u/jordowiebo

I originally wrote this as a script for a video, however i have been made aware to the fact that there are hobbyists out there who prefer to take their content in the written form - so here we are! If you'd like to see the video, it can be viewed here!

Of all the nuances found within Bolt Action, the relationship between the game and scale is the most discussed, and dare I say misunderstood, factor of the hobby. Whether it's comparing the sizes of miniatures from multiple manufacturers, discussing discrepancies found between models of the SAME make, or the most contentious topic by far: vehicle scale, let's dig into this controversial topic and discover the TRUTH behind Bolt Action and Scale.

Let's be real, scale is not the most exciting discussion topic out there. Believe me, this is like the third or fourth draft of this discussion because I've found it really difficult to keep an article on the subject interesting throughout. That being said, it is by FAR the most asked about nuance in Bolt Action that I have encountered in wargaming communities. I want to dig into the truth behind scale and bolt action for two audiences - first, newcomers to the game and hobby. I want to highlight what is and isn't important when it comes to scale and the models you may decide to purchase. And second, for those who may be very particular about their models, like I am, I want to give some solutions for the issues many hobbyists bring up on this topic. 

Quick disclosure - I know there are many out there who play bolt action in various scales besides 28mm - and while I do want to acknowledge you fine people, I also want to avoid the inevitable "just play bolt action in 15mm scale" type comments. This is Bolt Action, so we will only be discussing God's chosen scale, 28mm.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's start with the infantry!

Part 1: Infantry

The phrase "Bolt Action is a 28mm game", is referring to the height of a miniature from the base of the feet to the eyeballs, not an actual scale. So when we line up a bunch of infantry from various manufacturers, we can see that they are all more or less the same height. That being said, you should be able to notice that though these miniatures are the same height they certainly don't seem to fit in with each other. The major culprit in this is two different styles of miniature sculpting: True Scale, and Heroic Scale.

From left to right: Perry, Victrix, Wargames Atlantic, Warlord, Artizan. Note that the Warlord model is the only miniature that is not on a puddle base

Put simply, True Scale aims at more realistic proportions for its miniatures, which is great for people who appreciate that kind of realism. Popular manufacturers for this style are Perry Miniatures, Victrix, and Empress.

Heroic Scale, however, exaggerates the proportions of a miniatures head, hands, and weapons to make for an easier to read model on the table, improve durability, and provide a better painting experience. Well known manufacturers that take this approach are Warlord Games, Wargames Atlantic, and Artizan Miniatures.

https://preview.redd.it/tilkcgc8bz0h1.png?width=3456&format=png&auto=webp&s=f5f4757e8b826401484ccaea4d0e685a55908457

So, that makes it clear cut and easy, right? Haha…WRONG!

New resin Japanese character on left, new plastic Japanese on right

These are two brand new Japanese miniatures from Warlord Games, and as you can see, there are some noticeable differences. Probably most obvious is the height, which many an observer would write off as the differences in height found in real people. However - look at the differences in the size of the hands, the head, and even the gear. These are two completely different sculpting styles. The plastic japanese was most likely designed by the same sculptor who created the original plastics, as they are very similar in style and scale, while the new resin japanese reflect Warlord’s new propensity towards chunkiness.

I bring this up because I’d wager most newcomers to Bolt Action will be buying from Warlord Games, which they should! - it's the best place to start - but there CAN be differences within ranges, and since Warlord has both the largest and most popular 28mm world war two selection, they make for a great example of this reality. 

As far as their miniatures go, I like to assign each to a different period of Warlord’s overall design philosophy - Lets call it Early Warlord, Mid Warlord and Late Warlord.
Unsurprisingly, warlord’s earliest offerings like the Blitzkrieg plastics belong in early warlord, but also their new and old japanese kits, as well as their vast metal ranges that were sculpted by Paul Hicks. Mid Warlord is populated by the kits that launched second edition, like German grenadiers and US Airborne, as well as some other mainstays like US Infantry, Afrika Korp and British Airborne. Late Warlord, or Current Warlord we could say, includes most of the new plastics that came with Third Edition’s introduction, like the D-Day US Paratroopers, Soviet Infantry and German Veterans, as well as the new resin weapons teams and commanders. Some kits also fall in the in-between space between the different styles - most notably the US Marines, German SS and British 8th Army. 

https://preview.redd.it/ednzzvc3cz0h1.png?width=3456&format=png&auto=webp&s=df41bc2c088097733bdb47b5af51956d2040a2e2

Now here’s the truth behind all this - on the table, none of that matters. While actually playing the game, you are focused on your strategy and the state of the table, so your brain takes the individual models you've put down and  abstracts them into groups. Simply put - you won’t be noticing sculpting style differences while you’re playing Bolt Action. So if your main concern is buying miniatures as game pieces, all you have to do is make sure the miniatures you select are 28mm scale and that they effectively represent the unit you are putting on the table. 

https://preview.redd.it/015a4216cz0h1.png?width=3456&format=png&auto=webp&s=2caa304130c7892169399676c441e46586666417

And if you’re picky about your miniatures, like I am, there are some great resources out there for getting answers on how miniatures relate to one another. Last year I put out a video that compares and contrasts the manufacturers of all the plastic infantry kits available for bolt action, so go ahead and check that out if you haven’t already. If you’re looking for comparisons between some real specific model lines, do some searching in the Bolt Action facebook and reddit pages, as there’s a really good chance someone has already inquired about the same comparison that you’d like clarity on.

Ok, well that wasn’t too bad? So where is all this controversy when it comes to bolt action and scale?

Part 2: Vehicles 

Ahhhh yes,

The relationship between 28mm infantry and the 1/56 scale vehicles the game is designed around is by far the most contentious discussion point when it comes to choosing models for Bolt Action.  The general experience tends to go like this:

You get some heroic scale warlord infantry in your starter box, so your next move is to grab some armor because tanks are super fun. Naturally, you buy a warlord 1/56 model, or if you’re ahead of the game, a Rubicon version. You build it up in no time at all, then you place your new infantry models next to it and…the tank looks too small! There’s no way these chunky dudes are fitting in that tiny steel box, and they certainly feel like ogres compared to the kit-supplied crew!

Artizan soldier next to Rubicon 1/56 Sherman.

So you write up a reddit post about it, and a fellow wargamer lets you in on the hidden secret of bolt action vehicles: 1/48th scale! Tamiya makes plenty of kits in 1/48th, so you grab one of those off amazon for cheap. You put THAT tank model on the table next to your heroic infantry and… well, yeah looks like the infantry you have could fit in there, so the next time someone asks the question on reddit, YOU can confidently say that 1/48th scale is the way to go.

Same Artizan miniature next to 1/48 Sherman

Now, while I generally don’t like to take hard stances on these types of discussions, at least not publicly, this is going to be an exception to that rule. 1/48th is NOT the fix for the issue so many people have rightly pointed out, and to illustrate why that is the case, let me show you a little demonstration.

Imagine you are using a wonderful editing program like Microsoft Paint on your Windows 2000 equipped home desktop computer. Let's say you have an image, and you want to make it bigger. If you foolishly click and drag from the side, the image certainly gets “bigger”, but it's skewed, right? However, if you drag from the corner, the image scales up proportionally.

dragging this image of the worst miniature Warlord has ever made from the side results in a skewed scale increase

To bring this back to bolt action, let's add vehicles into the mix. With some 28mm true scale AND heroic infantry placed next to a 1/56 scale Sherman, You may rightly point out that the 1/56 scale tank could not fit a full crew of heroic dudes in it - and right here is the crux of the issue. When you scale up to a 1/48 tank, that upscaling is PROPORTIONAL, and not skewed. So what you end up with is a Sherman that does indeed look like it could fit a heroic scale crew, but now the tank is TOO big compared to the infantry. I think this is why some people have pointed out that 1/48th scale seems to work for smaller vehicles, but bigger tanks especially don’t look right in 1/48th - perhaps, without understanding the why behind it. A man with an average height should come up to the top of the sherman’s hull, and even a heroic 28mm infantryman placed next to a 1/48 sherman comes nowhere close to that. So, in conclusion…1/48 tanks are a bad fix for the scale issue in bolt action. Functionally, what would need to happen is the 1/56 scale sherman should be SKEWED, but…of course no one wants their sherman to look like that. …probably

But does that mean  we are doomed to have too-big infantry fighting alongside our too-small tanks for all of eternity? Fear not! There are multiple solutions to this problem!

The easiest fix is to use true scale infantry, like Perry Miniatures, Victrix, or Empress. These will look very appropriate providing support for your 1/56 scale armor.

Perry miniature (on a 25mm base and molded on puddle base) next to 1/56 Pz3

However, if you already have heroic infantry and 1/56 scale tanks, try grabbing some heroic scale crew. I’d personally recommend Trenchworx’s tank crew options - they are lovely sculpts, are nice and chunky, and paint up super well. While you might think that they look TOO big to actually fit in the tank realistically, having a commander in the same style as your infantry will trick your brain into seeing the infantry and tank crew as a much more cohesive group, rather than some strangely mismatched humanoids. Warlord is starting to include more heroic scale crew in their kits - some recent examples I can think of are the M5 Stuart and Autoblinda boxes, but many have the original true scale Italeri crew, so check in the various bolt action groups out there before buying. 

Trenchworx tank commander with 1/56 M3 Lee

If you can't find a suitable heroic crew, kitbashing is also a solution! I threw together this italian tank commander using a fallschirmager body, arms, and head - heavily trimmed of course. Most of the body of a tank commander will be inside the vehicle, so you don’t really have to worry about tanker uniform detail all that much. My favorite technique is to use some of those mid-sized warlord kits we discussed earlier. For this Sherman, I can use a US Gi’s body, and the painting would do the heavy work for making him a tank crewman. 

Kitbash using US GI body, German Veteran head, and arms from...some other BA kits i can't remember

Finally, a technique that I've found to be helpful is replacing the kit supplied machine gun barrels with beefier versions to better match what the infantry are carrying. Many Warlord kits that are made by Italeri have very tiny hull and pintle machine guns, so for example, I used m1919 barrels from the old US Airborne sprue to give my Stuart a little extra bulk.

And just like with infantry, if these scaling issues don’t bother you personally…then it's not a problem at all! Our miniatures are functionally just tokens, so if you’re just looking for cool models to use, then you don’t have to worry about this in the least! And if you really like 1/48 scale vehicles, go ahead and use them! I can’t tell you what to do, I'm not your dad….yet!

So there you have it, we’ve finally unlocked the TRUTH behind bolt action and scale. Now, these conclusions I've come to are sure to be contentious, so feel free to let me know down in the comments whether you agree with my points, or if I've made some huge errors in my thinking.

Of all the nuances found within Bolt Action, the relationship between the game and scale is the most discussed, and dare I say misunderstood, factor of the hobby. Whether it's comparing the sizes of miniatures from multiple manufacturers, discussing discrepancies found between models of the SAME make, or the most contentious topic by far: vehicle scale, let's dig into this controversial topic and discover the TRUTH behind Bolt Action and scale.