More Bang for Your Buck
So, what can you get for your hard-earned money? Wargamers everywhere appear to have an insatiable appetite for ever more figures to add to their collections. The cost of figures is always increasing and when you look at starting a collection from scratch the cost factor can be quite daunting.
At the time of writing (30th April 2009) a pack of 10 German Riflemen from Pendraken cost £1.05 or about 10-pence per figure (Sterling). A 15mm figure pack from Peter Pig will give you 8 figures for £2.30 or 28-pence per figure. A single 20mm figure from Britannia Miniatures will cost you £0.55 on its own. Clearly there are major cost implications depending upon the scale that you choose to collect.
I already mentioned that one of my reasons for choosing 10mm scale was cost. To give some idea of how cost effective this scale can be, here are some price comparisons:
| Scale | Manufacturer | Infantry Cost per Figure |
| 10mm | Pendraken | £0.10 |
| 15mm | Peter Pig | £0.28 |
| 20mm | Britannia | £0.55 |
As a general guide, a 30-figure US Line Infantry Company will cost you about £3.00, £8.40 and £16.50 respectively in 10mm, 15mm and 20mm scales. These differences in costs and what you can have for your money become considerably more obvious when it comes to vehicles.
| Vehicle | 10mm Minifigs | 15mm Peter Pig | 20mm Britannia |
| M48 Tank | £2.70 | £7.00 | £7.50 |
| M113 ACAV | £2.70 | £6.00 | £6.50 |
A 10-vehicle US Armoured Cavalry Platoon of 3 x M48 and 7 x M113 ACAV will cost approximately £27.00, £63.00, and £68.00 respectively in 10mm, 15mm and 20mm scales. These are whooping differences!
In effect, you can field nearly a full Troop of three Platoons at 10mm for the cost of a single Platoon at 15mm. Better still, you can have nearly a complete Armoured Cavalry Squadron of three Troops at 10mm for the cost of a single Platoon at 20mm.
It's clear that you can have a lot of troops for a reasonable cost at 10mm scale and although there is a definite trade-off in terms of visual appeal and 'feelability', I think this is well worth it if you are determined to fight those big games or you are on a tight budget. Besides, visual appeal can still be achieved even at this small scale and the fact that 10mm figures can be painted reasonably well adds further to their appeal.
Spectacle
At shows I have, like many others, seen some incredible layouts using larger scale figures such as 20 and 25mm. They provide great spectacle. The only problem with them is that the armies have to be huge and, for the most part, unplayable unless you have a week of spare time.
A collection of 10mm figures, well painted and presented, can provide an equally impressive spectacle without relying on a playing surface the size of a ball-room or a figure collection of such monumental proportions that you'd expect to find it only in the Imperial War Museum and that has taken someone 10-years of their life to paint.
10mm gaming can provide all the spectacle you want and give you an exciting game that is playable in a couple of hours. If you don't believe me just have a look at some of the illustrations in the Cold War Commander or Blitzkrieg Commander rule books or read some battle reports.
10mm isn't just about economies of scale on the tabletop or indeed the impact on your wallet - it also won't take a wharehouse to store!
