When our local game group decided to quit colonial era involvement my interest did not diminish. The goal I was working for would have to be a solo effort. The sheer quantity of miniatures I would have to add to my collection was indeed a daunting task. Even after I secured many units from the pensioned gamers I was still about one thousand figures short!

Time and finances dictated the path I had to take as I was still actively engaged in many other game projects and campaigns. Looking over all the 15, 20 and 25/28mm figures in my collection I had to decide which scale would suit my particular goal, that was, a campaign. As it turned out none of them were up to the task!

A trip to the local shop provided the answer, 6mm. I hear the gasps and groans. I had painted and played many 5/6mm or 1/300 games and periods that were fun and aesthetically pleasing so I decided to go 6mm again! I refer to the scales 5mm, 6mm, 1/285 and 1/300 as 6mm for convenience as they are quite interchangeable.

6mm is a scale you either love or hate but for me they would definitely serve the purpose. There are several manufacturers of 6mm figures and accessories and I have many of each in other period collections but for colonials I chose Heroics and Ros, and the local shop just happened to have the entire line in stock.

The Ros colonial line consists of 24 packs of infantry, cavalry and artillery. I picked up one pack of each and many extras of natives for obvious reasons. With 50 infantry, 21 cavalry or 5 guns and crews per pack with some plesant surprises, I walked out of the store with 60 packs, well over one thousand figures. With club and sale discounts the bill came to only $90.00.

6mm was never intended as a palette for artistic perfection because of their size, but once you get over it, the jokes about ants and ‘did you put buttons on the cuffs’, they really are nice figures. Their size also allows you to reach a higher command level. My 25/28mm collection will be utilized for skirmish and small unit actions to maintain the essence of sword, flame and romance of Victorian era conflicts and the 6mms will allow the vast sweeping battles like Omdurman, Skion Kop and Ulundi.

Between the two I have all I need to set my colonial campaign in motion.

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