Like many of you, I saw the movies Stalingrad and Enemy at the Gates too many times. So when Peter Pig came out with Russians and German in overcoats, I decide to do a skirmish-level street-fighting project, despite having a huge amount of 15mm WWII stuff already painted and mounted for Command Decision.

Such a project requires lots of ruined buildings. I already had some Battlefront ruined building models that I got at Enfilade years ago, so I was off to a good start. But I was going to need more. This project requires buildings that are open enough to place figures in them. Solid-cast houses mostly won't work. Two companies besides Battlefront that make such buildings in 15mm: Hovels and Musket Miniatures. Here are my impressions of all three companies' products.

Battlefront has the largest and least expensive selection of ruined buildings, from nearly-leveled row houses to a small factory. They are solid-cast resin and paint up nicely. They represent generic Western European buildings, but ruins are ruins, right? The problem is the amount of simulated rubble. There's an awful lot, which isn't unrealistic but makes it hard to place figures. Some don't leave any room for figures, and being solid-cast means that if there's a second story, there's no getting to the ground floor below it. But they're a good start.

Hovels makes some small damaged apartment buildings. Unlike the other companies, these do not come on a base, but are open underneath. The roofs are removable, making it easy to place figures on the upper floor. Placing them on the ground floor, however, requires picking up the entire building. This is be bad for figures already placed on the upper floor, and one can never be sure that the building will be replaced in exactly the same spot. They have nice detail, but are a little on the small side for 15mm.

Musket Minis make the best of the lot. They offer both complete and shot-up versions of the same building. They require some assembly, since things like window frames come as separate pieces. Most of their Russian stuff is of a rural nature, but there are some useful town buildings, particularly the large (6"x6") 2-story office building. They are designed for skirmish gaming. They have some rubble for effect, but it doesn't interfere with placing figures. The office building comes with a base, and the second floor lifts out easily to access the first. I can fit a whole company in this thing!

The limiting factor is cost. I like the  Musket Minis stuff best, but It's expensive. In fact, they're all expensive when you need lots of them, so I may resort to making my own out of poster board to make up numbers. I hope to present this game at Enfilade 2003, using Stargrunt II for rules. We'll see if I make that deadline.