Figure Size
28mm Royalist Regiment of Foot
Now there are lots of different sizes or scales of figures in use throughout the hobby of wargaming and each have their virtues and of course their limitations, I have over the years tried out many of these scales although I will not profess to have used them all because I haven't. The most commonly used scales of figure used for the ECW period are as follows: 6mm, 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, 25/28mm, 40mm and 54mm. I know that there are other scales but these are the most commonly used.
Okay 2mm scale, enough said! Only useful if you have very limited space and very good eyesight, I have dabbled with this scale and found it to be a waste of time, effort and money. Coloured card counters would be a much better option.
6mm scale, much better than the previous 2mm scale and pretty much do the same job being quick and easy to paint & base, and excellent where space and money is an issue. They are still hard to see but I have over the years had many 6mm armies which I absolutely loved painting and using. I must admit that I used only one make of figure being Irregular Miniatures and I never actually had an ECW army in this scale but I did have many other armies ranging from Ancients to the Napoleonic period. Since I sold off all my 6mm armies (affluence, bigger gaming table and failing eyesight) there has been another serious contender in this scale with the addition of Baccus Miniatures. I have drooled over their ECW range and been extremely tempted to buy an army or two but so far I have resisted this as I already have a massive amount of 28mm ECW figures. Of the two manufacturers that I know of (okay I also know of Heroics and Ros 5/6mm figures, but they are really old 1970's figures and very poorly detailed) being Irregular Miniatures and Baccus Miniatures there isn't much to choose between them in terms of size of range or price, (Baccus are slightly more expensive) but I think that Baccus have probably got the edge in detail and they are a bit larger or chunkier so they have more presence on the gaming table. So, to recap if space, expense and painting time are an issue, or you simply want to do very large battles like Marston Moor on a normal sized table then this is the scale for you.
10mm scale, my preferred scale of the smaller scales, and this is due to the magic mix of aesthetic and practical considerations. The true beauty of this scale is that you still have much of the cost & space saving of 6mm scale but a much better visual impact when they are put on the wargames table. Again I must admit that I do not possess a 10mm ECW army, but I have pondered very much about buying into the ECW in this scale, especially after looking at the offerings from Pendraken Miniatures. I do have extensive knowledge and experience about collecting & painting figures in this scale as I own lots of armies that total up to literally 1,000's of figures in periods from Ancients up to Horse & Musket. I have figures from Old glory, Pendraken, Kallistra and Magister Militum and years ago even Aim 200 figures for the ACW and Franco Prussian Wars. The cost is about double that of the 6mm scale figures but less figures can create a better visual impact which means that instead of having 36 figure units you may choose to have 24 figure units with the price difference being about 50% more than the 6mm unit. In this scale there are a few companies that I know of that make ECW figures being: Irregular Miniatures, Old Glory and Pendraken Miniatures. All are interchangeable as far as I know and I have figures from the three aforementioned manufacturers in my Marlburian armies. With regards quality I would have to say that Irregular Miniatures are the slightly poor relation to the other two and possibly Pendraken edge it over Old Glory for the detail and general styling of the figures, having said that I do think that the cast in pikes of the Pendraken figures are extremely short and look more like spears to me. I would have to cut those out and glue wire pikes in their place, or use Old Glory pike men instead which don't use cast pikes thus enabling wire pikes of any suitable size. Old Glory are not without the faults of design either, and they have the infantry in strips which I find niggling really as I like the freedom to space my own figures to suit me. Their cavalry is however all single figures with separate horses which allows for different horse poses although as far as I know the cavalry are of one pose. As I said it is certainly possible to mix & match these three makes of figure albeit with great care and possibly only as units of each type rather than mixing different figures within a unit. So, to recap they have the space & cost saving benefits of 6mm with the aesthetic appeal of being able to easily see individual figures.
15mm scale, these are second only in popularity to 28mm scale figures for this period and they are quick & easy to paint but look very good on the table top. This used to be my much preferred scale for the ECW period from my first army I had dating back to 1980 and remained so for at least 25 years, only succumbing to 28mm in the last 10 years or so. There are many manufacturers of figures for this scale and period and over the years I have bought figures from most of them and gladly mixed & matched within units for the most part. Some makes of figure (Later Donnington and Testudo) do stand out as being much larger than others and there is at least one (Naismith) that is much smaller, but most of the rest (Older Donnington, Minifigs, Irregular, Essex, Peter Pig, Matchlock, Frei Korps, Lancashire Games, Old Glory 15's, Museum and many more) can be freely mixed together. There was a time when 15mm probably was more popular for this period with the massive amount of variety of figures as well as the big price difference between 15mm and 28mm, but in recent years with the introduction of hard plastic figures and the sheer amount of 28mm variety of manufacturers this has changed in favour of 28mm. Also I have noticed that the difference in price doesn't seem to be as it once was with some 15mm manufacturers asking almost as much for their wares as some of the 28mm manufacturers, which seems somewhat ridiculous really, added to this that a 10mm figure is around a third of the price on average and sometimes less, and you can see how 15mm doesn't really stack up. So, to recap they have a vast amount of variety of manufacturer, easy to paint and a good game on a normal sized table, but on the down side they cannot compete with 10mm for price or 28mm for looks.
20mm scale, these I have toyed with the idea of using many years ago as they are cheap if you buy the soft plastic figures at around the same price or less than a 10mm figure with some metal makes of figure to add to the mix they could provide for a fairly cheap army in the larger scales. However the soft plastic can be a nightmare with the paint and any flash on soft plastic is hard to get off effectively. You really have to be more of an old fashioned sort of modeller/wargamer to appreciate or want to use soft plastic figures for anything other than a skirmish really. Some people are well suited to this and achieve some good results but most would be put off especially with the variety of other scales. They are an option though so shouldn't be discounted if you want large figures on the cheap and don't mind the fiddling about with soft plastic figures. On the downside they are as hard to paint as any 28mm figure without any of the visual appeal and they are not really space savers as they are almost as big. So, to recap they are cheap, but that's almost all they have going for them.
25mm/28mm scale, this is without a doubt the most heavily catered for scale when it comes to ECW wargaming, the multitude of manufacturers in this scale can make for an astonishing mix of figures for any wargames army. There are really 3 sub-scales within this scale being the older ranges of figures from manufacturers such as Minifigs, Hinchliffe and Warrior, and the average sized figures from such as Dixon, Essex, Old Glory, Foundry, Warlord, Front Rank, Perry, Empress, TAG, Irregular & Corvus, and the larger sized figures from such as Renegade, Bicorne and Redoubt. There are lots more manufacturers that I have no doubt missed out of that selection which goes to show just how many ranges there are available. My own armies are all in this scale after selling off all my 15mm ECW armies some years ago, and I have no affinity to any one manufacturer and happily mix different makes within my units. With regards to mixing figures I do refrain from using the older/smaller makes as I feel that the quality of sculpting has moved a long way since these were first introduced, although the right figure could change my mind. Also the very large figures can be problematic when mixing with the medium sized figures, but again I have made a few exceptions here and there in my armies and I have painted mixed regiments for customers who like the more true to life variety you can get from putting the odd Renegade with a Perry in a regiment of mostly Warlord figures. Cavalry though doesn't seem to present such a problem unless the horses are significantly different in size and even that can be accounted for in a rag tag army of the period. Pricing can vary from 50p or so for a plastic figure to about £1.50 for the more expensive figures with most coming in around the £1.00 mark, so really this is definitely at the more expensive end of wargaming the period. Obviously this size has a lot of visual appeal and with that comes the extra time and effort involved in painting & basing the figures, but this is well worth it for the sheer spectacle of the army when displayed on the tabletop. Space is also an issue with both storage and the size of a table for the average engagement, however depending upon the figure/ground scale used a really good game can be had on an 8' x 4' table. My own table is purpose built (by myself) and extends from 8' x 4' to 6' x 12' with the centre of the field only being 6' as extra depth for deployment of reserves, and I am lucky enough to have my own full time gaming room, which helps. So, to recap this scale has the most variety of figures, great visual appeal, but needs a lot more time, money and space to field an average sized army.
40mm - 54mm scale, there are some really nice figures produced in both of these larger scales but for the most part they are really only useful for skirmish games although I have seen people use them for bigger battles too. Again the expense and space needed to store these coupled with the time and effort to paint and base them means that this is not an easy option for the average gamer and really only to be undertaken if part of a group or if you have everything mentioned before in abundance. They obviously don't have the variety in makes of 28mm and that means conversion work will undoubtedly have to be done to get some of the less popular or well known figure types or generals etc. With everything that it has going against it from a practical viewpoint it really does have a limited appeal for most gamers and hence is only included for the sake of completeness. Anything above these scales in size is by definition not worth including so I will leave it here. So, to recap only to be used if you are really rich with acres of space and lots of time (or a supply of painters) on your hands to paint the figures.
Paper figures/counters, this is a pretty good and quick way of getting armies into the field if you are either just wanting to try out the period or if you simply want to save time, money and effort getting a game going, and the best part is they can be scaled to any size you want. I have dabbled with this myself over the years with different periods and to be honest it is well worth trying out even if it is simply as a substitute for your 'real' figures until they are painted. There are sites that sell these and sites that provide free figures to cut out and use as you wish. I will actually endeavour to produce a set of 'free' useable ECW paper figure sets to download and use within the next few weeks. All in all within a few minutes you can have a whole army printed and cut out to use until such time you want (or not) to replace them with metal or plastic figures.
So that concludes figure size as a topic, obviously there is no right or wrong when it comes to which size or make of figure to use as everyone has their own preference and I know from my own experience of trying just about every scale (including 2mm, doh!) that this can be changeable over the years as circumstance, interest or finances dictate. Hopefully for anyone wishing to try the period for the first time this has been somewhat useful and maybe even enlightening in some way.
Okay 2mm scale, enough said! Only useful if you have very limited space and very good eyesight, I have dabbled with this scale and found it to be a waste of time, effort and money. Coloured card counters would be a much better option.
6mm scale, much better than the previous 2mm scale and pretty much do the same job being quick and easy to paint & base, and excellent where space and money is an issue. They are still hard to see but I have over the years had many 6mm armies which I absolutely loved painting and using. I must admit that I used only one make of figure being Irregular Miniatures and I never actually had an ECW army in this scale but I did have many other armies ranging from Ancients to the Napoleonic period. Since I sold off all my 6mm armies (affluence, bigger gaming table and failing eyesight) there has been another serious contender in this scale with the addition of Baccus Miniatures. I have drooled over their ECW range and been extremely tempted to buy an army or two but so far I have resisted this as I already have a massive amount of 28mm ECW figures. Of the two manufacturers that I know of (okay I also know of Heroics and Ros 5/6mm figures, but they are really old 1970's figures and very poorly detailed) being Irregular Miniatures and Baccus Miniatures there isn't much to choose between them in terms of size of range or price, (Baccus are slightly more expensive) but I think that Baccus have probably got the edge in detail and they are a bit larger or chunkier so they have more presence on the gaming table. So, to recap if space, expense and painting time are an issue, or you simply want to do very large battles like Marston Moor on a normal sized table then this is the scale for you.
10mm scale, my preferred scale of the smaller scales, and this is due to the magic mix of aesthetic and practical considerations. The true beauty of this scale is that you still have much of the cost & space saving of 6mm scale but a much better visual impact when they are put on the wargames table. Again I must admit that I do not possess a 10mm ECW army, but I have pondered very much about buying into the ECW in this scale, especially after looking at the offerings from Pendraken Miniatures. I do have extensive knowledge and experience about collecting & painting figures in this scale as I own lots of armies that total up to literally 1,000's of figures in periods from Ancients up to Horse & Musket. I have figures from Old glory, Pendraken, Kallistra and Magister Militum and years ago even Aim 200 figures for the ACW and Franco Prussian Wars. The cost is about double that of the 6mm scale figures but less figures can create a better visual impact which means that instead of having 36 figure units you may choose to have 24 figure units with the price difference being about 50% more than the 6mm unit. In this scale there are a few companies that I know of that make ECW figures being: Irregular Miniatures, Old Glory and Pendraken Miniatures. All are interchangeable as far as I know and I have figures from the three aforementioned manufacturers in my Marlburian armies. With regards quality I would have to say that Irregular Miniatures are the slightly poor relation to the other two and possibly Pendraken edge it over Old Glory for the detail and general styling of the figures, having said that I do think that the cast in pikes of the Pendraken figures are extremely short and look more like spears to me. I would have to cut those out and glue wire pikes in their place, or use Old Glory pike men instead which don't use cast pikes thus enabling wire pikes of any suitable size. Old Glory are not without the faults of design either, and they have the infantry in strips which I find niggling really as I like the freedom to space my own figures to suit me. Their cavalry is however all single figures with separate horses which allows for different horse poses although as far as I know the cavalry are of one pose. As I said it is certainly possible to mix & match these three makes of figure albeit with great care and possibly only as units of each type rather than mixing different figures within a unit. So, to recap they have the space & cost saving benefits of 6mm with the aesthetic appeal of being able to easily see individual figures.
15mm scale, these are second only in popularity to 28mm scale figures for this period and they are quick & easy to paint but look very good on the table top. This used to be my much preferred scale for the ECW period from my first army I had dating back to 1980 and remained so for at least 25 years, only succumbing to 28mm in the last 10 years or so. There are many manufacturers of figures for this scale and period and over the years I have bought figures from most of them and gladly mixed & matched within units for the most part. Some makes of figure (Later Donnington and Testudo) do stand out as being much larger than others and there is at least one (Naismith) that is much smaller, but most of the rest (Older Donnington, Minifigs, Irregular, Essex, Peter Pig, Matchlock, Frei Korps, Lancashire Games, Old Glory 15's, Museum and many more) can be freely mixed together. There was a time when 15mm probably was more popular for this period with the massive amount of variety of figures as well as the big price difference between 15mm and 28mm, but in recent years with the introduction of hard plastic figures and the sheer amount of 28mm variety of manufacturers this has changed in favour of 28mm. Also I have noticed that the difference in price doesn't seem to be as it once was with some 15mm manufacturers asking almost as much for their wares as some of the 28mm manufacturers, which seems somewhat ridiculous really, added to this that a 10mm figure is around a third of the price on average and sometimes less, and you can see how 15mm doesn't really stack up. So, to recap they have a vast amount of variety of manufacturer, easy to paint and a good game on a normal sized table, but on the down side they cannot compete with 10mm for price or 28mm for looks.
20mm scale, these I have toyed with the idea of using many years ago as they are cheap if you buy the soft plastic figures at around the same price or less than a 10mm figure with some metal makes of figure to add to the mix they could provide for a fairly cheap army in the larger scales. However the soft plastic can be a nightmare with the paint and any flash on soft plastic is hard to get off effectively. You really have to be more of an old fashioned sort of modeller/wargamer to appreciate or want to use soft plastic figures for anything other than a skirmish really. Some people are well suited to this and achieve some good results but most would be put off especially with the variety of other scales. They are an option though so shouldn't be discounted if you want large figures on the cheap and don't mind the fiddling about with soft plastic figures. On the downside they are as hard to paint as any 28mm figure without any of the visual appeal and they are not really space savers as they are almost as big. So, to recap they are cheap, but that's almost all they have going for them.
25mm/28mm scale, this is without a doubt the most heavily catered for scale when it comes to ECW wargaming, the multitude of manufacturers in this scale can make for an astonishing mix of figures for any wargames army. There are really 3 sub-scales within this scale being the older ranges of figures from manufacturers such as Minifigs, Hinchliffe and Warrior, and the average sized figures from such as Dixon, Essex, Old Glory, Foundry, Warlord, Front Rank, Perry, Empress, TAG, Irregular & Corvus, and the larger sized figures from such as Renegade, Bicorne and Redoubt. There are lots more manufacturers that I have no doubt missed out of that selection which goes to show just how many ranges there are available. My own armies are all in this scale after selling off all my 15mm ECW armies some years ago, and I have no affinity to any one manufacturer and happily mix different makes within my units. With regards to mixing figures I do refrain from using the older/smaller makes as I feel that the quality of sculpting has moved a long way since these were first introduced, although the right figure could change my mind. Also the very large figures can be problematic when mixing with the medium sized figures, but again I have made a few exceptions here and there in my armies and I have painted mixed regiments for customers who like the more true to life variety you can get from putting the odd Renegade with a Perry in a regiment of mostly Warlord figures. Cavalry though doesn't seem to present such a problem unless the horses are significantly different in size and even that can be accounted for in a rag tag army of the period. Pricing can vary from 50p or so for a plastic figure to about £1.50 for the more expensive figures with most coming in around the £1.00 mark, so really this is definitely at the more expensive end of wargaming the period. Obviously this size has a lot of visual appeal and with that comes the extra time and effort involved in painting & basing the figures, but this is well worth it for the sheer spectacle of the army when displayed on the tabletop. Space is also an issue with both storage and the size of a table for the average engagement, however depending upon the figure/ground scale used a really good game can be had on an 8' x 4' table. My own table is purpose built (by myself) and extends from 8' x 4' to 6' x 12' with the centre of the field only being 6' as extra depth for deployment of reserves, and I am lucky enough to have my own full time gaming room, which helps. So, to recap this scale has the most variety of figures, great visual appeal, but needs a lot more time, money and space to field an average sized army.
40mm - 54mm scale, there are some really nice figures produced in both of these larger scales but for the most part they are really only useful for skirmish games although I have seen people use them for bigger battles too. Again the expense and space needed to store these coupled with the time and effort to paint and base them means that this is not an easy option for the average gamer and really only to be undertaken if part of a group or if you have everything mentioned before in abundance. They obviously don't have the variety in makes of 28mm and that means conversion work will undoubtedly have to be done to get some of the less popular or well known figure types or generals etc. With everything that it has going against it from a practical viewpoint it really does have a limited appeal for most gamers and hence is only included for the sake of completeness. Anything above these scales in size is by definition not worth including so I will leave it here. So, to recap only to be used if you are really rich with acres of space and lots of time (or a supply of painters) on your hands to paint the figures.
Paper figures/counters, this is a pretty good and quick way of getting armies into the field if you are either just wanting to try out the period or if you simply want to save time, money and effort getting a game going, and the best part is they can be scaled to any size you want. I have dabbled with this myself over the years with different periods and to be honest it is well worth trying out even if it is simply as a substitute for your 'real' figures until they are painted. There are sites that sell these and sites that provide free figures to cut out and use as you wish. I will actually endeavour to produce a set of 'free' useable ECW paper figure sets to download and use within the next few weeks. All in all within a few minutes you can have a whole army printed and cut out to use until such time you want (or not) to replace them with metal or plastic figures.
So that concludes figure size as a topic, obviously there is no right or wrong when it comes to which size or make of figure to use as everyone has their own preference and I know from my own experience of trying just about every scale (including 2mm, doh!) that this can be changeable over the years as circumstance, interest or finances dictate. Hopefully for anyone wishing to try the period for the first time this has been somewhat useful and maybe even enlightening in some way.
6mm ECW Royalist Regiment of Foot