Miniature Wargaming 101
Introduction - Miniatures - Painting - Mounting

Introduction
What is miniature wargaming? Miniature wargaming is when you use scale models or figures of real-life people and equipment to recreate battles from some period in history (or the future). This is done with the help of rules which are used to create the actual conditions of movement, casualties and morale. Miniature wargaming rules range from simple to complex, depending on the goal of the designers. The more complex rules usually move at a slower pace, but the combat results will closely match the results of real life combat for that period. Simple rules are less concerned with historically accurate results, and emphasize fast and enjoyable game play. This is known as the "Speed versus Accuracy" issue, which most designers resolve by creating a modestly accurate system while making sure it can be learned by most people. Because there is no international standard for rating the complexity of miniature wargaming rules, it is up to individual players to decide for themselves which rules are too simple or complex. As a rule, games designed by WTJ place a high priority on speed of play (because fluidity of action is itself a key battlefield issue), while attempting to use innovative techniques to give a historically accurate "feel" to the end results without slowing game play. So the two most important items for gaming are rules and figures. Since the rules are already available both here at our site and elsewhere, the rest of this section will address the issue of figures and how to prepare them for battle.

The actual process of painting figures and playing wargames is fairly simple, but where to begin can be a difficult decision. The best way to begin is to choose a period which you find historically interesting. Your best incentive for gaming will be the reading of eyewitness accounts and narratives for the battles you re-create, so if you are already interested in the subject, it helps a lot. Another valuable thing to remember is that your interest in gaming or in a particular genre of gaming will vary over time. If you appear to "lose interest" in a particular period, don't worry about all those miniatures you bought. Humans thrive on variety, so you will probably develop interests in several different genres of gaming, and will bounce around from one to the other, alternately putting away and pulling out batches of miniatures to satisfy your latest impulse.

Once you decide on the period that interests you, contact local players or gaming groups which put on games for that period. Try to play with more than one group so that you have variety in the games played. Beware of isolated groups made up of people who argue too much. Wargaming involves a hefty investment of your valuable time, and you should invest that time wisely with people who are fun to be with. Most players and gaming groups are very friendly, and they will usually have established miniatures and rules for game play, which will give a good clue as to which figures you want to buy and paint. This leads us to the subject of the miniatures themselves.

Miniatures
Most gaming miniatures fall into a few categories based on two basic factors: materials and scale. The question of materials is simple, since most gaming miniatures are made of metal or plastic. Metal miniatures are usually more attractive and durable. Plastic miniatures are cheaper, but the paint-job degrades over time as the flexible plastic allows chipping of the paint. The question of scale is more complex and requires some explanation. Most gaming scales are expressed using one of two standard methods: fractional and metric. Each standard of scale has it's own normal area of usage which we will outline below:

Fractional: Most lines of miniatures designed on a fractional scale standard will be centered on man-made devices, such as tanks, ships, planes, trains, etc. The fractional scale system works just like it sounds. The scale refers to the difference in size between the model and the real thing. So a 1/2400 scale battleship model will be 1/2400th the size of the real life ship. This means that the 863 foot long battleship Yamato would be about 4.3 inches long in 1/2400 scale (863 ÷ 2400 = .36 feet). Some of the more common fractional scales and their common applications are:

Scale	Land	Aviation	Naval
1/72	x	-	-
1/76	x	-	-
1/287	x	x	-
1/300	x	x	-
1/700	-	x	x
1/1200	-	x	x
1/1250	-	x	x
1/2400	-	-	x
1/3000	-	-	x
1/6000	-	-	x

The most common fractional land war scales in use today are 1/76th (which corresponds to the metric 20mm scale) and the 1/287 and 1/300 "micro-armor" scales (which correspond to the 6mm metric scale). The most common air war scales are 1/72 for WWI combat, and 1/300 scale for other periods. The most common naval gaming scale is 1/2400, with the new 1/6000 rapidly closing in as a very popular scale for WWI combat and later.

Metric: Most metric gaming scales emphasize recreating the human form, hence the wide use of the metric scale models for use for land based combat. In this system, the scale refers to the height of a single human. So a 20mm scale model series will be based on the calculation of a scale human figure being roughly twenty millimeters tall. However, different model designers use different measurement standards to design their figures. Human figures are always created mounted to a small base, and some designers include those bases in the overall height. Others do not. The result is a wide variation in size, even among theoretically identical scales. For example, the very common 15mm figure range features some manufacturers who offer figures whose scale "humans" are only 13½mm tall, whereas some other makers of 15mm figures offer miniatures whose scale humans are nearly 18mm tall! The variation when placing two such differently designed figures side by side is very noticeable. This is why we offer a WTJ "Man Height" standard, which measures from the top of the base (bottom of the scale figure's feet) to the approximate top of the scale figure's head. This offers a rough standard which allows comparison of figures from different designers. The chart below offers a rough outline of the most common metric scales and a few related periods of land warfare.

Scale	Ancient & Medieval (before the year 1453)	Pre-modern (1454 -1865)	Modern (1866 and later)
6mm	x	x	x
10mm	-	x	-
12mm	-	-	x
15mm	x	x	x
20mm	-	x	x
25mm	x	x	x
30mm	-	x	-

As can be seen, the most common scales used are 15mm and 25mm. The second most common are 20mm and the 6mm "micro" scale, which corresponds to the 1/287th and 1/300th scales. 10mm and 12mm are new scales which are increasing in popularity due to their combination of economy and detail. Since the main designers of 10mm figures design their figures slightly oversize, and the current designer of 12mm figures design figures which are very slightly undersized, both scale are currently very compatible with each other. Maybe they should get together and rename the scale 11mm!

Painting
Painting figures can be divided into three steps: deburring, priming and painting. We will cover each step separately, discussing supplies and equipment, basic steps and recommended techniques. We cannot recommend how many figures you should attempt to paint all at once, since figures vary in size and type (infantry, naval, aircraft, etc.). But most people paint anywhere from 10 to 30 infantry figures at a time, depending on the sizes of units being used in the rules they play. Painting one figure at a time is not advised, since your brushes are probably not cheap, and the repeated cleanings which come as a result of such small "production batches" shortens the life of your precious commodities!

Deburring - When you first buy your figures, they will often have bits of metal left on them from the molding process. These will have to be removed before you prime the figures.

Equipment: X-acto knives (large and small), nail clippers and sandpaper.

How to: Use the shearing strength of the nail clippers to remove the largest chunks and easy to access pieces. Then use the X-acto knife to clean up the detailed areas, and for infantry bases, to slice the bottom of the base smooth. In the case of metal tank models which need to be assembled, forming the tread segments or at least examining them for consistent form is advised. Make sure to use a small X-acto knife to clean up the basic outline of infantry figures, in case there is flashing along the parting lines (where the mold halves met).

Priming - If you paint figures without primering them, it will usually cause a number of different problems. The colors of the paint will not be as vivid, and the paint itself will come off easily unless sealed. Some very finely detailed models can be painted without primering by using two thin coats of paint, followed by careful sealing. For most infantry and land war figures, primering is advised since they will be handled a lot. In the case of plastic figures, primering is more important to give the figure some extra resistance against flexing (which causes paint to chip off). Make sure to wash plastic figures in a strong solution of detergent before attempting to prime and paint them.

Equipment: For metal figures, Floquil primer is highly recommended. For plastic figures whose paint jobs are somewhat more at risk, a less expensive primer used to utility painting is probably fine. Do not use automobile spray primer on plastic figures, as it will melt them. Always test prime a single figure and check the results.

How to: Priming figures is fairly simple. Find a large, flat piece of material such as cardboard or an aluminum pizza pan, line of your figures up on it, and take it outside (Remember to paint outside, or in a well ventilated area, no huffing on the job!). Shake the primer can very, very thoroughly before you spray. Also allow each side of the figure to dry before flipping it over to spray the other side. Priming your figures in warm weather, or under warm conditions, is best. If the weather is really bad, then buying a bottle of brush-on primer and painting it on may be the best solution.

Painting - The two most important items you will need for painting will be paint and brushes. You should try to buy the best possible paints and brushes because the results of your labor will be better rewarded. Cheap brushes do not coat evenly, and they shed their bristles onto your work. They also do not last very long, and you end up having to spend more money anyway!

Equipment: There are two types of paint; water-based acrylic, and oil-based enamel. Water based paints are by far the easiest to work with, because you can clean up the brushes using water. Water clean-up also extends the lives of those expensive little brushes. Some of the better paint manufacturers are Polly S, Testors, Humbrol and Ral Partha. Personally, I like Polly S, which is now owned by Floquil. Since Floquil is the main manufacturer of quality brushes, this works out very well. Buy at least three or four different sizes of brushes, from tiny to medium-large, and keep a small cup of water and paper towels nearby for cleaning them. One of the most important things to do is make sure that the colors you buy are close to correct for the figures you will paint. Visit the Combat Uniforms Guide section in Gaming Articles, which includes color plates and photos of uniforms from various periods.

How to #1: The first painting example is of a French infantryman for the Napoleonic Wars. A World War Two figure will use much the same technique, except that the variety of colors used will be different. Begin by painting the one or two most dominant colors present on the model, in this case the white pants and lapel and the dark blue tunic. Once these basic colors are painted, you should next paint the areas which are recessed, and therefore most likely to be painted over. So for an infantry figure, you might want to paint in this order: pants/tunic, face, rifle/boots, backpacks/bags, headgear, straps, hands, buttons, etc. After you paint your figures, coat them with a coat of Figure Flat sealer, remembering to shake well before using. This takes away the glossy effect of some paints (who ever saw a glossy paratrooper?) as well as protecting the paint job against heavy handling. Make sure not to use a glossy sealer, as this will leave a thick layer of shiny muck on your freshly painted figures!

How to #2: For ship models, you should start by painting the basic hull color. Some ships, such as those from the turn of the century, have elaborate painting schemes which require careful painting, or at least attention to what colors the various section of the ship were painted. Painting the deck almost last usually works well. For this, use a flat brush, with strokes going outward, from inner edge to outer edge. Trying to paint the deck along the edge (down the length) of the ship usually results in an uneven border. As before, coat finished vessels with a coat of Figure Flat sealer.

Mounting
Once your figures are painted, or mostly painted, you will often need to mount them on bases. For infantry figures this is a fairly easy process. The set of rules you use will give the dimensions for the bases, and all you need to do is either cut bases out of thin sheets of balsa wood, or buy pre-cut metal bases. Some gaming rules use individual figures for combat, and so the number of figures attached to each base may be important. Other gaming rules use bases for calculating combat results, and in those cases, the number of figures attached to each base doesn't usually matter. For naval models, painting the base dark blue with white dappling patterns for the wake adds a realistic effect. Below are shown an assortment of miniatures of various scales and periods. This gives some idea as to appearance and final mounting technique, which can vary greatly

A three figure base of French Napoleonic era Infantry in 15mm scale. Mounted on sheet metal with railroad grass decoration on top.	A battery of French Napoleonic era artillery in 15mm scale. Mounted on balsa wood with railroad grass decoration on top.
Two figure bases of World War Two era Russians in 20mm scale. Mounted on balsa wood with railroad grass decoration on top. Note the markings on the rear of the bases, which indicate battalion, unit, etc. The Russian BT tank in the foreground is not mounted due to its already considerable size.	Two and three figure bases of World War Two era Germans in 12mm scale. Mounted on sheet metal without decoration on top. Note that they are next to a tank model which is being used without any base due to its size.
A mounted British World War One era battleship (actually a battlecruiser) in 1/6000 scale. Mounted on sheet metal decorated with an "ocean" pattern.