Contemplating a change of scales: 28mm to 15mm sci-fi

[Cosmotiger]

I love 28mm sci fi mins. Therefore, I have a metric buttload of 28mm sci fi mins.   Many have languished in my lead mountain for years. 

Many are superb figures that I'd love to paint, but they are also time consuming, and realistically, many will never get painted. I'm considering selling off a significant number and using the proceeds to buy into 15mm sci-fi, since there have been so many great things coming out in that scale.  I think I can get things painted more quickly and get them on the table in 15mm, and be able to play on a smaller table (or have bigger games).   

I also have a ton of 28mm fantasy, despite the fact that I really only play skirmish like Song of Blades and Heroes.  I dount I'd ever play a set of rules requiring large armies in 28mm scale, I'd never get them painted, so why do have so many of the things?

However, I hesitate to sell things off, knowing that a lot of things in my collection are out of production, and I might never find them again.  I have at times sold minis and later regretted it (Squats), but I've also sold things off and never missed them.

Sorr for the incoherent ramble, but I know a lot of us have probably come to similar decision points in our hobby...

[eilif]

Two questions for you.

First off, what scale do your gaming friends play?  If they're not interested in making the switch, you'll regret it.

Secondly, have you bought and painted any 15mm stuff yet?  If the answer is no, why not sell off just a bit of your least favorite lead-pile figs and test the waters a bit.?

No matter what you do, it is probably a good idea to sell off at least some of your lead mountain, it sounds like it's getting to be more of a burden for you than a source of painting enjoyment.

I'm a dedicated 28mm guy that considered moving to 15mm a while back.  It seemed like a very appealing scale based on it's affordability and the rise in the number of manufacturers. Bought a couple packs and went right back to 28mm for the following reasons.

1) It really wasn't considerably less expensive. I buy so much of my 28mm used or bargain, that the price difference wasn't a huge issue.

2) My Gaming buddies weren't interested in making the switch.

3) I was heavily invested, so there was really no reason to switch.

4) I really like the look of 28mm figs and the options for customizing, converting, etc.

Lastly, regarding your fantasy minis, have you considered trying a slightly larger game? We had alot of fun using "Of Gods and Mortals" with our fantasy miniature collections.  It's a nice stepping stone (about platoon level) and some of us have even expanded our fantasy armies to be big enough for Kings of War.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[shandy]

Hi!

I'm pretty dedicated to 15mm - I have a couple of 28mm pirates to play Flashing Steel, which is great, but I don't have the space to store or play with huge amounts of 28mm figures. Also, although I enjoy painting, I'm not good at it, and 15mm is much more forgiving than 28mm (same for building terrain etc.). For me, it also turned out to be cheaper - especially vehicles and terrain are much cheaper than in 28mm, and I don't buy that many figures in any case.

I guess it depends on what you want. If you are a painter, I understand the lure of 28mm figures. If you are restricted in space, money and (painting) time, you might want to consider 15mm.

Apart from that, I really like the look of the smaller figures… especially if your playing table is not too big, the relations of movement, shooting and the size of the terrain look better I think (we mostly play on a 100cmx80cm table).

Cheers,
Shandy

[3 fingers]

My problem is slightly similar,I find by the time I have dealt with kids ,poorly wife, house chores and issues with hand mobility,I am too shattered at night to do anything with the miniatures,I tried once and messed up some conversions,lost my temper and binned them and nearly jacked the hobby in.
I can scan on here and the net,whilst keeping eye on the kids,but wouldn't dare get modelling stuff out,as soons my backs turned it will be trashed.
I am now looking at simplistic miniatures less detailed ,that will be quicker to paint,so a lot of retro stuff,some westwind ,frontrank ,flintloque,etc. less building time.less painting time.
It doesn't stop me dreaming about building a sci fi roman ,40k imperial guard army though.
Oh I store mine in storage chests in the loft,only takes 5 minutes get ladders and open trapdoor.

[Johnno]

What if you sold off some stuff and used the proceeds to commission other stuff painted?
That way, you reduce the lead mountain twofold....

[LeadAsbestos]

What if you sold off some stuff and used the proceeds to commission other stuff painted?
That way, you reduce the lead mountain twofold....

This. Worked a treat for me to not only reduce the pile 2 ways, but to get some gorgeous paint on my minis, much better than I could have produced myself.  I traded a few dead or stalled projects direct to the painters, sent the stuff I wanted painted along with the trade, and a bit later, beautiful painted troops arrive at my door. Dead project gone, live project moved forward.

It takes some work waiting for the right match, but when it comes up, magic!

[Cosmotiger]

No matter what you do, it is probably a good idea to sell off at least some of your lead mountain, it sounds like it's getting to be more of a burden for you than a source of painting enjoyment.

That really hits the nail on the head. About 7-8 years ago, I came back to painting minis after a hiatus of several years and got into acquisition mode, buying things on impulse because it looked cool. Now I feel like that stuff is always lurking in the closet, waiting for me to get around to it.  A purge is probably in order. Once I reduce the amount of unpainted stuff that's stashed in bins and boxes, then I'll think some more about trying out 15mm (at least for certain things).

[carlos13th]

I own stuff in three scales. Though the large majority is 28mm.

Stuff I really want to paint, doesn't require huge numbers of models, and doesn't need loads of vehicles I go for 28mm. It's my preferred scale overall.

I find wargaming with vehicles, tanks, flying robots of death etc to be to expensive and takes up lots of space at 28mm so gaming ww2 with tanks for example will probably be at this scale. I have a box of bolt action Brits I haven't been able to work up the enthusiasm to even take out of the box for this reason.

Then their is the scale I am looking at if I want to make a truley impressive size arm. 6mm. For this individual models are meaningless and it's all about how they look as a unit. It's almost impossible to paint with any real detail at this scale (at least for me) so it's all about giving the right impression of the unit as a whole.

Have a look at your stuff and sort it into three basic categories

1 - For use in a current or soon planned project

2 - No current planned use for it but I would regret selling it/ or want to keep it for whatever reason

3 - can't even remember why I bought these/ I have a hundred when I only need 8

First pile sort out into useable grounps/army's/teams write a small army list for what you will play with them and put them somewhere easy to access so you can crack on with it

Second pile keep for now but check back periodically to see if you feel the same way.

Third pile maybe keep one or two models from your huge armies to play a small skirmish game with instead of a mass battle game and ebay the rest.

Use the money from ebay to either bolster something you already enjoy or get into a name game. Maybe wait until you have sold something then order a 15mm pack from whoever you were considering buying from just to see what you think of the scale, if you enjoy painting it etc.

[sean_68333]

I made the decision a few years ago to move away from 28mm gaming.  Partially because of my lack of interest in the 28mm games that most of my buddies play, but also because of my desire to play larger games.

There are tons of 15mm and 6mm manufacturers that offer great stuff. 

I would say that you don't have to totally get out of 28mm and dip a toe into 15mm stuff.  You can sell the bit of the pile that you are pretty sure you won't miss and use that to get some samples of 15mm stuff.

In my experience, if I do a game that isn't GW then my group won't buy into it.  They will play it, but they aren't sinking anything into it.  So I just do multiple forces and provide the stuff for both sides.  I typically play scenario type games so it isn't a big deal and 15mm is affordable enough that I can buy both sides.  Painting is much quicker and I have even spent some time making 15mm terrain.  Lots of your terrain can work in multiple scales (trees, hills, etc) but buildings and such is kind of specific.

Hope that helps.

[Onebigriver]

I love 28mm sci fi mins. Therefore, I have a metric buttload of 28mm sci fi mins.

Is that more or less than an imperial buttload?  

I'd suggest dipping your toe in too. Most of my mini's are 28mm but I do plan to do an alien invasion game (sort of D9, Battle LA & Falling Skies all rolled into one & set in the UK) in 15mm at some point, but I must admit I'd find it hard to sell the 28mm lead mountain to pay for it. Who knows, the project might convince me to downsize in more ways than one.

[Cosmotiger]

1 - For use in a current or soon planned project

2 - No current planned use for it but I would regret selling it/ or want to keep it for whatever reason

3 - can't even remember why I bought these/ I have a hundred when I only need 8

Thanks for the thoughts, everyone.  I've started going through some bins and assessing what I have with Carlos' three categories in mind.  #3 is a big one for me. 

My goal is to put up a minimum of one auction per day on Ebay.  That way I'm keeping a continuous stream of things going out, but I don't feel like I'm spending all my time on dealing with eBay listings, either.

And I did buy some 15mm figures from Astro Miniatures last year.  Got a good start, but got distracted. My tendency to try to do too many things at once is a whole other issue (but possibly related). Imposing more painting discipline on myself is something that would be beneficial also, I think.

[carlos13th]

Im going through my stuff with the same categories in mind too.

Give those 15mm's a lick of paint before comitting to the 15mm scale. See how they go.

[mellis1644]

I'm not the greatest painter but try most scales. However, I think it comes down to what you want out of the hobby. 

If your into painting/converting figs is a prime driver then 28mm is likely the scale for you. For that mass effect look of real world forces on the table then 6mm can't be beaten.

I paint to a good wargame standard while enjoy completing projects. I also enjoy playing games with reasonably painted figs and have a decent number of them on the table. For that reason I do a lot of gaming in 15mm. It's also a good compromise scale of looks vs. painting vs. playability vs cost/storage. To be honest most games play no different in 15mm than 28mm, especially if you use pennies for figure bases and the normal moves etc. Bolt action/CoC and many other WW2 games for example play the same but actually feels more 'realistic' as the ground scale to figures is not that out of whack. That tends to be the case with many games with guns.

Again I'd be with the try a few 15's suggestion and see what you think - if you like them and have friend who will play games in that scale then great, you may do more 15mm gaming.

[Golgotha]

Sell the lot so the rest of us can get our grubby paws on them. No on a serious note do not get rid of anything you may later regret.

[sonicReducer]

I switched from 28mm to 15mm a few months ago. I prefer the lower cost of 15mm minis and easier storage. One big issue for me was that I had so many projects that were going no where because it was taking me a month to paint 5 minis at 28mm. With 15mm I paint a batch of 24 in about 3 hours - base coat, wash, quick highlight, flock and done. I'm very happy with them. I also find 28mm minis on a 6x4 table feels very crowded with little space.

I've painted a German platoon for CofC and working on an American platoon now. I'm mostly playing solo so I'm painting 2 sides.

I agree with the others, sell the stuff you really don't want. I've also sold minis in the past and regretted it. Buy some 15mm minis and see if you enjoy painting them and happy to play at that scale.

Good luck