RFCM

Yes, for me 15mm is the "optimal" scale for many periods - small enough to do large games (eg: Company to Battalion level WW2) while not looking TOO silly in groundscale terms, large enough for the figures to still have character and identity.

I'll still occasionally use 25/28mm for man-to-man skirmish level stuff, but pretty much everything else is in 15mm - WW2, "Moderns" (Cold War) and of course all my own SciFi stuff!

Jon (GZG)

An excellent start to sales of the new book!

Jon.

Sounds good to me!   

Good to see you and have a chat yesterday, Martin.

In the end, how many copies of AK did you get through at the show? 

Jon.

Quote from: martin goddard on September 03, 2025, 04:15:45 PMAliens?

martin

Spot on, have a coconut!   

Jon.

Hi Martin, can I increase our Colours collection "order" to FOUR copies please? 

Jon.

Quote from: martin goddard on September 02, 2025, 09:51:38 PMMake sure you use strong language if any cut goes wrong.
I usually glue components to my trousers or shoe.
That will help.

martin

"What're we supposed to use, man - harsh language??"     

Jon.

Hi Martin - thanks, that is an excellent solution all round - I'll see you on Saturday, clutching the money for three copies (mine, and for two chums!).

I know EXACTLY how frustrating it is... many moons ago I picked up the first box of one of the FT books from the printers the afternoon before Salute, and it wasn't until we were at the show the next morning that we discovered there was a page duplicated (and the other one missing)...

I can laugh about it now!     

Jon.

Hi Martin,
At risk of becoming incredibly annoying... I have to ask if there is any sign of the printed copies yet, as there's only a couple of days left now to get the Colours pre-orders in for them...??

Or, if they're not up in time, can we just tell you we want them, pick them up at the show and pay you on the day?    

All the very best,
Jon.

Or, the easiest scam of them all... take peoples' money for a product, then never send them anything!   

It could be something like, say, cloth game mats.... maybe you could call the Company something like "Medium-Sized Wargames"....?

Jon

(sorry, somehow this one seems less funny now that I've typed it out...) 

"I have hacked your computer and accessed all the records of your miniature purchases over the last ten years - unless you send me £1000 within three days I will send all this information to your wife/girlfriend/mother..."

Jon

Quote from: Martin Smith on August 26, 2025, 07:50:19 AMFor skirmish games I'll use same scale. For larger games I go for 6mm or 10mm with my 15mm figures, for precisely the reason mentioned.

Take a look at Total Battle Miniatures - they do exactly this, having a "skirmish scale" where the buildings are the accurate size for the figure scale, and a "Big Battalions" scale where the buildings still look right, but have a much-reduced footprint to be more in keeping with the groundscales of mass-battle games. Very nice stuff, especially their complete town/village sets where you get a number of resin buildings and a flexible rubber template base for them to fit into.

Jon.

If anyone else here uses or is familiar with Kallistra's Hexon terrain system, they still use what looks to be vac-form (in quite thick and sturdy plastic) for their hills, escarpments and mountains.

Also, something that isn't actually vac-form but has some aspects in common: certain pieces of the GF9 "Battlefield in a Box" terrain system... their larger terrain pieces like the hills, plateaus and escarpments, which appear to be solid mouldings, are actually very thin hard shells (not vac-formed - they appear to be a thin resin shell of some sort) that is then "back-filled" with some sort of foam product to make a solid-seeming end result.
I only know this because a recently-purchased one was quite badly damaged in transit*, exposing the "secret" inner structure!

* I should note that it was quickly replaced by the seller, excellent Customer Service! 

Jon.

I still have some very old GW vac-formed craters kicking around somewhere (Moon-type craters rather than shell craters)...

I well recall the old Bellona stuff, does anyone else remember that they did a big vac-form sheet of 6mm (1/300) scenic bits to cut out? Houses, farms, small hillocks (ooh Matron!), bridges... even a windmill with cut-out sails! I still have their one-piece Longstop Hill diorama, again for 6mm.

Jon.

Quote from: martin goddard on August 24, 2025, 05:55:16 PM....
Is Barry happy for me to put the campaign system he is working on into the next MILL?
Thanks.
martin

I'm sure he's reading this (or will be soon), so I'll let him answer that!   

Jon.

Some "technical notes":

All figures and terrain painted by Barry! 
"Horror" rock outcrops are old Ian Weekley urethane foam pieces; Urban terrain from the old Russian "Teknolog" plastic sets, on craft foam templates.

Figures etc: Praetorians are my "Cyclops" infantry walker suits, about 30mm tall; Legionaries are various Power Armour figures (the yellow ones are New Israeli "Golem" PA suits) based in twos; Auxiliaries are either Combat Robots (the yellow ones) or Outrim Coalition human infantry (the grey/black ones), based in threes. The "creeper" proxies are the "Crusties' Scuttler Bugs".
Little "aero-drones" on wire supports for the mines, colour-coded for ID purposes, "blockers" are pipe-cleaner spirals as "energy vortices". MDF markers indicate hits/wounds.

Jon.