Miniature scale is a tricky subject. While the most popular tabletop games are in a "standard" scale, even those vary between 28 and 32mm.
What is scale?
This is one of the more confusing aspects of picking and choosing miniatures and the game you're interested in. Scale is a very loose term - it generally refers to the height of a miniature, but this is up to interpretation of whoever is designing the character models, and whether you're talking model cars, railroad, diorama, etc. Since AfterDark is focused on tabletop gaming, it refers to the height of a standard human character. Armor, race variations, vehicle characteristics, etc are all dependent on the root idea of what an individual creator is using as "height".
It may also refer to the height to the top of a character's head, or just to the eye line of the model. Even something as specific as space marines created in 6mm can be dramatically different heights between Lazy Forger, KMFP, and ThatEvilOne. We've worked with many customers to find custom scaling to make them interoperate better with each other, and even with legacy models produced 30 years ago!
Scale is constantly adapting and changing with the times. There is no clear, 100% reliable interpretation... but feel free to drop us a line, we can help with a custom order to make sure you get exactly what you need!
Why 6mm?
That said, we do have a preferred scale that is becoming increasingly popular - 6mm, also known as Epic Scale. While 8mm is just as common, we find that the extra bit of scope you receive with 6mm makes games way more immersive and interesting, though a unit of 8mm guys on a table of 6mm terrain isn't going to look dramatically out of place.
At 6mm, the level of detail you can jam into a 4'x4' table is unparalleled. It's the standard used in some of our favorite games such as Battletech and Full Spectrum Dominance. Individual infantry units are still distinguishable, though their units are so condensed that epic urban combined-arms battles are possible. Buildings have complete detail, but you're still able to stack a full city block on a 6"x6" grid that makes your terrain come alive.
It's also the scale for extremely popular games such as Legions Imperialis!
Combining Scales
There's also endless opportunity in mix/match of scales - we have some awesome game ideas that would incorporate 6mm cityscape, 15mm city blocks, and then 28mm for individual buildings/houses for a more tactical approach to how a scenario plays out. Super adaptable zombie apocalypse or Cyberpunk games, anyone?
And this is where 3D printing really opens up the door for exploration. With the same file, you can scale from 6mm easily up to 15mm and provide separate copies of the same thing at different scales. It's super affordable and enables you to mix/match, customize, and get exactly what you need for whatever type of game you're interested in playing.
Interested to check out 6mm miniatures and game systems? Here's some of our favorite products to start with
Orbital Knights (KMFP)
Full Spectrum Dominance (Lazy Forger)