variation in figure height. True 28 mm figures are close to 1:64 models ( S scale ), but may appear larger due to bulky sculpting and thick bases.
30 mm 5 mm ≈1:61.0 Common for pre-1970s wargaming figures; modern minis may be up to 35 mm. Close to S scale model railroads.
32 mm ≈5.33 mm ≈1:57.2 Idiosyncratic to Mithril Miniatures . Genuine 32 mm.
35 mm ≈5.83 mm ≈1:52.3 Genuine 30 mm.
40 mm ≈5.83 mm ≈1:43 Older figures from the 60's tend to be thinner and sometimes shorter than new metal ones.
54 mm 9 mm ≈1:33.9 Collectible figures. These miniatures are a good match for 1:35 models, but oversize 54 mm figures would fit better with 1:32 models. Plastic dollar-store army men are often sold at this scale. Most new plastic 54's are 1/32 and these are the most common ones to be used for wargaming.
Edited by VictoryLeo
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Worth mentioning that even in existing games scale is somewhat maliable. 40k uses 28mm "heroic" scale, meaning everything is actually a bit bigger and bulkier actually making them pretty close to 32mm as a result. So because of that Grimdark elephant in the room, a lot of "sci-fi" wargaming terrain is also oversized a bit.

But 40k vehicles are probably closer to 20 or 25mm except for the hatches. There's really no way you could fit 10 of 40ks bloated uncle Fester looking guardsmen into one of their own IFVs

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The problem with bigger scales is the gap between mini scale and scale for distances of fire and movement. If you use distances true to scale, a 28mm infantryman will easily shoot over the whole table which leaves not much tactical choice. Another awkward point are interiors of buildings: if you keep the scale reduction for movement, movement in buildings is in slow motion. But all this is not such a big problem for people who would bring a lightsaber to a gunfight...

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i bought a 1:53 AT-AT from revell to make terrain. Im sure when/if FFG puts out an AT-AT they will definatly look off. Bigger scales are nicer for hobbyists as you can get more detail and more elaborate paint schemes, the issue, as pointed out is that a lot of us want AT-ATs, snowspeeders, TIE and X-Wing support for our armies and that will be hard to pull off at this scale (well atleast the at-ats).

I may get about AT-AT kit for my display board for events. It will definitely get attention and anything to get more people potentially interested in the game is a good thing.