Wargames collections by different manufacturers
Just a thought How many people stick to one manufacturer for a chosen period or project rather than a polyglot army made up from different manufacturers? For example my 15mm Napoleonic collection has multiple manufacturers with contributions from minifigs, warrior miniatures, Battle honours, AB, Museum miniatures, essex, frei korps, Galdiator, Falcon, fantasssin, tabletop, old Glory amongst others and still I think I'd like to try to add some CGM If I start expanding into 28mm I know I'll have Eureka, Victrix and Perries for a start. I just don't seem to resist getting a few figures either to mix in a unit or make up a unit on their own Does anyone here have the discipline to stick to one figure maker for a given period? Or do you all have oh look must have shinyitis?

For me, the driver for a period is always a particular range of figures. I want compatability and consistency in my collections so I will always focus on one particular range. For that reason it's no coincidence that my areas of interest are largely periods on which particular designers have "gone to town". Those ranges also have to be well sculpted - if I'm going to the effort of painting the figures I want them to be decent sculpts. That said, I'm always happy to sprinkle different manufacturers into a collection provided there is a high degree of compatability; anything else is likely to result in a mess. So for example with the AWI Eureka figures look fine mixed in with Perries, although I do prefer them in different units. But I'm certainly not about to mix in Front Rank or Old Glory and to be honest leave those ranges alone for the most part.

Discipline in the ranks at all time whenever possible. ECW all Minifigs as nothing else I could find really fits style or size wise. I started collecting these 27 years ago and wouldn't choose them now were I starting ECW these days, it would be 15/18mm for me. My WW1 and WW2 planes all come from two makes, one for each era. Again problems of matching scale and style. Sudan – all Perry – don't need to look elsewhere the range is big enough for my needs. Naps – half Minifigs and half AB. I wish they were all the latter but I had the MF before I was introduced to AB. They fit ok on the table. I suspect I'll add CGM and some of those Liberator figures in at some point. I must be the only gamer who doesn't suffer from Shinyitis. I've only a handful of unpainted figures in my box and only one period to work on for the moment at least, and with no desire to start anything new it feels great. As if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders and it feels like a hobby again! Agree with Giles – these days I have to think a casting is great to be bothered to want to paint it.

i'm too aware of size/style differences to feel comfortable about this. I know it often doesnt really matter that much but when you have personally spent the time painting it all then any differences stand out like a sore thumb to me Having said that i keep wondering whether i need to get some Old Glory 10mm awi to fill the gaps that Pendraken have - but since they dont do photos on their website then i havent been willing to make the plunge yet.

I mix and match ALOT, you really don't want to know how much...

I mix a lot too. Vive la difference!

I like to mix, its borign paitning the same figures over again, changing things up keeps you interested.

having said that i was forced last week by my young un to deploy my 10mm AWI l against some W40k Eldar & Space Marines using some impromptu rules. The scales only looked slightly incongruous :) Needless to say the forces of His Britannic Majesty triumphed (due in some small part to the impromptu rules being devised by me)

I'm happy to mix & match if the figures are compatible in proportion, style & to some extent size. Humans do come in all sizes & shapes, so as long as their equipment, weapons are compatible & the differences aren't too gross then I'll consider them. This is why I usually buy a small sample first if I'm looking at a new range or period.

I only use the figures I like. Although I am an admirer of Elite and Front Rank I am a paid up Perry / Copplestone / Artizan groupie. Figures are the driving force as the Dark Lord says.

Depends on scale and army. My 18th C and Napoleonics are mostly Front Rank 'coz I like them, and I'll mix manufacturers so long as they are reasonably consistent in size and style. The exception is my 20mm WW2 Soviet horde, which is represented by just about every manufacturer out there. I find that 20mm is pretty forgiving as to any size or even bulk difference, and a consistent style of painting helps to pull them all together. And obviously I don't need them all in similar poses as I would for horse and musket gaming, although I do tend to separate the minis into advancing and defending/ firing groups.

Every single samurai in my Takeda army is a different mini. As are the ashigaru. :mental:

I look for a combination of sculpting quality and completeness - not necessarily in that order. Once I've established the "base" range, I work others into it - usually as characters, casualties, command, gunners/engineers, or vignettes. I rarely mix different manufacturers' rank-and-file in one unit unless the sculpting styles are similar (eg Perry/Eureka, or AB/Eureka). The exceptions tend to be singly-based/skirmish-type units, such as Indian war bands, or light companies, where some individuality is preferred in terms of physical appearance, kit, and pose/activity.

I am restricted by what I can mail order. The big thing is the shipping costs and what I can get from suppliers here in Canada. When I decide on a period, I figure out what size of army or Armies to build. Work out how much it will cost me and when I have the money set aside I will order it. All of my 28mm figures are Old glory. I went with cost and lower shipping.

Most of the time I'm a scale nazi and I like my figures to be the same height and sculpt style - so it's one manufacturer period for me. Except once or twice - the Monmouth armies for example are mostly Dixon, but I did enjoy scrapping around for odd figures that would fit in and offer a little variety.