Scifi 15mm

Well where to start, this article is about motivation why i prefer 15mm scifi over other scales (although i have
strike groups and small armies in other scales - Infinity, Dirtside II, Epic or Hind commander to name few)

When i was actively playing Warhammer 40k i played mostly Tau and Imperial guard forces, where i loved the write up background for armies, worlds we fought on and campaings.

Then i conviced my friend to start 15mm that was main argument that we could build up forces we want not be restricted by armylist our authors background and best is ofcourse choice of many miniature line from various vendors.

Inspiration

Well as said the best thing on systems in 15mm scale (atleast Scifi) is that you aren´t tied to particular setting allthough they ussualy have their own worlds and settings to fit your games but you aren´t forced to use them.

Inspiration for your games can be drawn from many sources - Movies, Books and even other wargames or console/pc games. You can play Colonial Marines fighting Xenomorphs on Acheron, Recreating battles againts Kaffers from Twilight 2300, Defending Earth againts Invaders Onslaught or Leading Hammer´s Slammers into the battle on some unknown colony. You can also take inspiration from our history it is full of military conflicts - it only need to be scified up. or take path in Alternative history like Weird War 2 setting

Miniatures
In 15mm scale there is lot of different model lines ranging from Infantry,drones and various bots to walkers,tanks and other vehicles. The largest represantion have human forces from mid-tech (Colonial Marines from Movie Aliens is good example) to very hightech forces (for example troopers from Starship troopers book) of course you can find also Alien forces which also range from gun-powder age style aliens to very hightech forces or your typical swarm type aliens. of course for these troopers you will find many many types of vehicles to choose from, from whelled to grav, from jeeps to super-heavy tanks, from small walkers to the large walking robotic wolves and from human style tank to the alien centipede.
There is also always option to use other sources for your miniatures - you can use 10mm Mechs and some vehicles as smaller vehicles (good example is Gears from Heavy Gear arena/blitz! game as smaller Armoured fighting suits) or use die-cast cars from matchbox or other manufacturer as your vehicles.

Gaming

another great thing about 15mm Sci-fi you arent tied to single type rules, it all depends how sofisticated or Movie-like experience you want. If you want a "simulation" of scifi combat you should try games like Quadrant 13, Tommorow war or Strike Legion Platoon Leader on other side if you want more beer and pretzels games you can try Gruntz, Critical Mass Games or Fireteam Andromeda.

Reward
Speaking for me 15mm scifi is very good way to go, it gave you lots of hobby opportunities -unique terrains, painting nice camoflage schemes on your troops and vehicles and so on. lots of gaming oppurtunities refighting battles from your books,movies or games.