The ground work
The Imagi-nations
So what are the Imagi-nations? well in short its the idea of taking real-world miniatures and creating fictional nations with them. Often the actual mechanics (stats, costs for the models in game etc…) are just pulled from whatever rule-set you’re Playing with. Using this you could combine say…Napoleonic French infantry with the same era Prussian guns because you like the French uniforms but like the look of the Prussian artillery better. I think part of the appeal is also just painting historical miniatures any way you like. There are whole books dedicated to uniforms and how equipment was painted or colored, especially if you start getting into Napoleonic’s! I think the other facet to this is the whole “black powder fantasy” genera that is interesting and something I plan on exploring more. Imagine elves and orc’s from fantasy with muskets and cannons!
The Scales
As the chart above shows (not my image mind you, credit goes to https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/809333.page) those are the common scales for miniatures. They can either be represented by the scale in inches (1:100) or by millimeters (15mm). often you’ll hear the exact measurements as “foot to eye”, so in the case of 15mm miniatures there is 15mm from the models foot to the models eye. The most popular scale is 28mm (or 1:56) but there are still plenty of options for the others. There are a few odd ones, like 20mm, and a few games use 32mm but by and large you’ll not be wanting for choice on miniatures. I own models in 6mm, 1:1200, 15mm, 28mm and 32mm scales and they’ll be shown off in due time!
The dice and other tools
Those familiar with role playing games may be familiar with the types of dice used in these games. The standard set of dices includes a 20 dice (D20) one or two 10 sided dice (either D10 or D100 or both) an eight sided dice (D8) a six sided dice (D6) or a four sided dice (D4). Most games use D6s for the dice, though there’s no standard. A lot of people don’t enjoy the D6 as it doesn’t allow for a lot of variances but personally I don’t mind.
The other tools you’ll often find are tape measures or movement gauges depending on the game. Units will have a movement statistic that there are allowed to use per turn of the game. *Most* infantry units will have something like 6inches of movement, for example. You’ll also see various tools to keep track of victory points, or other game metrics, and while useful are completely optional.
I think that about wraps up the basics but I’m sure I’ve left something out. If there’s ever any questions about the things I use feel free to ask in the posts!