Breadth of choice: 10mm or 15mm

[Ranthony]

Thanks for all the replies.  I think Fierce Kitty might have sold me on 10mm. I know from painting 15mm Napoleonic figures that I will try to paint all the detail. For10mm I think I can cope with a quick and simple paint job.

Ah! But they demand better

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

Ah! But they demand better

Some paint is better than no paint.

[Coenus Scaldingus]

The most important point is probably that Magister Militum sells their Assyrian "camels disguised as elephants" in both 10mm and 15mm scales, and those must be among the best miniatures ever to grace a tabletop from a conceptual point of view. I enjoy them so much.
https://www.magistermilitum.com/aem13-assyrian-camels-disguised-as-elephants.html
https://www.magistermilitum.com/eas18-camels-disguised-as-elephants.html

[Cat]

The most important point is probably that Magister Militum sells their Assyrian "camels disguised as elephants" in both 10mm and 15mm scales, and those must be among the best miniatures ever to grace a tabletop from a conceptual point of view.

¡Truth!

Also reflecting on scale choices — I actually would have been very happy if Napoleonic 15mm had remained 15mm.  I've always lamented the never ending scale creep and still really like the old Heritage sculpts.  It's such a pity that they never found replacement sculptors of that caliber and that MiniFigs 2nd gen jumped up to 17mm, and the creep race was on.

AB Napoleonics are very beautiful 18+, but they are terrible 15s!

[mc_deli]

Your local potential opponents are a really important factor.

In 15mm we are blessed with amazing figures:
Xyston (UK) - all killer no filler, some closer to 18mm, all a joy to paint, first stop for ancients
Forged in Battle // War and Empire (UK) - big packs, loads of new dark ages armies
Legio Heroica (Italy) - again, joy to paint, medievals
Museum (UK) - new Z range for ancients plus massive legacy range (with less variation)
Khurasan (US) - eclectic and generally great
Baueda (EU) - figs and camps

Then the older massive ranges, lie Essex, Donnington, Magister militum (Chariot), and plenty of others, including plastics from PSC (same as Lurkio), new PoD plastics, loads more.

For rules, for 15mm, I think the research bears out that ADLG, MEG and DBMM are most popular globally for ancient-medieval 15mm. But there are many more.

And (apologies for posting this again), until there is a sensible ancients forum that’s user-friendly, the conversations about rules and figures are much more interesting on Facebook now - check out e.g. Museum, Grendell, Mortem et Gloriam, L’Art de la Guerre etc etc.

And for 10mm vs 15mm there’s also Madaxeman’s blogs and podcasts - big Pendraken fan there!

[madaxeman]

And for 10mm vs 15mm there’s also Madaxeman’s blogs and podcasts - big Pendraken fan there!

I must have felt the stirring in the force...!

There's also this guide to 15mm manufacturers and what they do on my site - may need updating a little (my fault..sorry!) but pretty comprehensive: https://www.madaxeman.com/main/15mm_ancients_suppliers.php

...and almost 4,000 photos of 15mm ancients here: https://www.madaxeman.com/15mm/index.php