15mm Pulp? Is it time?

[Bravo Six]

I know this has been talked about over at TMP and there are bits and bobs useful from the likes of Khurusan, Peter Pig and Brigade, but certainly with the explosion of 15mm figures lately for sci-fi, WWII, Vietnam, etc, I'm wondering if it's time for someone to step up and start pumping out heroes and villains in the smaller scale. No? 

I know the 28mm crowd here is shouting "blasphamy" and while I agree that pulp is more established and better represented in that scale, I think 15mm pulp has the potential to be wildly successful. Especially for the storagely challenged like myself.

What do you 15mm fans think?

  *braces for the barrage*

-Todd

[Steve F]

It seems a fair assumption that the revival of 15mm for the 20th century and after is largely down to the success of Flames of War.  If so, Pulp might well be a viable add-on to whatever's already available for the early-mid century.

[Orctrader]

As a painter one of the most appealing things about Pulp Figures and "suitable for Pulp" other ranges is the amount of "character" and "characters."  Not sure 15mm would allow that amount of detail.

And I thought that, from a gaming point of view, "Pulp" is skirmish-size so you don't need that many figures.  Or am I wrong?

[rob_alderman]

Even 15mm skirmish is getting popular.

Let's face it, you could have damn bigger pyramids to search! 

I think 15mm does allow for that much detail, not necessarily the same amount, but it would work.

[Doomhippie]

I agree with Orctrader. 15 mm is fine for lots of models but I personally think they suck for individual characters. Of course it would be nice to be able to play a pulp game on - let's say - the top of my computer. But it looses the feeling of individual persons there. I think even 20mm are a bit too small.

[P_Clapham]

I've been veering towards 20mm for my Pulp needs, particularly for larger battles.  The figures scale up nicely to the 1:72 matchbox and hotwheels cars, and size wise they are not at the point where too much detail is lost.  Storage wise they are a breeze, I modified some GW cases to hold double the amount of figures using the 1:72 scale, and the unmodified recesses are perfect for holding vehicles.

I'd love to see more 20mm stuff myself, the figures coming out of Caesar are brilliant these days.  Given that they've done fantasy figures in the past, including metal ones.  It would be fantastic for them to do a pulp line, or even just a boxed set or two.

[d phipps]

Heya Todd!

I am a big fan of 15mm, but it just doesn't have the same appeal to me when it comes to pulp games. For me the advantage of 15mm is all about space and cost.

We already play on a 3' x 3' table, so space is not really a concern. And we normally play with less than 10 models per player, so cost isn't really that big of deal. Now I know there are players using the Pulp Alley rules for their 15mm and 20mm, as well as 28mm figures. So maybe its just a matter of personal taste. But as for me, I'll stick with the superior visual appeal of 28mm characters for my pulp games.

HAVE FUN!
Dave

[P_Clapham]

I've been considering using both the 28 & 20mm scales for my games.  The smaller one for battles involving vehicles and small armies, with the larger scale used in skirmish games.

[Heldrak]

I think that the practical application for 15mm is to allow more room for vehicles, buildings, and troop formations, and these things don't usually come into play that much in pulp-themed gaming (buildings yes, but vehicles and troop formations, no). 15mm seems admirably suited to VSF (where vehicles tend to play a larger role) but the application just isn't there for Pulp (which tends to be character-driven and RPG-influenced).

[moif]

I have no interest in 15mm figures, for most of the same reasons as stated above, lack of character being my primary concern, but also the costs of replacing what I already have.

Furthermore, if I ever branch into even larger scale battles (currently I'm doing large scale battles in 28mm anyway) which required even more armoured vehicles than I am currently employing, or if I want to fight battles over longer ranges, then I would look to N scale which seems far more suited to that kind of game than 15mm.

[Ruarigh]

I would be all for a 15mm pulp range or two. 15mm suits my available budget and matches most of the terrain I already have. I do have 28mm pulp figures, but I could sell those to fund the new scale. I don't actually enjoy painting 28mm figures that much anyway (heresy, I know!) so 15mm would suit me better.

Cheers,
Ruarigh

[Svennn]

I have no problem with the scale, I have quite a few historical armies in 15mm but Pulp is just wrong on so many levels.

The biggest problem I see is that characters like command figures are needed in very small numbers (singles) by each player therefore reducing sales immensely. Which manufacturers would/could produce a range limited in that way. 28mm singles are double/triple the price of std. unit troops like say Perry so the same would apply.

[Flockalicious]

I read a good reason, somewhere, in support of 15mm over 28mm.  The idea was that the range of weaponry scales better on the limited space of a tabletop when the figures are smaller.  A 15mm troop shooting a rifle 12" is more realistic than a 28mm rifleman shooting to a max 12".

[capthugeca]

A 15mm troop shooting a rifle 12" is more realistic than a 28mm rifleman shooting to a max 12".

Yes, that works where there's a lot of lon-range firing  but most pulp takes place in limited or enclosed space where maximum ranges don't matter anyway.

[The Hooded Claw]

The amount of detail that sculptors are getting into 15mm is on the level of 28mm now days. I have seen some 15mm paint jobs that, without anything telling me otherwise, I would swear were 28mm.

But, beyond individual tastes, there is a market for it. Some people don't want to have two sets of terrain, don't have lots of table space, or don't have the time to paint 28mm stuff but still want to play Pulp genre games. For the price of a one or two 28mm Pulp figs (depending on n manufacturer), I could have a whole pack of 15mm heroes. Some of the crazy contraptions are also cheaper or easier to make smaller than bigger as well.

There are a lot of pluses.

-Eli