Since I’ve been collecting, and painting 15mm miniatures from several vendors over the past few years, I think it’s about time to share my experiences with the products and their availability.
I’m EU based, so when BREXIT hit, followed by the application of customs to all incoming packages irrespective of cost (there used to be a 20 euro limit for VAT & customs free shipments) my sources were limited a lot. I’ll share some details about this also.
Ral Partha Europe
http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/
Having some Ral Partha miniatures back from the 90s, the name alone hit home. I discovered them back in 2019, and bought my first 15mm miniatures from their Blighthaven packs. They are located in UK. Back then they had really cheap shipping by Royal Mail to EU countries, which tripled now, but includes IOSS. Meaning the shipment won’t be stopped at customs as VAT is pre-paid.
They offer deals several times per year for a few days each.
Their Demonworld sculpts are just a-mazing. Quality is top, pricing is very good, and I just love the dynamic poses and character. Demonworld miniatures are on the larger side of 15mm, and I’d categorize them as 18mm standard. They’re not too chunky nor too slim. You can get almost any standard fantasy trope from their 15mm range, except for halflings as they are not included in Demonworld. Some words about their website with regards to Demonworld. They have Demonworld Classic, Demonworld Universal, Fantasy 15mm Singles and Blighthaven Warbands. These use the same miniatures, but they are put in different packs. There are only a few cases where you might want to get a pack just to get a single mini.
On the sci-fi front they have Critical Mass. Great sculpts as well. In their Mercenaries one could find single miniatures and skirmish packs. This range however is at true 15mm (which would work fine for people invested in this size), with some aliens being larger, and easily used at 18mm.
To close with Ral Partha Europe, they also have an 18mm Victorian Science Fiction range, that I haven’t tried. Also you can find some great miniatures for beasts and monsters from the other ranges in the site.
Alternative Armies
https://www.alternative-armies.com/
Another UK based supplier with great miniatures in 15mm. Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Historicals. Their sculpts are really good, and in most of their packs they offer choices to buy single miniatures or even samplers (1 of each pose) which is great for RPGs or Skirmish games.
With regards to shipping at EU, they don’t offer IOSS, but they have a low cost shipping option if you remain at under 20 pounds.
They have long time deals running 2-3 times per year site wide, add a free miniature per order and also some additional deals on specific miniatures or packs.
Their Ion Age 15mm range is on the bigger side, at 18mm. Great variety, and can be used as is or as proxies for other Sci-Fi themes.
The Hordes of Future range covers many sci-fi tropes (martian aliens, cultists, cyberpunk corporate, earth security forces, space elves, terminators, wastelanders and more), and the older sculpts have been remastered. They are on the bigger side at 18mm, but some are even bigger. There are nice pics with scale comparisons to know where you stand at.
The Hordes of Things range is their Fantasy range (no halflings here though either) equivalent to Hordes of Future. Great variety with remastered sculpts. Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Lizard dudes, monsters and more. They are on the bigger side at 18mm.
The Tabletop Fantasy range has both true 15mm and bigger 18mm. I’ve only gotten their bigger ones – MDA – (halflings here yay!) and love them as they’re great for dungeon delvers.
On the sci-fi front I’ve also tried their Loud Ninja games range for some sci-fi lizardmen (awesome sculpts) and some aliens from their SHM range. I think the SHM range is at true 15mm so I haven’t tried them a lot. A special mention here to the remastered Laserburn range, which I haven’t gotten as they are the small true 15mm, but if one goes for this scale size, they shouldn’t be missed.
I haven’t tried their historical ranges. They feel to me like they’re true 15mm, but perhaps someone knows better.
Overall Alternative Armies is a standard waystop for 15mm miniatures gaming.
Copplestone Castings
https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/
Another UK based supplier. They don’t offer IOSS, so if you’re ordering from the EU, be prepared to go through customs. They have only a few ranges (barbarians, dwarves, picts, ice tribe) but their sculpts quality and poses and design are top! I really wished they’d do more in this scale. Oh, yeah their scale is at 18mm.
Vanguard Miniatures
https://vanguardminiatures.co.uk/
UK, the land of 15mm miniatures, no IOSS here. Vanguard Miniatures offers many Not-Warhammer 40k miniatures in 3mm, 6mm, and 15mm. They’re good for fielding an army, but they don’t split their packs, so the choices for skirmish gaming are limited as you may not want 20 miniatures per pack. Great sculpts though and great quality, and probably the closest you can get to WH40k without resorting to 3d prints. I have only gotten their xenomorph from them, which are at 18mm.
Ground Zero Games
https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk
Still at UK, GZG is focused on Science Fiction. Excellent sculpts quality and very good pricing. No IOSS, but their shipping is affordable. They are at 18mm, however there is some scale size variation between their older and newer sculpts, with the newer ones being a tad bit chonkier and bigger. You can field them together without much issue though. GZG has some discount deals where you get vouchers if you spend an amount at orders prior to christmas.
Eureka Miniatures
https://eurekaminuk.com
You might have guessed it, Eureka is at UK. I have only gotten some of their 15mm – which are true 15mm, and not their 18mm Fantasy yet (listed as 18mm). Their sculpts quality is great, and are great for skirmish miniatures as you purchase single miniatures, and only a few of them are offered in packs. They offer IOSS and as expected, shipping is a bit higher, but you avoid the hussle of customs.
Quick Reaction Force
https://quickreactionforce.co.uk/
Still at UK, I had gotten my Predators and Xenomorphs from QRF. However they sold off their sci-fi ranges. You can still get some moderns from them. They’re at 18mm, but not chonky. Good sculpts, great prices and shipping (no IOSS).
Museum Miniatures
https://www.museumminiatures.co.uk
Another UK vendor. Museum Miniatures offers many options for Historical miniatures. In the past few years they have 3d-designed pewter sculpts, released as ‘Z ranges’. Their older sculpts are closer to 18mm with scale variations, while their newer Z sculpts are smaller. They don’t offer IOSS, but their shipping is affordable. They offer deals a few times per year.
Forged in Battle
https://www.forgedinbattle.com/
Forged in Battle is in UK. They have historicals, which can easily be used in low Fantasy as well. They are smaller than 18mm, but can be used alongside them. Good quality sculpts and miniatures. They don’t offer IOSS, but their shipping is affordable. They offer deals a few times per year.
Pendraken
https://www.pendraken.co.uk/
UK based, Pendraken focuses on 10mm, however they have a small 15mm range of Fantasy. They are on the bigger side of 15mm, chonkier, at 18mm. Their goblins would be better listed as orcs instead due to size. They don’t offer IOSS, but their shipping is affordable.
Checkpoint Miniatures
https://www.checkpointminiatures.co.uk/
UK based, previously known as CP Models, they have many miniatures ranges, and have acquired Crom Anvil’s range. Their 15mm is all over the place. Their mummies fit nicely with my 18mm miniatures, but their Pulp Arabs are closer to 20mm and very chonky. They’re the best 15mm mummies I could find and in 12 different poses. They don’t offer IOSS, but their shipping is affordable.
Only-Games
https://only-games.co
UK based 3d printing shop. Very good 3d prints in resing. I’ve gotten some of Duncan Shadow’s prints. They are chonky and big 18mm. The cultists can barely fit with my 18mm due to chonkiness, however their Plague Knights will work nicely. Their Knights don’t fit, as they are too big (perhaps some Warhammer AoS influence here). They don’t offer IOSS, but their shipping is affordable, and offer many deals throughout each month.
Irregular Miniatures
http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/
UK based vendor with pewter miniatures in a lot of ranges. One of the most affordable vendors in the miniatures market. They don’t offer IOSS, with prices like this, that is not an issue. I find that their miniatures paint a lot better than they appear at the website pictures.
Battle Valor Games
https://www.battlevalorgames.com
Going to the other side of the Atlantic, at USA, Battle Valor Games offers Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniatures in 15mm.
They have very big ranges. Their miniatures are big and chonky. The quality of the sculpts is good, however I find there is variety in the designs of the poses. I really love their dwarves and halflings. They don’t offer IOSS, so every time I bought from them I used a shipping forwarder with Prepaid Duties options instead.
Old Glory
https://www.oldgloryuk.com
I’m only linking the UK website as I have purchased from them only, but there are USA based shops as well. I really don’t know if there is one valid site and the other are spinoffs or whatever, but I found at least 3 more USA based websites. I’ve gotten the Blue Moon sculpts from them. Their pulp range is at the bigger end of 18mm, while their sci-fi range is at the lower end of 18mm. Good looking sculpts, no IOSS, costly shipping. Unique models that you mostly can’t find elsewhere.
Splintered Light Miniatures
http://www.splinteredlightminis.com/
Splintered Light is in USA, focusing on 15mm Fantasy. They are true 15mm, small and thin, and their humans won’t fit nicely with the big 18mm ranges. However Ben Siens sculpts are so full of character and quality. I literally used the web site search function with his name, and got non-humans (gnolls, ratmen, halflings, birdmen etc) for my skirmish packs. No IOSS, I used ship forwarders.
Khurasan Miniatures
https://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/
Based in USA. Khurasan has a huge range of 15mm both fantasy, sci-fi and historicals. Nice sculpts and poses, and very active development of new miniatures. They don’t have consistency in pewter quality or the sizes between ranges. I’ve had different pewter mixtures (some white, some tin, some lead) perhaps depending on when the miniatures where cast. They make an attempt to describe the miniatures scale size though, but they range from true (15mm) to heroic (18mm). They list something like IOSS in their website, but I’ve used shipping forwards in the past when I ordered from them.
Other mentions
I need to mention Peter Pig from UK. Their miniatures are smaller, and I’ve only gotten their WW2/SCW miniatures from Minairons, a spanish partner, as they don’t offer IOSS, and they have a very high shipping cost for EU, which makes it prohibiting for me.
Also some vendors I’ve seen but not ordered from are:
Mirliton Miniatures in Italy. They have fantasy and historicals. From their pictures I guess they are close to 18mm.
Baueda miniatures in Italy. They have historicals. From their pictures I guess they are close to 15mm.
Rebel Minis in USA. They have mostly sci-fi and pulp. From what I’ve learned they look like they are close to true 15mm.
Onslaught Miniatures in USA. They have mostly sci-fi. I had gotten a couple of packs from them when I had ordered them from Vanguard Miniatures, but they are true 15mm and wouldn’t fit with the rest of my ranges.
Magister Millitum in UK. They have a great range of miniatures.
Essex Miniatures in UK. They have a great range of miniatures.
Summary
I hope this helps someone who is interested in the 15mm part of the hobby. Being in EU, there are a lot of limitations with respect to availability and the cost of shipping. It used to be easier, but now it looks like it’s getting streamlined again.
Bob are discussing. 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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