Revolutionary Quandary

My next big project is going to be the American War of Independence or the Revolutionary War, AWI for short.

I have never done the AWI before (can't think why as I seem to have done almost everything else).

My first quandary is what scale or size of figures to use. There is an enormous choice, some of which are listed below. I have used a standard line infantry unit as means of measure.

Warlord Games, 28 mm, £18, free postage, 24 close order figures, 6 open order figures, flags, bases, can pick them up at most shows.

Perry Miniatures, 28 mm, £20, free postage, 36 close order figures, flags, bases, can pick them up at most shows.

Kallistra, 12 mm, £6 (£5 in multiples of 6), 32 close order figures, no flags, bases, only at certain shows.

Pendraken, 10 mm, £4.50, 30 close order figures (pack), no flags, no bases, only at certain shows.

Baccus, 6 mm, £5.50, 96 close order figures (4 units), no flags, no bases, only at certain shows.

No clear option here but the smaller sizes are cheaper per figure, no surprises there, but tend to not come with flags or bases.

I know that there are other manufacturers and ranges to consider but I'm trying to keep it simple for the time being. I can always add others in further down the road.

In 28 mm a standard line unit could be 24 figures strong and based on six 40 x 40 mm bases making a unit 240 mm wide.

12 mm equates to 32 figures and four 40 x 20 mm bases making a unit 160 mm wide.

10 mm equates to ~30 figures and four 40 x 20 mm bases making a unit 160 mm wide.

6 mm comes in at 24 figures and one 60 x 30 base making a unit 60 mm wide.

My table is 6 foot by 4 foot or approximately 1800 mm wide. A single line of close order infantry units across the table will be: 28 mm - 7.5 units, 12/10 mm - 11.25 units and 6 mm - 30 units.

Smaller sizes, bigger armies, fairly well known across the hobby (yes, I know, it brings in smaller tables too).

Being an old age pensioner and grand-dad to be makes the budget something to consider.

28 mm, 7.5 units at £18 each totals £135.
12 mm, 11.25 units at £5 totals £56.25.
10 mm, 11.25 units at £4.50 totals £50.63.
6 mm, 30 units at £5.50 for 4 units totals £41.25.

At the end of the day I will probably sample more than one of these options. Apologies if my arithmetic is dodgy.

I have been painting 28mm Napoleonic units for charity sale over the last couple of years and now that the big anniversary of Waterloo has passed it may be a diminishing market. I am quite likely to pick up some Warlord/Perry AWI boxes next weekend at Vapnartak. They will make excellent charity sale objects if I decide not to keep them for myself.

Kallistra, hmm, they didn't easily jump into my awareness for AWI. I have an awful lot of their Medieval/Fantasy figures. I'd best not get any more in the short term.

I wouldn't rush into getting some Pendraken AWI at the moment. I have an absolute ton of their Seven Years War offerings so I am quite familiar with them as a manufacturer.

The Baccus 6 mm figures are intriguing, are they big enough to differentiate Continentals from Militia, I'm not sure, I might pick up a pack or two for a trial run. I have a lot of Peters ACW figures so I am familiar with their tiny size and an appropriate painting style.

The last part of the quandary is what ruleset to use. Black Powder is one obvious choice but I'm not sure about the AWI add-on (Rebellion). At the other end of the rules spectrum there are Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames options and his Horse and Musket generic set.

Are there any other rulesets that I should be considering. My main requirements being simple to learn and play, one versus one, solo, and no massive games.