Axis & Allies Miniatures

[Whiterook]

Original Starter Set

This is what got true, full system miniatures wargaming going for me! A system that covers all nation-combatants across all the major theaters of World War II, with one and tons of equipment and personnel on land and air (and there’s a separate system for naval!), this is the granddaddy system that hooked me forever on the hobby of wargaming miniatures.

Axis & Allies Miniatures gives both novice wargamers and veteran grognards the ability to engage in historically authentic, squad-level tactical combat with detailed, 15mm(ish) scale, pre-painted plastic miniatures featuring varying degrees of rarity to enhance collectability.

A single skirmish can be played in under an hour, or, players can advance their custom-constructed squad through a meat grinder of combat, battling from the hedgerows of Brittany to the steps of the Reichs Chancellery.

Roll across the battlefield and on to victory. Amass an unstoppable fighting force of tanks, troops, artillery, aircraft and more - with the Axis and Allies Miniatures game. Challenge your friends to fast, head-to-head, skirmish combat. Recreate historical battles from World War II. Ready to play - no painting, no prepping.

This high-quality skirmish game is playable right out of the box. With these faithful reproductions of real WWII combat vehicles and fighting units, you can recreate historical battles from World War II with authentic Shermans, Panzers, infantry, and more! Or create your own battles!

Scale Variations

The first five sets available in the game are in the original scale. In 2006, Wizards of the Coast changed the scale of the minis. All future expansions will be in 15mm scale.

12mm Scale Expansions

Base Set
(48 minis, released 2005)
The core for your War - troops, tanks, and more that form the basic building blocks for the game.

Set II
(45 minis, released 2005)
An expansion that introduces three new unit types (snipers, paratroopers, and cavalry) as well as troops from China, Poland, and Romania.

Contested Skies
(45 minis, released 03/2006)
Help from above. Contested Skies features fighter planes, antiaircraft guns, tank destroyers, motorcycles, forward observers and more.

D-Day
(45 minis, released 06/2006)
The assault on Fortress Europe begins with D-Day. Highlighting units and nations involved in Operation Overlord – including the debut of Canadian troops – D-Day features the introduction of battlefield obstacles: immobile, non nation-specific units like pillboxes and tank traps that add to the realism of game play. Fan requested favorites like the Supermarine Spitfire and Jagdtiger also roar into action.

Reserves
(45 minis, released 11/2006)
Escalate with the experimental. Deploy some of the most innovative and unusual units developed for the war, scramble fast-moving jets, and establish superiority with support units. Includes fan favorites such as Ranger and Fallschirmjäger units.

15mm Scale Expansions

(from this point on is where the scale of the minis changed, increasing to 15mm, rendering the earlier vehicle minis noticeably smaller in size from the new vehicles)

1939-1945
(60 minis, released 10/2007)
The Axis & Allies 1939-1945 is made up of fan favorites pulled from previous Axis and Allies Miniatures expansions, including an uncommon T-34. Included in the new starter are new full color maps.

North Africa 1940-1943
(60 minis, released 03/2008)
The Desert War is on in this new expansion set for Axis and Allies Miniatures. This 60 piece set contains many new units that fans have long petitioned for, such as the British Matilda, trucks and many new infantry units. Most of the units in this set are painted in desert paint schemes.

Eastern Front 1941-1945
(60 minis, released 12/2008)
Focusing mainly on German vs. Russian troops. Added Finnish units.

Early War 1939-1941
(50 minis, released 12/2009)
Early War 1939 - 1941 will feature units from 13 different nations, the most ever in a A&A Miniatures release! Belgian, Slovakian, and South African units make their debut.

Counter Offensive 1941–1943
(50 minis, released 10/2010)
Counter Offensive 1941-1943 features combat units from 14 nations. New Zealand, Yugoslavia, and Croatia make their debut while nations like Hungary, Japan, and the USSR will receive important units to add to their existing forces.

Late War
Rumored to be released in 2013, pushed back from 2012 due to the Angels 20 product release.

Expanded Rules

48-page rulebook, including new, expanded rules for the Axis & Allies Miniatures Game .
8 New Battle Scenarios.
2 new full color, double sided, 21” x 30” hex maps with 3" hexes.
Comprehensive checklist featuring every miniature from all five Axis & Allies Miniatures expansions.
Axis & Allies Miniatures 1939–1945 Starter

10 prepainted, durable plastic 15mm miniatures.
Full-color game stat cards
2 double-sided full-color battle maps
Quick Start Guide
Rulebook
Damage Counters
8 dice
North Africa 1940-1943 Map Guide

3 full color, double sided, 21” x 30” hex maps
2 all new scenarios
Priced at $14.99 and available March, 2008

So as you can see, a massive system!

An interesting observation by me, is that the 15mm miniatures purists (I.e., Flames of War, for one) poo-pooed this system at almost every turn, as being too “light”, that “…the miniatures aren’t detailed enough” or that they were plastic and pre painted, that it was “…too dice heavy”, and so on. I never bought their complaints and high-handed views, because this game is infinitely playable… and at the core, far less expensive than those other “high end” systems. You build your forces through a points system, and in its day, had tons of gaming conventions holding league play. Yes, the system comes with paper maps, but it’s easily converted to diorama play!

I adore this system and I’ll always own it, and play it. And it’s a great system to cut your teeth on!

[Whiterook]

Besides the original Starter Set and its’ basic rules… to really get the most out of this system, the Advanced Rules are a must have!





Bringing the system to a whole new level of play, this is what the hardcore A&AM players use, and it really does enhance the game dramatically.

I have a huge collection of A&AM. I adopted the strategy of collecting the entire Booster Crate as each new set came out. What that means is, I bought the whole box of sets’ boosters that the stores bought, which gave me 98% of the entire series! I’d have a bunch of duplicates for infantry and artillery; I’d have most of not all of the Rare vehicles (ones that were the super special, like King Tigers and IS-2’s); and multiples of the basic and intermediate armor… from there, it was simply a search in the secondary markets to fill in the gaps. There are still some I do not own, but those are usually the more obscure.

You see, the game was a “Collectibles” games, meaning, each booster pack contained 9-random minis from the set, with one Rare mini included. It was like opening a box of cereal to see what the toy inside was! Now be aware… I HATE collectible games! …it’s just a huge money-making scheme by the manufacturer; and their claim of “trading with your friends” is shit, unless you’re 12 with a bunch of school chums that love the same system! But it’s that proverbial *Deal with the Devil* situation of grin and bare it for the sake of owning the system.

Each piece is assigned a point value so that balanced matches can be constructed. Tournament play is typically done with 100 points per side, with infantry units usually having values of fewer than 10 points each and vehicles range from less than 10 to 50 or more based on relative strengths. Scenarios may alter these numbers or otherwise determine the constitution of each side. The map board consists of 2" (5 cm) or 3" hexes, with different terrain types represented within. Most set-ups are fewer than 20 hexes in either dimension. Combat resolution is done by rolling pools of standard six-sided dice.

The initial release included a broad range of units for Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with a more limited set for Japan and the Soviet Union. Two units each were included of French and Italian forces. The second set added Nationalist China, Poland, and Romania to the mix, while the third set adds a single Australian unit. The fourth set debuted Canadian units, the fifth Hungarian units, the seventh Greek units, and the eighth Finnish units. The ninth introduced Slovak, Belgian and South African troops. The tenth introduced Croatian, Yugoslavian and New Zealand units.

[Whiterook]

Here are some random pics of the system…













With the unit card…









Boosters…













And some great sales poster art! (…I own an artist-sign original of the first one!)…

[mikeh]

Great game system, my only regret is getting into at the end of production so my armies are pretty small. And I personally like their 15mm mini's.

[Whiterook]

Apr 6, 2022 22:37:06 GMT -5 mikeh said:

Great game system, my only regret is getting into at the end of production so my armies are pretty small. And I personally like their 15mm mini's.

I’m sure that happened to a lot of people, too, and it’s a shame. Wizards of the Coast abandoned the game after they got what $$ they could from it and moved on to another series. That happens way too much from companies. Tide of Iron, from Fantasy Flight Games is another example.

On the plus side, I’m starting to see really good sales on A&AM stuff, as people are dumping it (‘cause they can’t find anyone to play against). But what I’ve seen are entire collections sold as a single lot (no breaking up sales into individuals or smaller sets). I can’t afford what they’re asking! There was also a time when you could buy individual units for a decent price, but I’m not seeing a lot of the sellers that used to do so, as they’ve gone under in these rough times. For both of those instances, I’m turning to other game lines to fill in the holes.

[Whiterook]

Apr 8, 2022 18:12:00 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

Apr 6, 2022 22:37:06 GMT -5 mikeh said:

Great game system, my only regret is getting into at the end of production so my armies are pretty small. And I personally like their 15mm mini's.

I’m sure that happened to a lot of people, too, and it’s a shame. Wizards of the Coast abandoned the game after they got what $$ they could from it and moved on to another series. That happens way too much from companies. Tide of Iron, from Fantasy Flight Games is another example.

On the plus side, I’m starting to see really good sales on A&AM stuff, as people are dumping it (‘cause they can’t find anyone to play against). But what I’ve seen are entire collections sold as a single lot (no breaking up sales into individuals or smaller sets). I can’t afford what they’re asking! There was also a time when you could buy individual units for a decent price, but I’m not seeing a lot of the sellers that used to do so, as they’ve gone under in these rough times. For both of those instances, I’m turning to other game lines to fill in the holes.

What a difference a year makes! I’ve been seeing folks posting on facebook, that they are having a super hard time finding miniatures these days! I’m not sure how accurate a thing that is, but the fact that several peiple are posting the same issue has me wondering..are folks holding on to their OOB in hopes it’ll garner bigger dollars in a few years? May be. There seems to be a little more interest in playing the system, at least based on the facebook groups devoted to the land and sea systems.

I know I still LOVE the system, and as soon as I do some more remodeling in the backyard studio — basically, an extra one car garage/workshop that I’m converting into a studio/wargaming space — I’ll finally have the room to set up and leave out my games in process! I was just staring moon-eyes at my stash of mins this weekend, in fact!

[Whiterook]

I dug out the Advanced rulebook and had forgotten how elegant and cool the system is! I got through half the rules in no time and a lot came back right away…that’s kinda special, as far as game rules go for me, as I usually feel like I’m almost starting from scratch with retreads. This one, I felt I could almost jump right in! In fact, that’s what I plan to do in the not too distant future!!!