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The scale of miniature wargames is a big deal, especially as you move from one wargame to the next. And, while we had a period where most games (aside from many historicals) were squarely in the 28mm camp, it seems like there has been a renaissance of alternate miniature wargaming scales.
In this article we’re going to look at all of the big wargames (or, as many as we can) and figure out what scales they are and what scale even means.
For starters, we’re going to look at the game that brought all of this up: Bolt Action.
What Scale are Bolt Action Models and Vehicles?
The model soldiers that you buy from Warlord Games, who make Bolt Action, come in 28mm scale, but it’s 28mm heroic scale. “Heroic scale” means that the models’ heads, hands and feet are bigger, making it easier to paint details onto them and, in some gamers’ view, look better on the tabletop. The Warlord Games scale of vehicles is 1/56th scale. However, some people believe that for the 28mm heroic scale to fit in with the vehicles, the vehicles SHOULD be 1/48th scale.
However, not all gamers love these scales, and the truth is that with a historical wargame you are free to use figures from whatever manufacturer you like. Bolt Action is not a game like Warhammer, where they require you to use their minis or you’re simply not allowed to play the games in their stores or at their tournaments. With World War Two gaming, there is a wide variety of miniatures available at whatever scale you like.
What Does 28mm Scale Even Mean?
When something is said to be 28mm scale, it is 28mm from the base of the miniature to a certain point–but that point may be different according to different companies. Some measure from the base to the top of the head, whereas some measure from the base to the eyes. And when you take into account the fact that some humans are taller than other humans, a 28mm figure can really range from 28mm from base to top of head to 35mm from base to top of head.
Because of this, they can range anywhere from 1/48th scale to 1/61st scale. This can be, understandably, annoying to customers.
What Is the Best Scale Vehicles for 28mm models?
For 28mm realistic models, the scale of the vehicles could range from 1/50 scale to 1/64 scale. For heroic scale figures, it’s more like 1/48 scale to 1/56. In practical terms, however, you will almost always use either 1/48th scale vehicles or 1/56th scale vehicles because it’s very uncommon to find vehicles in those other sizes. They do exist, but the selection is often very small and the prices tend to be high.
Where Can I Find WW2 Miniatures That Are Non-Heroic 28mm?
There are a lot of places that sell 28mm World War 2 miniatures that are not in heroic scale. While it is definitely true that Warlord Games is the big kid on the block when it comes to this, and their models are the easiest to get ahold of (almost their entire range is easily found on Amazon and can be shipped to your house in two days), there are other manufacturers who do not use heroic scale.
Gaddis Gaming, for example, has a wide variety of WW2 minis that are both 28mm and 1/56th scale, non heroic. The downside is that they sell almost exclusively in metal (which many people don’t like for many reasons, with customization being chief among them) and they cost slightly higher than Warlord Games miniatures–though, admittedly, not much higher. Selection-wise, it’s about a wash. They tend to have similar armies, with each company specializing in different factions. (For example, Warlord offers Siberian Soviet figures, and Gaddis offers Finns.)
Frontline Games has a small selection of 28mm WW2 figures, but their webstore is a mixture of their own stuff (almost all metal and quite expensive) with resales of other companies’ miniatures, including Warlord Games.
Perry Miniatures is one of the best 28mm manufacturers and their site has a wonderful range of high-quality plastics. The problem is that, while they dipped their toe into WW2, there are currently only three boxes available: Afrika Korps, Desert Rats, and US Infantry. It would be nice to see them expand their range, but they appear to be focused fairly strongly on other areas.
When it comes to vehicles that fit in well with 28mm WW2 miniatures, you can’t beat Rubicon Games. They have 1/56th scale vehicles from all parts of the war, representing all armies and theaters. Their selection is far wider than that of Warlord Games, including lesser-known vehicles such as the LVT-2 / LVT(A)-2 Water Buffalo, or the M32B1 Armored Recovery Vehicle. Some of their kits are in plastic, while a few, including the very least-used, are in resin. They do tend to have good customer satisfaction ratings and the miniatures look quite good.
What Scale Are Warhammer Models?
What Scale Are Warhammer 40k Models?
Technically, Warhammer models range somewhere between 28mm and 32mm, but in practice that means very little. Space Marines are seven feet tall (without power armor) and Primaris Marines are even taller than that. And Xenos races are of varying heights. It really only comes into play when you’re talking about Imperial Guard (regular humans) but even there a 28mm Imperial Guard model would look very out of place standing in a unit of 28mm Warlord WW2 miniatures.
Generally speaking, we can consider Warhammer 40k to be 32mm heroic scale, and the debate between 28mm vs 32 mm miniatures is really something of the past, as Warhammer models used to be much smaller and have grown consistently in size (with no end in sight). The Space Marines are the poster boys of this because, if you find some classic Space Marines (from 3rd Edition or so) then they’ll be very close to 25mm. What are now considered Firstborn Marines are squarely in the 28mm to 32mm heroid, and Primaris Marines are at least 35mm.
What is the Age of Sigmar Scale of Miniatures?
Age of Sigmar is much the same as Warhammer 40k. Both games follow the same size conventions where some models will be smaller and some will be bigger, but I believe that Age of Sigmar scale is considered 32mm heroic. Any given miniature figure may be smaller or larger than that, and I truly don’t know who is actually 32mm. The Cities of Sigmar (regular humans) are probably 28mm, because most of the sculpts are recycled from Warhammer Fantasy, and the new poster boys in every core box–the Stormcast Eternals–are firmly 35mm.
What Are the Scales of Other Miniature Games?
What is the Scale of Other Games Workshop Games?
Other Games Workshop games are often smaller than their Warhammer counterparts. For example, Necromunda characters will very often be much smaller than the average Warhammer 40k soldier. (This is likely due to the fact that Necromunda characters are regular old humans.) I’d say that Necromunda scale is slightly larger than 28mm heroic, but I’d be hard pressed to say they’re 32mm.
On the other hand, Games Workshop’s Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game is straight up 28mm non-heroic, which makes them noticeably smaller than other Warhammer miniatures. It is quite a shock to the system to switch from heroic to non-heroic, having to paint small faces and small hands when you’re not used to that.
The scale of Warcry miniatures are much more in line with Age of Sigmar generally, though they do tend to be small because they’re mostly human. (This goes more for the small fiddly warbands like Corvus Cabal than the larger brutish Iron Golems.)
What Is the Scale of Marvel Crisis Protocol?
This is yet another example of a model range that has its big guys and its little guys. The Hulkbuster, for example, is at least five inches tall. But if you look at regular humans–Black Widow, Spider-Man, etc–they will be very close to the 40mm mark.
What is the Scale of Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings?
I actually wrote an article about Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings scale, but suffice it to say that the models of this rank and file game are VERY big. And they’re uneven. These models, from Para Bellum Wargames, are ostensibly 38mm scale, which is patently false. Comparing a Household Knight to, for example, Theoden from Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, makes the Conquest miniatures scale look more like 55mm or 60mm. (The single soldiers–the Gilded Legion, for example, are still taller than the 40mm Marvel Crisis Protocol miniatures.
What is the Scale of Star Wars Legion?
Finally, we get one that seems to be accurate. Star Wars Legion models are said to be 35mm, and if you compare them to the other reliable miniatures lines (Marvel Crisis Protocol, Bolt Action) this seems to be right on the money. (Incidentally, I think that, of all these scales, Star Wars Legion models are in the perfect sweet spot for my painting ability.)
What is the Scale of Heroclix?
Is Heroclix even considered a wargame? I guess it is. Heroclix are solidly 28mm miniatures, and probably closer to non-heroic than heroic.
What is the Scale of Warlord Games’ Other Miniatures?
Bolt Action is solid in the 28mm heroic, and I think that I’d have to say the same thing is true of Black Powder, Pike and Shotte, and Hail Caesar. It’s particularly noticeable in Hail Caesar (on of my favorite games, by the way) that the hands are about as big as their heads.
What is the Scale of Warlord Games “Epic Scale” Games?
Warlord Games has put out a line, that is part of their Black Powder line, in what they call “Epic Scale”. They’ve so far released these models for American Civil War and The Battle of Waterloo (I really love their Battle of Waterloo). But the Epic Scale has caused no end of consternation to the historical wargaming community, because the models are not 15mm and they’re not 10mm. They’re about 13mm. This makes them very hard to incorporate into existing ACW and Waterloo forces. (They’re fun to paint, though.)
What is the Scale of Mantic Games’ Kings of War?
Mantic Games says that their models are firmly in the 28mm heroic scale. The only Mantic figures that I have ever painted was the starter set that had Goblins and Ratmen, so they were both smaller than 28mm, but I think the scale holds true. Good for the mass battle strategy of these rank-and-flank games.
What is the Scale of Flames of War?
Flames of War is said to be 15mm scale, and that seems about right. The important thing is that the tanks are about the perfect size for tank battles–I’m not sure exactly what scale the tanks would be considered (1/100?) but they’re the ideal size. The infantry, on the other hand, are harder.
What Scale is Malifaux?
Malifaux is clearly 28mm non-heroic. The miniatures, you will note if you ever have to paint them or put them together, have TINY little faces and hands.
What Scale is Infinity?
Corvus Belli’s Infinity is 28mm and they appear to be a mix of heroic and non-heroic. It’s a little hard to say because not all of them aren’t in armor and not all of them are human. But, for the sake of “difficult to paint” I’d place them in non-heroic. They’re small and fiddly.
What Other Scales Are There?
When it comes to historical wargaming, you can really go to town with whatever scale you want. There’s 15mm, 10mm, 6mm, 2mm, and several more interspersed in there. I struggle to paint anything too terribly small. I enjoy the challenge of painting Epic Scale, and I think that I would even enjoy something like 2mm (there’s a great interview with Project Wargaming where he paints 2mm).
