Why do I like collecting 3mm figures?

So while I do a bit of painting on some WWI warships, before I take on the Napoleonic Cavalry units again, I thought I'd jot down some thoughts on why I chose 3mm figures.

So firstly, it's not necessarily cost. You certainly get more figures per unit for a much lower cost, but if I'd done 10mm or 15mm then I'd have finished the units I'd need long ago for less overall cost.

I also didn't choose because of time. 3mm are quick to paint, this is very true, but there's so many of them that it does take longer than I'd necessarily want. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to painting. The figures are painted in far more detail than is needed!

So why did I choose 3mm?

This could be a division of 12000 men - it looks like it's a large amount of troops, which is apt as it's nearly 1000 figures!

Simple - spectacle! I've never been happy with displaying large units with small amounts of figures. Napoleonic warfare, in my mind's eye, is massed numbers of men marching towards each other before unleashing volleys of disciplined fire into each other. I blame watching Waterloo for this!

So I'm not happy with a division being a grand total of 50 men. It doesn't feel right to me.

Don't get me wrong - massed 28mm, 20mm, 15mm or 10mm Napoleonic armies look fantastic and are a real opportunity to paint detail. I love seeing other people's armies on the battlefield (and they don't take as long to collect!) - but they're not the right scale for massed battles for me.

So why not 2mm? It seems more popular than 3mm, certainly from what I've seen on Twitter and on the Great Wargaming Survey. There's even a wider range of figures and terrain. So why not this scale?

Strangely, it's too impersonal. For someone who wants massed battles and hordes of infantry, I like my painting and I like being able to see detail on my models. It's a strange dichotomy - I want small scale, but I want detail! I'm awkward, but I'm OK with this! I'm collecting two armies anyway. If an opponent wants to take a game of Napoleonics then I'll provide the armies.

Besides, as a clash of armies:

You can't tell me that these don't look a beautiful sight? Even on a plain board 😂