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The 28mm gripe!


Nathan Caroland

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This has gotten me for some time now I have to admit, especially when I peruse other sites which have news about miniatures or folks discussing scale.

Folks think 28mm is THE scale and that anything different obviously is out of whack, especially when you give them scale dimensions and the like as we do here at Wyrd. Folk will then take a look at it and go ... whaaaa that thing is HUGE! Then in the same breath denounce anything over 28mm.

Of course, these same people oooh and aaaah over stuff from Reaper, Privateer Press and other well known companies/manufacturers in the industry and seemingly don't even realize that they are NOT 28mm, in some cases well over the comfortable 32mm range.

I point, for the hell of it, to the recent posts on TMP over the releases of the latest two.

Nothing against the folks, if they truly only want 28mm, then Wyrd is not the style or the miniature for you, but I got a tickle out of the one gent who said "these must be for painters, no one actually plays in this scale do they?!?".

Heh.

http://theminiaturespage.com/news/488232/

Thoughts, opinions, critiques and whatever else you want to throw at me. This isn't meant as a slight towards anyone, just its been going on for some time now and it kills me when folks don't realize that a large, very large, portion of the minis out there are aren't 28mm.

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it's rediculous, honestly. Reaper has long been at least 32mm in scale and just called it "heroic 28mm", some of their stuff is easily 35mm or more, and no one really complained. Similar situations happen with many other companies. Then also, when someone does make real 28mm miniatures a different segment gets up and starts complaining about how tiny the details are and hard to see, etc, bitch, moan...

If it's used for gaming, and say you're using a game board or need bases of specific size, the difference between true 28mm and 32mm isn't even near enough to change anything in game mechanics. They fit easily on the same size bases. In fact, due to the slight increase in size, it means any small parts that might break from use are that much stronger and durable for game use.

It is definately an arguement that I don't understand and one that I think is clear evidence that some people have a stick shoved up their ass :D

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I am reminded of an old line in the original (what we now call 1st edition or 1E) AD&D DMG that recommend only using genuine TSR figures because only TSR figures were guarenteed to be of the correct scale for gaming.

We didn't follow that advice back then and we shouldn't follow it now.

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Don't let it bother you Nathan..

It only happens on TMP.

I get it with every new release... comments like, "what's with the new scale?"

It's beyond me that anyone wouldn't realise figures have been this size for so long.

It comes form companies lying when they say 28mm when it's bigger.

I like you, say the actual height and they freak out, even though it's the same as all their other figures...

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It's my pet hate. Unbelieveably few people have the vaguest clue how big 28mm actually is. When I describe a mini I have sculpted I always say how big it is. Even Spyglass (which was roundly criticised for having minis that were too small) were a little over 28mm (generally 30-31mm tall). And yet, because they were shorter than GW/Rackham etc people said they were 'true 25mm'. I mean, what?

28mm is tiny. Frankly, it's my favourite scale. I like small. Unfortunately the industry has left the scale behind and nobody seems to have noticed.

I think companies like Rackham have the right idea. They describe their minis as 28mm and let the customer just assume they are. The fact that they are miles past the scale seems to be of little relevence.

The one consolation I can offer is that you have done nothing wrong. You have not chosen the wrong scale. Because you can't categorically do it. No matter what size you sculpt you'll get people moaning that they're the wrong size and that you've shot yourself in the foot by making them in an unuseable scale.

But, I feel morally obliged to say how big a mini is. So, my Alejandra is 34mm tall. I got the first wave of 'that's hugely too big' behind me and am coldly expecting the inevitable 'I got her and she's much smaller than I thought. Can you make her bigger next time?' comments...

Steve B

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(chuckle)

Yeah Mirlo, had a good laugh when I saw your reply on TMP and gave a silent prayer of thanks that someone out there hadn't completely lost their damn minds and sense of scale.

It is something that bothers me, if only slightly, as you get people screaming left and right about scale which then puts people off from possibly purchasing the miniatures as, though they may like it, obviously it must be too big, so don't buy it!

Like you said, the scale has been around for a goodly bit, it is always amusing to hear someone bemoaning the fact that this trend towards larger miniatures and a new scale. Sheesh, get rid of the butterfly collar and the mullet cut there buddy.

:iam:

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@ Steve

Exactly! I know I for one like to know the details about something, especially if I'm making a purchase online and don't have the option to see it in hand first. Easy enough for me to grab out a ruler, grab the nearest miniature in my collection and go 'oh yeah, that's right on for the rest of my collection'.

Your right on your latest piece though (and very glad that I am that you chose that scale), someone, somewhere, is bound to utter those exact words you wrote above.

*EDIT*

Adding in picture Eric took back in December for scale comparison.

Sizes.jpg

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Rackham minis are 32 mm acording to their own site, and that is at eye-level. Many Rackham minis are easily 35 mm tall. They are definitely made to play with! :bird: GW's minis are smaller than Rackham's, but still bigger than 28 mm. LotR is true 28 mm and I have heard LOTS of complaints about how small they are and how difficult they are to paint.

Also, I was extremely bothered a while back when Enigma miniatures released their first two minis that are truly awesome. I remember people saying things like: "That's really nice. Too bad it's the wrong scale...".

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So, my Alejandra is 34mm tall. I got the first wave of 'that's hugely too big' behind me and am coldly expecting the inevitable 'I got her and she's much smaller than I thought. Can you make her bigger next time?' comments...Steve B
Well, I have to say, I got her and she's smaller than I thought.

Not so much though. She's still bigger than the Tiriel I bought along with her, but still not quite big enough to be in scale with a 1:43 car. [edit: side by side she's almost exactly the same height as Commander X from I-Kore]

Anyway, you're all a bunch of whiners.

As someone who collected a lot of minis in the 1970s and early ‘80s then stopped buying for nearly 20 years, all minis are freaking huge!

I used to whine about “scale creep” as much as the next guy, but then I just figured, heck I’m only usually painting them.

The only time it’s a problem is if you are trying to combine old and new.

Even then it’s only a problem to anal weenies because not everyone in life is exactly the same height.

I have an old RP elf mage I plan to include in my High Elf Warhammer army (for unofficial games) and call Aethelos the Short or something because his crouched position puts him slightly above the waste of the other elves. He’s truly 25mm from foot to crown - or would be if he stood up straight.

Let’s see, if he’s 25mm and another is 30mm, then he’s just under 20% shorter. If the tall guy is 6', then he’d be 5', which is pretty short but not unheard of. 28-30 is not that big a difference.

I don’t think bigger is better - I have great fun painting epic - but I’ve come to the conclusion that minor variation in size is no big deal.

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Hmm...I tend to be a bit scale biased. Nathan, your scale fits my bias just right...

Look at any group of people in the real world. Some bigger, some smaller,. That is all I want from my miniatures. Although, some of the smaller 28mm (or the even older 25mm) look like hobbits compared to modern minis. I basically want 'real world' consistancy.

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I found it rather funny that the Taelor photos were blocked on TMP by an adult filter!

Also, the slightly anal comments on TMP made me wonder what these people do with their minis that the size is SO important down to the odd millimeter... Are they using ALL minis at once in large gargantuan-sized battles? Are they displayed on shelves only 28 mm apart so that larger minis won't fit inbetween?

EDIT: I'm not slagging them off or anything... I just don't get it why scale is SO important.

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so I got out my ruler and just measured a few minis.

My 1977 Ral Partha axemen are 25mm from foot to crown.

My 1983 Grenadier female warrior is 25mm from foot to eye, 27 from foot to crown.

So scale began to grow 20 years ago, but seems to have stabilized at 28mm for some time, with figures frequently pushing 30 for several years, lately consistently there or slightly above.

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Yeah, you could do the same with GW stuff from the old days to the stuff they are putting out today as well, a noticable size difference, atleast in the few pieces I've got.

I like the 30-32mm scale myself, allows for a slightly larger miniature and a bit more detail, in general (there are exceptions before someone starts screaming Kev White) and to me, is likely to stick around for a goodly while. Course I might just be biased.

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I think I said before that I have nothing against any particular scale. I am disappointed that some of my old favorites are puny next to modern minis, but I've come to accept it.

As to liking the slightly larger scale, I have to say I really like the challenge of painting something smaller.

Painting shoulder logos on epic space marines is FUN!

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