Double Duty, Part One: 28mm Figs On 15mm Tabletops

I have had this series planned out in my head for a while now.  I'll be mirroring these posts over at Dropship Horizon, as well.
 -----------------------------------------------


The market for 15mm miniatures and models has exploded in the last few years.  That's a good thing.

But, we as gamers are hard to satisfy, and sometimes we look for alternate sources, alternate uses for things.  We tend to repurpose and appropriate from other scales, and make them fit into other roles.

Maybe it's an old fig you have laying around, maybe it's a good deal you couldn't pass up, and other times it's a cool fig you just want to make work in another scale.

I call this making a model perform "Double Duty." 

As long as a model isn't locked into a certain scale by size cues (doors, hatches, etc) or long-standing brand emblems, it is a good candidate for Double Duty.  With some small modifications and repainting, a wide number of models can be pressed into service on the 15mm tabletop.

Often, a 28mm monster enjoys a bump up in horror and intimidation when it is matched against 15mm figures.  The predicaments faced in dungeon crawl adventures (and their sci-fi equivalents) can be made much more terrifying. 

Alien monsters that are no big deal facing off against 28mm heroes are now towering monstrosities when pitted against 15mm figs.  There's an amplification of the threat in size and proportion. Take a look at Reaper's famed dragon figures.  You think they're big in 28mm?  Put them up against 15mm figs, and the largest of them can pass for Kaiju!  ;)

As a quick "for instance," I'll focus today on using 28mm sculpted figs in 15mm settings.

 Reaper's Cyber-Reavers, from their Chronoscope Range

 Copplestone Castings' Terminator Robots (Code FW15) from their Future Wars Range.

GW's Necron Immortals, from WH40K.  Found on Amazon.

Deathbots.  Nothing says your lumbering, unstoppable, metal-clad-skeleton enemies have to be the same size as the human troops they are fighting. A 28mm scale deathbot, or Terminator, or Necron, is usually well over an inch and a quarter tall (32mm for you metric types).  Translate that to 15mm scale (at the 1/100th fractional equivalent), and that deathbot is now over 10 feet tall.

Robots in 28mm scale can also do Double Duty in 15mm.  Some folks want mechanical drone armies, and these offerings (The XAIRobots) from Reaper can be bought as a pack, or multiples of a single type.  Link here.

If you are looking for more of a clockwork flavor for your bots, Warmachine's Eradicators do very nicely, in my opinion, as do many other units from their new Convergence faction.
 
For aliens, again, nothing says they have to be the same proportions as your human troops.  Different ecologies on different planets are going to result in different sizes of life forms.

 These Kulathian Invaders from Reaper are 28mm figs that would easily be giant aliens when put up against 15mm troops.  They're big, ugly, and mean-looking.  Perfect for augmenting a pirate band or organic army, or as a stand-alone force.

 Reaper lists this guy as a Bathalian Drone.  A lot of the Bathalian miniatures make for fearsome, giant-sized organic aliens when doing Double Duty, and a number of them are being done in the Bones material, which should bring costs down if you don't want to pay for metal.

Last, but not least, a Hormagaunt swarm in WH40K is a pretty average troop unit, but when pitted against 15mm troops, they become horrific organic killing machines, able to cleave heavy power armor suits with a single swipe.  You can pick some up here on Amazon.

Well, that's part one.  As you can see, the focus was on 28mm troop figures.  We will concentrate on larger figs that can pass as mechs (and their equivalents) when we visit this Double Duty topic again.

Best,
JBR

All photos and IP are property of their respective owners.