1/72 compatible fantasy metals

[Gaz]

I have recently been looking at metals compatible with the Dark Alliance and Caesar 1/72 fantasy plastics, including some of the old "true 25mm" Prince August casts. Just this week I was also alerted to the new 20mm metal ranges from Elheim, including adventurers and Evil boss types. For those interested, I have posted some pictures comparing these with the Alliance and Caesar plastic models:
https://garageguerilla.blogspot.com/2020/10/elheim-fantasy-20mm.html

My previous post on the PA orcs may also be of interest to those doing fantasy in 20mm:
https://garageguerilla.blogspot.com/2020/09/prince-august-classic-fantasy-orcs.html

[CTMM]

 Great job painting.
They really do fit well, I cast loads of them in the 80s now I just have to find them.

 Thanks for the inspiration.

[Peithetairos]

Thank you for the review. I am surprised to see that they are basically the same as 28-32mm miniatures proportion wise. Usually 1/72 is more akin to real world proportions. If you use them for RPGs or skirmish, why not just go for 28mm? Price and space   obviously, but I just wonder if it is worth it, given the limited selection.

[Gaz]

Well Peithetairos, the selection in plastic is quite extensive, which has allowed me to build up human, elf, dwarf and orc armies at a fraction of the price of 28mm. Plus they take up less space and still look great on the table. It's the character models where there is limited stuff. The characters really add personality to an army and then facilitate using the models for games like SOBH. The Elheim range looks like it could fill that gap.

[Hobgoblin]

Great painting!

I use 1/72 for my 'portable' RPG miniatures (for games with friends in far-flung places: something that I hope will return before too long) and for Hordes of the Things. There are huge advantages to the scale, I think: not only are the figures dirt cheap, but if you want two dozen town guard or 50 of the evil baron's soldiers, they can be obtained for very little and painted up quickly.

Also, and in line with Gaz's point on space, they have the same 'footprint' as 15mm, which means that they're much better than 28mm for outdoor encounters or huge underground spaces (e.g. Moria); the table edge looms much less large.

The other thing is that there's so much more cross-manufacturer compatibility than in 15mm. And the selection's not that limited these days. Then there's cost. You can buy a box of Dark Alliance figures for £8 or so, create an entire HotT army and still have a spare sprue for 12 RPG characters.

[Peithetairos]

I see, I wasn't aware that there is so much available. The price and footprint factor is definitely something to consider.

[M.P.]

Very nice paintjobs :-), I myself wargame exclusively in the 20mm scale.

[sundayhero]

thanks to (mostly) Dark alliance and Caesar, the fantasy range in 1/72 plastic is quite big now.

[thenamelessdead]

It's a good scale. Like the brushwork Gaz.

[Gaz]

Just finishing up the Elheim 20mm bad guys. Nice models to paint and will be a great addition to any 1/72 armies:

[white knight]

Looking great. Have you had a look at Denizen miniatures? Their range is quite old and "true" 25mm, so might fit in. I say might, because I haven't seen any of the 20mm figures you use in person.

http://www.denizenminiatures.co.uk/

[Gaz]

Thanks, will check out Denizen.

[Elk101]

I have Denizen's colonial marines and they are excellent sculpts with almost zero cleanup required. I've often fancied picking up some of their fantasy stuff. If they are similarly sized to the scifi ranges they may still be a  it big for 20mm humans, but might be ok for some of the other races.

[Hobgoblin]

The Denizen orcs, goblins, man-trolls and giant (the old ones in the original fantasy range, not the later and cruder range of goblins) would work pretty well as beefy villains in 20mm. As Elk says, though, most of the others would be too big.

The old Ral Partha dwarves work OK in 20mm - as dwarves.

I've found that the Nolzur's D&D range provides some nicely scaled monsters for 1/72. I don't much like the Nolzur's range otherwise, but their more delicate/realistic proportions means that they 'read' well as larger creatures in 1/72, in a way that most 28mm figures don't. These ones are shown with a Zvezda 1/72 hoplite:

[Hobgoblin]

Also, the old Ral Partha gnolls (still available from Iron Wind) are nicely sized for 1/72.