Thought I'd start a new thread to try out a new button in the forum and in case it helps anyone else pondering buying loads of medievals.
Once again, I am in the middle of size puzzles with different manufacturer ranges.
I have an existing army in Pendraken/TB Line and another in Kallistra and now quite a few of the new Lancashire Games and Apocalypse minis offerings. My main aim was to produce Scots and Welsh armies as opponents (achievable) and variegate the old every man in same pose units (not so sure)
For those considering the latest two ranges, here is my tuppence worth: All IMHO of course. The ranges are consistent in themselves and they all have admirable qualities but vary substantially in height and stature.
Lancashire Games are character types: stockier and slightly taller than Pendraken. The cavalry are somewhere in between TB and Kallistra and I believe I could intermingle them with either in the same units (but see note below) although will probably put them separate. The infantry are more of a puzzle, they could be big guys in TB/Pendraken units or short, tubby ones in Kallistra. Again might be better separate.
Apocalypse Infantry are more realistic bodyshape and fit with pendraken. Apocalypse cavalry are much smaller. They are consistent to their own infantry and probably realistic horse sizes at the time but that doesnt help! I'll guess from ECW experience that they are likely to be most similar to Irregular. I can best use the non-Knight cavalry (e.g. Welsh) but Knights need to look big I think. (which is what most sculptors probably did)
Footnote:
I like variety in units and my ECW armies contain Irregular (small, slender) Pendraken and Lancer (short, tubby) in the same infantry units and AIM, Newline (taller) in separate units on thinner MDF bases. Looks OK to me, Humans vary a lot especially with veterans/youngsters. Other gamers may have very different aesthetics. On the other hand I have seen 15mm v 10mm battle reports so why should I worry!!
Having 6mm nappys with lots of Irregular, some H&R and now a few Baccus there is no problem having different manufactures in an army, but they dont work in the same unit.
For those who wish to collect 6mm ECW.
Hard to tell from the current Irregular Miniatures catalogue but when I collected 6mm in days of yore, I found that Heroics & Ros ECW Musketeer figures were more compatible, height/stature wise, alongside Irregular Miniatures Pikemen than IR's own Musketeers (not very much in it, btw). However, the downside was that IR bases are much thicker than H&R's making it necessary to mount the H&R figures on a slightly thicker base.
Why go to the trouble? Well, I hated the pikes on H&R's ECW Pikemen because they were made with a softer metal than IR's and therefore too easily bent (nothing worse than a spaghetti pike block!). The IR pikes were more robust and, unlike H&R, their Pikemen came in strips (of six?) which helped them look more like a real pike block.
Quote from: DecemDave on 07 August 2021, 11:01:51 AM
. . . Humans vary a lot especially with veterans/youngsters.
Aye, but the weapons & equipment they carry generally don't, and that's what may make units of mixed figures look "odd".
Quote from: Lord Kermit of Birkenhead on 07 August 2021, 11:09:40 AM
Having 6mm nappys with lots of Irregular, some H&R and now a few Baccus there is no problem having different manufactures in an army, but they dont work in the same unit.
I have read that Baccus is more like 8mm; do your figures indicate they are bigger than other 6mm ranges? Do people find H&R are more like 5mm in comparison?
Baccus are slightly taller, Irregular slighty smaller than H&R Fine if NOT on same base.
I very much prefer the look of the Irregular FPW to H&R, however were I to start afresh in 6mm I would go Baccus. As a completely fresh start I have gone Pony Wars with Baccus (nice chunky pretty robust figures), but I was disappointed with the ease with which their WWI figures snapped at the ankles.
How did this instantly turn into a thread on 6mm >:(
Back to 10mm medievalist
Yes the Apocalypse Miniatures cavalry are tiny - I was really disappointed when I received these from the KS. The figures are nice and detailed but they horses are so small. On the more recent KS I couldn't work out which figures were unlocked or not so passed on it.
There does seem to be much more variance in the size of 10mm cavalry rather than infantry - with infantry generally being able to be used together. The key visual thing seems to be 'cubic volume' which is really just how big and bulky the figure is overall - small differences in height can be fine, but differences in bulk (which might include height) really stand out. And this is perhaps where the size differences of cavalry really become apparent.
The other down side is that once you have a good view of what goes together for one era, you then find that for another era the differences are different between manufacturers, as unfortunately not each range by each manufacturer is the same as all others.
Regarding Scotts and Welsh worth having a look a some of the new Renaissance Irish from Pendraken, nice figures and many will work for earlier periods.
I use a lot of Baccus 6mm and really like them. Rapier are, by design, same height and build as Baccus. Don't think I'd use H&R with them except in extremis.
Frankly it wouldn't bother me as, IMHO, once based up I wouldn't spot the difference when on the wargames table.
In my experience, the real distinction lies in the bulk of the horses.
The eye can cope with a millimetre here or there with massed ranks of foot.
The horse are less packed, and if one manufacturer's heavies sit on ponies while another's lights ride dray-horses, there's a significant problem.
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 07 August 2021, 10:13:07 PM
if one manufacturer's heavies sit on ponies while another's lights ride dray-horses, there's a significant problem.
Agree. I have decided to use the apocalypse unarmoured cavalry as lighter e.g "welsh" types and send the knights off to ebay. I suspect they might match better with Irregular 10mm knights or even Baccus "8"mm where they
might appear as super troops for all I know. They are 15mm hoof to top of riders head. (My Pendraken e.g. ELM1 are 17-18mm and bulkier) .
Can any Baccus owner enlighten me please as to the height of their knights? This is a real pain (but certainly not limited to the 10mm world) with different manufacturers standards if a particular range is not extensive . You can rightly slate me for deviating from the one true Pendraken path but even with TB line and creative substitutions , the feudals are limited pose (IMHO) compared to other Pendraken ranges like late medievals or late Rome .
Thanks for the hints re creative substitutions, I had already raided the ER codes for "command" types. Certainly some figures elsewhere I can use like EL13 but most tend to be in packs with types that are not. I might have to test Leon's flexibility.
Again!