A question of scale (15mm)

[Mr.J]

Hi All

Last Christmas my brother kindly bought me a box of Khurasan orcs, trolls etc. so I could pursue a 15mm Tolkien project. They were promptly packed away due to a house move and have only just resurfaced.

I'm now looking for an opponent for them and love the Copplestone minis, particularly the dwarves, however I understand that they are very tall. Can anybody shed some light on which 15mm human minis would work well with them - I'm leaning towards Forged in Battles ancients.

On the other hand if they don't work could anyone suggest suitable 15mm dwarves in a similar style please?

Thanks

[Hobgoblin]

Judging by the one in my possession, the Copplestone dwarves are the standard size for most 15mm dwarves - about chest-high to a human (at least in the fantasy ranges). The Alternative Armies/15mm.co.uk dwarves are very tall, though (the HOT range, not the old Asgard ones) - was it those you'd heard about?

[Mr.J]

I've looked at a few manufacturers but Copplestone stand out as the best but I got the impression that they were significantly taller. I may pick up a pack and see. You don't happen to have any photos of your one do you that you could share as a comparison?

[Hobgoblin]

Here's a quick snap. The Copplestone dwarf was (beautifully) painted by Jagganath of this forum. He's one of the command group, so I'd imagine he's fairly hefty. But still, he's only about as tall as the chest of the wizards, and about the same height as the Blood Dawn dwarf on the right. The Copplestone Dwarf also has much nicer proportions than the Blood Dawn one.

[Jagannath]

Thanks Hobgoblin!

I *think* Khurasan are slightly small too, which compounds this a little. Demonworld dwarves are shorter than the Copplestone ones, and fatter. FiB is one of my favourite lines, but it is (again) at the taller end of the spectrum. Personally that wouldn't bother me - the orcs will be internally consistent to each other and so will the humans, but if you have a very specific feeling on how tall orcs should be YMMV. You also won't have the issue of Dwarves not looking like short.

Donnington New Era make very nice 100 Years War minis (much nice than they look on the site) if you waned that style of human and they'd fit Khurasan well I think. Personally I wouldn't worry about the odd mm and go for FiB Saxons, they're gorgeous and paint so so well!

[Mr.J]

Thanks guys, Jagannath I just had a nosey around your blog and it's fantastic!

As I'm doing this Tolkien style I'm in to the smaller orcs, my main concern is buying dwarves that are larger than my humans, I'll probably dip my toe in and buy a pack when I've painted a few more orcs.

[Hobgoblin]

I don't think there's any risk of the Copplestone dwarves being taller than your humans, as they're 14.5 cm to the top of their heads (according to the website); even "true" 15mm humans will be 15mm to the eyes, and most fantasy (and Forged in Battle historicals) are 16, 17 or 18mm to their eyes. So I reckon you're safe with Copplestone.

[Jagannath]

Ah thanks very much - just my wee contribution to the 15mm world.

Yeah agreed with Hongolin - evens as 'tall' dwarves they wouldn't be mistake for humans. Hobgoblin, as an aside - what's the Gandalf mini there at the front? Battle Valour?

[Hobgoblin]

Hobgoblin, as an aside - what's the Gandalf mini there at the front? Battle Valour?

I confess that I don't know - I thought it was one I'd got from you, but I think it may be one I bought over eBay from Blackstone, in a job lot of 15mm adventurers.

[Jagannath]

Oh actually it could well be - I did have some battle valour minis knocking about. Is it a touch tall ('too' tall)?

[Hobgoblin]

It's exactly the same height as the "gorgon". And yes, it looks like it is Battle Valor - a "Frigian" wizard.

If he's "gone on holiday by mistake", just let me know, and I'll send him back!