Unfortunately, given their cost, at least here in the US, acquiring multiples of the Solido and like tanks is too rich for my blood. Not to mention, there's a limited selection of vehicle models available.
As I mentioned the other day, I was intrigued by a post I read over at the Duchy of Tradgardland: https://tradgardland.blogspot.com/2018/09/matters-of-scale-and-taste.html
I *love* how the 1/72 vehicle looks with the 54mm figures on a grid. Grids, I think, more than a grid-less table, emphasize their "game-ness" and the 1/72 scale vehicles with the larger figures go one further in this direction than even the playing-with-toys look of using 1/50 with 54s.
Still, it helps to see this sort of thing in-person.
Lo and behold, I have a 1/72 Churchill purchased on a whim at Wal-mart long ago, when I first started wargaming. The Churchill is a longer tank (I have a Corgi in 1/50 as well and it too is longer than most of the others) so that didn't seem a fair test. Conveniently, I also have an Italeri fast-build kit of two Sherman M4A2s acquired for my 1/72 PTO WWII collection some years back and never assembled.
I decided to dry fit one of those Shermans and see for myself:
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| Three figure "squad" protect the small tank's flank as the 1/50 big brother looks on. |
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| 1/50 in the back, 1/72 in the front. |
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| A two figure "squad" with a 1/72 Sherman. |
If I want to do the scale model thing, as opposed to fast build, there are many more options - but those are a bit fiddly for my taste. Still, particularly for early on the Eastern Front where acquiring Solido et al. for that theater is quite pricey, if the models even exist, this is a viable alternative.
The biggest down-side that I can think of, besides owning Shermans, Panzer IVs, and Tigers in three scales, and T-34s in two, is the plastic models need assembly and paint. Or do they? (paint I mean. I"m not sure if that's laziness talking or the game-piece like look of the things is that appealing).
I'm quite happy with tanks being 1 size down (probably because I grew up with that). I'm less happy with 2 sizes down but that's how Memoir was sold and at the end of the day, its a hobby so do what works for you.
ReplyDeleteI hate building fiddly models. Hate the process and hate the shoddy, fragile end result. The Snap together kits from Armourfast and the like are darned good value though I do tend to spray them.
However, the cheap 1/72 plastic factory assembled and painted ones are even better but finding what you want can be hit or miss but eventually I found 2 Pershings and some T34/85's for post ww2. (the expensive ones are even nicer but.....
1/72 with 54mm figs certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. Off a grid, I probably wouldn't even consider it.
DeleteIn any case, I will have to look into the Armourfast kits. I found a 1/48 snap kit from Revell for a Pz. IV (with some garish Warhammer-like graphics) that is rather sturdy seeming but of course, needs paint. I think it came in around the same price as the more fiddly breakage prone scale-models.
I see that there is someone doing 3d printed or resin vehicles in 1/48-1/50 on ebay that I might check out as well. Great variety and about half the price of Solido et al. Not that I need (if we can call it that) much more than I have for off-grid games.
I am looking forward to seeing how they look together on the tabletop. Interesting project this is and looking forward to seeing where it goes next...
ReplyDeleteI think the deciding factor may be the look of the anti-tank guns in comparison. I think that might be a little too jarring even for me but I really need to set it up and see first.
DeleteI have soldiers in both scales. I am not sure that 1/72 looks right with 54mm but I have thought about it. I am interested in your experiments.
ReplyDeleteThanks sbriddon8. I had thought about it before too - but hadn't seen anyone try it until that link I posted. It's certainly not going to work for everyone, and if I wasn't trying something with grids, I'm not sure I'd consider it. Although as just occurred to me, anti-tank guns may not look at all right in this case.
DeleteI think with smaller scales like memoir 44 which uses 1/72 infantry with 1/100 tanks is OK, but at the bigger scales it doesn't look right in my opinion. It just lacks menace. I think if a squad of soldiers is represented by three figures than a squadron of tanks being represented by just one big makes sense mathematically.
ReplyDeleteHi Anon, thanks for the comment. I agree that one tank can represent 3 just fine. My problem is mentally seeing one tank as a company - Ive been thinking of scaling up my games with 6-figure companies, and the 1 tank company looks a touch sad. That said, I haven't tried to play a game that way yet and maybe mentally I can make the leap (using more than 1 tank even at 1/50 in a 6" square looks cramped). Off-grid, I think the larger tanks are a better choice and I can field multiples without worrying about grid sides -although I prefer the 1/50 scale vehicles to the 1/32-ish vehicles solely as a space saving measure.
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