So what does Gripping Beasts new 10mm scale rule set bring to the party?

[Tim Haslam]

It certainly looks interesting?
Is it another DBM just using another scale though?
Who makes 10mm scale ancients?

Thanks..

[Andrew_McGuire]

Who makes 10mm scale ancients?

Gripping Beast, oddly enough. (Who'd have thought it?) Also Magister Militum, among others, no doubt.

[Tim Haslam]

Thanks,
Got GB covered, and newline and pendragon.
I’ll go and check MM.

[Andrew_McGuire]

I'll certainly be interested to hear what the rules are like. I don't have any 10mm figures, and it would take a lot to make me invest in any. I imagine the rules - Milites Mundi for the curious - would work with 15 mm as well, though.

[YPU]

Kalistra do what they call 12mm ancients https://www.kallistra.co.uk/?page=150

[FierceKitty]

Pendraken, Newline, Magister Militum, Reiver (are they still in business?), Irregular Miniatures,  a few useable in Copplestone' fantasy, Old Glory, Kallistra, Baggage Train, Adler. 

The first three of these are by a long way the best. Watch out for weak ankles with Irreg. Min (and iffy delivery, I've found), and floppy swords with Adler. Kallistra are big, but I like the effect I've got using a few of their Vikings among smaller figures, and it should work with Gauls too.

[fred]

Anyone played the rules? What are they like?

Anyone got any of the GB figures, are the metal or plastic? What are they like? Some of the photos on the GB website make them look a bit odd, but may just be the camera angle, which on small figures with close-ups can be unforgiving.

[Tim Haslam]

Yeah, I was wondering what was going to be USP for these small scale rules?
There are a lot of rules on the market.

I hadn’t considered the Copplestone range of fantasy stuff?

[fred]

The Copplestone figures are very nice. And could certainly be considered for Dark Ages and early Medieval.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Another range of figures I'd overlooked, described by the producer as 1/144. Only Imperial Romans and Germans in the ancient category so far:

http://vandyckmodelsandfigurines.be/index.php/furniture/ancient.html

[Tim Haslam]

I’m impressed with those.
Great proportions.
Thanks.

Still hoping for some insight into the rules?

[Captain Blood]

Another range of figures I'd overlooked, described by the producer as 1/144. Only Imperial Romans and Germans in the ancient category so far:

http://vandyckmodelsandfigurines.be/index.php/furniture/ancient.html

Good grief, they are incredible
They make most other 10mm figures look like the crude little blobs they usually are.
But then, to be fair, 1/144 scale is 12mm, not 10mm, so maybe all that extra detail is achievable within the extra couple of mm. Or maybe they just have a much better sculptor... 

[Andrew_McGuire]

Glad to have been of service. I belatedly recalled seeing them reviewed in WSS at least a year ago, at which point I checked them out but then somehow forgot about them . The only additions since then seem to be the beginnings of a WSS - as in War of Spanish Succession - range. I hope there's a lot more in the offing, but I'm sure this sort of quality takes time.

[Norm]

This year you have Plastic Soldier Company doing 15mm Ancients and 10mm modern (Europe 1987). Gripping Beast are doing Ancients, supported by rules geared up specifically for 15mm and lower, Victrix are going to do 12mm WWII. Last year Timescale brought out their really nice 10mm Moderns ...... at last ...... enough of a momentum by major companies joining the ranks of the already present small scale manufacturers to give something other than 28mm some breathing space in our magazines and at our wargame shows.

We have been troubled for some years now my our major media outlets losing scale diversity and this does have an impact, there have been a couple of shows this year that I have not gone to simply because my scales of interest have been virtually absent, so no trader, no buildings or other terrain support, no game tables to inspire etc. Better (really!) to stay at home, save a 200 plus mile round trip journey and do an internet order instead! how is that good for hobby diversity?

If traditional manufacturers are willing to invest in new directions, the market must be there and perhaps some other trends are starting to bloom such as the interest in massed battles again and perhaps a business recognition that in the UK at least, a lot of people are gaming at home on small tables in small spaces and that there is room to tap into this market.

I hope that Gripping Beast's entry into the smaller scale, with rules that support the range, becomes a significant shot in the arm for many of us. I have just bought their Milites Mundi rules, so my support is there :-)

[wmyers]

Norm makes some good points.

28mm is a nice scale for detail, but the playing surface areas have to be so large as to really limit the games to skirmish.

Smaller scales allow for different types of games where different tactics can be used.  They also give a much different feel (to say nothing of being less expensive, take up less storage space, potentially less time painting and detailing, etc).