As regular readers of my ramblings will know, I've got a thing for 15mm at the moment. Although I maintain the guiding principle behind this fixation is cost, it must be said that the 15mm world does get some seriously cool toys to play with, and with a typical board being two or three feet by two, not much space is required.
In a rare moment (for my gaming at least), I decided to work out how much my 15mm Dark Ages setup has cost thus far;
Brytenwalda Rules - £0
Splintered Light Romano British Warband - £20*
Splintered Light Saxon Warband - £20*
LBMS Shield Transfers - £9
Hovels Celtic Pigsty & Farm/Hamlet - £26
ERM Livestock (for rustling scenarios) - £5**
Hotz Matz 3 x 2 Gaming mat - £18
Trees - £0 (left overs from 28mm tree making
Shoreline/Beach - £0 (more on this later)
Total - £106
*approximate
**tiny livestock have vanished, completely, so will need to be replaced
There's a few other scenic/objective type bits I'm going to get, but haven't decided yet. Nevertheless, a hundred quid for everything one might possibly need to play 15mm Dark Ages skirmish until the cows come home. Two warbands as well - so I can play against anyone on our Tuesday gaming nights.
So, ignoring the fact that the terrain mat and scenery are useable for other systems (such as Song of Splintered Lands) I'm pretty chuffed with the whole thing myself. By comparison, that £100 spent on a Warhammer 40K Imperial Guard Army would get you, just, the absolute basic platoon.
See?
Cheap wargaming.
Sort of.
"skirmish until the cows come home" - how are you going to do this when "tiny livestock have vanished, completely"?
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see the costs laid out like this - I moved into 15mm due to space reasons and finding that I can collect a wide range of figures for less money than 1 pack of 28s so have a more diverse collection than before in the same gaming space...
Welcome to the blog ADB!
ReplyDeleteCows coming home does represent a problem with the disappearing little bag of farm animals. They should be in the house somewhere, but with three kids and a partner with unusual ideas on deployment of stuff in cupboards, I've given them up for lost. Still, at £2.50 for a herd from ERM, no great drama.
As someone scaling down from the world of 28s, the things which I really like about 15s (at the moment) is the sheer diversity out there, and the rather cool add-ons/miscellaneous bits driven by the DBA/DBM; Essex do a Viking/Dark Age Longboat (to fit on a 40x80mm base) for £8 which is spot on for scenery or scenario. The comparable 28mm product would be from Gripping Beast at £20 something quid, not to mention the logistical problems of storing and moving the thing.
All the best
Dunc