A comparison of 15mm modern OEF/OIF figures.

When I first started to get into 15mm modern figures there was no one place to go to look at the ranges side by side and see if they fit well together. I found three manufacturers so far that have good 15mm ranges. They are peter pig, Cannon Fodder minis and QRF.  Let me skip to the punch line real quick and just say all three ranges are size-wise compatible with each other, and have enough variation that you can put together  a real nice force between  them. All three sell their packs with multiple poses.

Peter Pig

I buy my Peter Pig guys from Brookhurst Hobbies. These guys have great service and any time I've ordered from them it has been at my doorstep in well under a week. Peter Pig has no modern US range per se. However they sell heads with fritz helmets, fritz helmets with goggles as well as other types. This leads to the simple conversion of twisting off the old head from the mini and with a little drill and xacto knife replacing it with a new hood. this is nice since you have the heads looking in different locations which individualizes all your guys. For the actual figures I mostly use the IDF range. They have a line of IDF w/M16 which works great as does all their guys. The figures are easy to work with and well detailed with kit radios etc.. I also used some of their Vietnam range, in particular M60 gunners and Snipers. (I use the IDF LMG for M249 SAW guys and teh M60s for M240b guys.) Between all the options in the IDF range you could really stop right there. NOte: You don't get any 203s! (Though there are M79s in vietnam range. Anyways you can make 203s easy enough from scratch) One note about Peter Pig figures: The guys have their sleeves rolled up, which you don't really do these days. (Just a caveat for the stickler types.)

Peter Pig 15s from the AK47 range (with heads replaced by fritz helmets w/goggles). The M60 gunner and snipers are from the Vietnam range, the rest from their IDF range

As far as enemies go, Peter Pig has a whole PLO range. Between these and their African militia range (which can double as Somlais or just plain clothes enemies, you really have a nice mix of options. They also carry some nice vehicles especially the Toyota "technical". And if you've ever been in the region (Gulf) you'd know that it seems almost everyone drives  a white toyota pick up over there!.

Peter Pig insurgents from their PLO range

Cannon Fodder Miniatures

Cannon Fodder make s nice range of modern wars figures, to include SF guys, Rangers African and Afgan militias. They are a tad lighter and a microbit taller than peter pigs but hardly noticeable and are kitted out with M4s carrying all the latest attachments as well as knee pads, some of the rangers have holes drilled in their helmets for I presume, night vision goggles but these didn't come with the packs and I didn't see how to order them separately though they are easy  enough to make from scratch.

The shining star of Cannon Fodder minis IMO are their great Afgans. These guys have many great poses. They even make Osama! Be careful not to drop him on the carpet as he's notoriously hard to find.

QRF
QRF Makes a wide range of modern vehicles and minis. These guys are a little heftier and less well sculpted. The US guys are all carrying large Molle packs. However they have some good poses and fit in great with the rest of the figures. And they paint up nice and with a black wash the detail comes out in the packs.  I also like their Special Forces guys.  Note on the radioman alone I will probably cut down that antenna as it's too thick and leave a smaller antenna. then it'll look like the LOS antenna on a  satcom. There's no goggles on these guys but some of the figures were amenable to new heads form peter pig(see the RTO below.)



Here are the three ranges standing together for side by side comparison: Cannon Fodder-Peter Pig-QRF.


Vehicles
Honestly the first thing to do is peruse your local toy store. Matchbox used to make a range of bradleys that went for like ninety nine cents which are great for 15mm with a repaint. The matchbox M1A1s are too small but the Johhny Lightning M1s are perfect 1/100 scale and cheaper already painted by half than QRF white metal M1s. I filled out the holes in my range from QRF with Hummers (M2 and Mk19), little birds and LAVs . (No Strykers around yet.) While there are UH60s out there in 1/100 they're hard to find. Believe it or not I found some UH60 pencil sharpners die casts on ebay which work great! In all you can't go wrong with the quality and variety of the QRF vehicle range.

15mm vehicles from left to right: Johhny Lightning M1, QRF Hummer (Mk19), QRF M1A1, QRF Hummer(M2), Pencil Sharpner UH60 (background), QRf LAV, Matchbox M2 Bradley.


Well hopefully that helps anyone looking to get into moderns. Here's a few action pics:
Wounded man being attended too while waiting for the medevac.

Obstacle Clearing

Somali Mob on the rampage!