Using Your Existing Miniatures With Pacific Sky Games Rules

Using Your Existing Miniatures With Pacific Sky Games Rules 

 💡 Your Miniatures Already Belong on This Battlefield 

 One of the most common questions miniature wargamers ask before committing to a new ruleset is whether their existing collection will work with it — and it's a fair concern. Shelves full of carefully painted figures represent real time and money, and nobody wants to hear that their German Panzers or Soviet Guards are suddenly incompatible with a game they're excited about. that using your existing miniatures with Pacific Sky Games rules is not only possible, it's practically the point. PSG publishes systems like Combat HQ 2.5E , PATROL: WWII , and Going Native: Warpath that are designed around historical accuracy and accessible play — not proprietary model ranges that lock you into a single manufacturer's ecosystem. 

 This article breaks down exactly how PSG rulesets approach miniature compatibility, what scale and basing conventions each game works with, and where you have genuine flexibility versus where a little planning helps. Whether you're coming from a Games Workshop collection, a Warlord Games order of battle, or a mix of manufacturers accumulated over years of gaming, you'll find a clear picture of how your figures fit into the Pacific Sky Games catalog — and which titles might become your new go-to systems. 

 🌟 Before You Begin 

 Pacific Sky Games publishes rules-focused wargame systems, which means the rulebooks govern how units behave on the table — not which specific miniatures you must own. Before you pull your existing collection off the shelf and start planning your first game, make sure you have a clear picture of what each system actually requires. 

 
 ✅ A copy of the relevant rulebook: Each PSG title — whether that's PATROL: WWII , Combat HQ 2.5E , or Going Native: Warpath — defines its own basing conventions, unit scales, and force structures. You need the actual rules in hand before assessing whether your miniatures are a fit. 
 ✅ Knowledge of your miniatures' scale: Different manufacturers produce figures at different scales. Knowing whether your collection is 15mm, 28mm, or another size matters when the rules reference movement distances and play area dimensions — PATROL: WWII , for example, is designed around a 4'x4' table with roughly ten miniatures per side. 
 ✅ An understanding of the theatre or period covered: PSG games are historically grounded. Combat HQ focuses on large-scale WWII engagements, while Going Native: Warpath covers Pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas and Pacific. Your existing figures need to at least represent the correct historical context for the game you want to play. 
 ✅ Awareness of the minimum model count: Some systems require very few miniatures to get started. PATROL: WWII runs with as few as ten models per side, so a modest existing collection may be more than enough to field a complete force. 
 ✅ Basing materials if rebasing is needed: Depending on how your miniatures are currently based, you may need to rebase them to match the conventions recommended in the rulebook. Have appropriate bases, filler, and paint on hand before your first session. 
 ✅ Access to any required supplemental content: Games like Combat HQ: Total War 2.5E introduce advanced rules for air power, beach landings, and combat engineering. If your collection includes specialist units — airborne troops, armored vehicles, artillery — confirm the relevant supplement covers those force types before building your roster. 
 ✅ A willingness to use proxies where needed: PSG's systems are designed to be accessible. If your collection doesn't perfectly match every unit type in the rules, proxying with appropriately scaled and themed figures is a widely accepted practice in historical miniature wargaming. 
 
 🌟 Using Your Existing Miniatures With Pacific Sky Games Rules 

 One of the most common questions new players ask before picking up a ruleset is whether they need to buy entirely new miniatures to get started. The short answer is no — Pacific Sky Games publishes rules that are designed to work with miniatures you already own. Whether your collection leans toward 15mm WWII infantry, 28mm pre-Columbian warriors, or anything in between, there is almost certainly a path to getting those figures onto the table with a PSG ruleset. 

 🔢 Step 1: Identify Which Pacific Sky Games Ruleset Fits Your Collection 

 Start by taking stock of what you already own. Pacific Sky Games currently publishes several distinct rulesets — Combat HQ 2.5E and its companion book Combat HQ: Total War 2.5E cover large-scale WWII battles, PATROL: WWII handles squad-level skirmish play, and Going Native: Warpath focuses on pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas and the Pacific. Each game has a different scope, scale, and miniature count, so the right match depends entirely on what you have in your collection. 

 If you own WWII infantry and vehicles, both Combat HQ and PATROL are strong candidates. If your collection includes Native American, Aztec, Inca, or Pacific Northwest tribal figures, Going Native: Warpath was specifically designed to bring those cultures to the tabletop — a space that most historical wargame publishers have historically ignored. Matching your collection to the correct game first saves you from unnecessary rebasing or force-building headaches later. 

 Tip: If you are unsure which ruleset fits your figures, browse the Miniature Wargames collection at pacificskygames.com and read the product descriptions carefully. Each game's description outlines the historical period, the forces involved, and the general scale of play. 
 

 🔢 Step 2: Check the Recommended Miniature Scale for Each Game 

 Miniature wargames are generally written with a specific scale in mind, even when the rules themselves are scale-agnostic. PATROL: WWII is designed for as few as ten miniatures per side on a 4'x4' table, which makes it well-suited to 28mm skirmish collections but equally playable with 15mm or 20mm figures as long as both players agree on consistent measurements. Combat HQ 2.5E is built for larger engagements, so 15mm tends to be the most practical scale for fitting multiple units on a standard gaming surface. 

 Going Native: Warpath accommodates a range of scales given the relative scarcity of pre-Columbian miniatures in the broader hobby market. The rules are written to be flexible enough that players can use whatever scale their collection happens to be in, provided both sides use the same scale for a given game. 

 Warning: Mixing scales within a single force — for example, combining 15mm and 28mm figures in the same army — creates visual inconsistency and can cause confusion during measurement-based rules interactions. Keep each force internally consistent even if both players are using different scales from each other. 
 

 🔢 Step 3: Review the Basing Requirements Before You Rebase Anything 

 Basing conventions vary significantly between rulesets, and rebasing a large collection is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the hobby. Before you pull a single figure off its base, read through the basing section of the relevant PSG rulebook carefully. 

 PATROL: WWII uses individual basing for its skirmish format, which aligns with how most 28mm historical figures are sold and based out of the box. If your infantry are already on individual round or square bases, they are almost certainly ready to use without modification. Combat HQ 2.5E uses a stand-based system where multiple figures share a single base to represent a unit — if your figures are individually based, you have options: rebase them onto multi-figure stands, use movement trays, or agree with your opponent to treat individual bases as equivalent to stands. 

 Going Native: Warpath follows a similar stand-based approach for its warrior units. The rulebook provides guidance on base sizes, but the system is forgiving enough that minor variations in base dimensions rarely affect gameplay in a meaningful way. 

 Tip: Movement trays are one of the best investments for players who want to use individually based figures in stand-based games without committing to a full rebasing project. Magnetic movement trays in particular allow you to quickly group and move figures while keeping them individually removable for casualty tracking. 
 

 🔢Step 4: Match Your Existing Units to the Force Rosters 

 Once you know which game you're playing and how your figures need to be based, the next step is matching what you own to the unit types listed in the force rosters. PSG rulesets use historically grounded unit lists, so the question is whether your miniatures represent the correct troop types for the forces you want to field. 

 For Combat HQ 2.5E , the rosters cover the major WWII combatants — German, Soviet, British Commonwealth, American, and others — with unit entries for infantry, armor, artillery, and support elements. If your collection includes standard WWII infantry and vehicles from any of these nations, you will find corresponding entries in the rosters without difficulty. Specialist units like engineers, recon elements, or heavy artillery may require you to check the Total War 2.5E supplement for the relevant rules. 

 For PATROL: WWII , the squad-level focus means you need fewer distinct unit types. A basic infantry squad, a leader figure, and one or two support weapon teams are enough to field a functional force. Most WWII skirmish collections already contain exactly these elements. 

 For Going Native: Warpath , the rosters are built around the warrior societies, chiefs, and specialist fighters of pre-Columbian cultures. If your collection includes figures from manufacturers like Warlord Games' Antler & Blade range, Eureka Miniatures, or similar historical lines, you will likely find direct matches in the rosters. 
 

  🔢Step 5: Use Proxies Thoughtfully for Gaps in Your Collection 

 No collection perfectly matches every unit type in a rulebook, and PSG's systems are built with that reality in mind. Proxy miniatures — figures that stand in for a unit type they don't literally represent — are a normal and accepted part of historical wargaming. The key is making proxies clear and consistent so that neither player loses track of what a given figure is supposed to represent during play. 

 A practical approach is to designate proxy figures with a small marker — a colored base rim, a piece of tape, or a token placed beside the figure — and agree on the substitution with your opponent before the game begins. This keeps the game moving without confusion and avoids disputes over what a particular model represents mid-game. 

 Where proxies become problematic is when they are visually misleading — for example, using an anti-tank gun model to represent a field artillery piece, when both unit types are present on the table and have meaningfully different rules. In those cases, it's worth sourcing the correct figure or using a clearly differentiated stand-in. 
 

🔢Step 6: Adjust Movement and Range Measurements for Your Scale 

 PSG rulesets publish movement and range distances in inches, calibrated for the recommended play area and miniature scale. If you are playing with a different scale than the default — for example, using 15mm figures with PATROL: WWII instead of 28mm — you will want to discuss with your opponent whether to use the measurements as written or apply a scale conversion. 

 The simplest approach is to play with the measurements as written regardless of scale, which works well when both players are using the same scale. The relative distances between units remain proportionally consistent, and the game plays as designed. A 6" move is a 6" move whether your figures are 15mm or 28mm, and the tactical decisions remain the same. 

 If you prefer a more visually accurate representation — particularly for larger scale figures on smaller tables — a common convention is to substitute centimeters for inches, effectively reducing all distances by roughly 60%. This keeps the table from feeling cramped when using 28mm figures on a smaller play surface. 
 

🔢 Step 7: Confirm Terrain Requirements and Adjust Your Setup 

 Terrain is often overlooked when assessing miniature compatibility, but it matters more than most players expect. PSG rulesets assume a certain density and type of terrain on the table, and the terrain you use needs to be appropriately scaled to your miniatures. 

 For PATROL: WWII , the 4'x4' play area benefits from a moderate terrain density — enough cover to create tactical decisions without blocking movement entirely. Buildings, hedgerows, walls, and woods are the most common terrain types for WWII skirmish play, and most existing terrain collections will serve this game well. The key is ensuring your terrain pieces are scaled appropriately to your miniatures: 28mm figures look awkward crouching behind 15mm-scale walls. 

 For Combat HQ 2.5E , the larger engagement scale means terrain tends to be more sparse and representational. Hills, forests, and villages are marked with area terrain pieces rather than detailed individual buildings, which means your existing terrain collection is likely usable even if it wasn't built specifically for this scale. 

 Going Native: Warpath benefits from terrain that reflects pre-Columbian environments — jungle, open plains, river crossings, and fortified settlements. If your terrain collection is primarily European or WWII-themed, you may need to supplement it with appropriate pieces, or agree with your opponent to use abstract terrain markers for your first few games. 
 

🔢 Step 8: Play a Test Game Before Committing to a Full Rebasing Project 

 Before you invest significant time in rebasing, reorganizing, or expanding your collection for a specific PSG ruleset, play at least one test game using your figures as they are. Use movement trays for stand-based games, treat individual bases as equivalent to stands, and focus on learning the rules rather than achieving a perfect visual presentation. 

 A test game reveals whether the ruleset actually suits your preferred style of play — and whether the miniature compatibility issues you anticipated are as significant as you feared. Many players discover that their existing collection works perfectly well with minimal modification, and that the adjustments they thought were necessary simply aren't. 

 It also gives you a chance to identify the specific gaps in your collection before spending money to fill them. Rather than buying broadly to cover every possible unit type, a test game shows you exactly which unit entries you're missing and which ones you already have covered.