Scaling It Down - Part 3 - A look at 20mm Panzer Lehr Miniatures

It has been nearly 2 and a half years since I did anything with my 20mm, 1/72 WW2 Project.  Please click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2 of this project.  It has certainly been a long time between drinks.  During this time I have painted hundreds of miniatures and I continue to lose the battle of effective storage solutions.  I am not leaving 28mm WW2 I am just going to cut back on terrain options for 28mm and focus more on the benefits of 20mm.  I will continue to paint 28mm WW2!  Some of you may recall I have basically all but ended my relationship with MDF and am mostly looking at 3D printing as a means of producing terrain.

I have written an article for Paint All the Minis addressing why 3D Printed Terrain is so great.  Comparing my Knights of Dice 28mm Normandy Terrace to a 3D Printed Normandy Terrace in 20mm is significant.  The 3D Prints in 20mm are almost a quarter of the size as a Knights of Dice Normandy Terrace.  Storing multiple Knights of Dice Terraces was going to be problematic to me. 20mm 3d Printed Terraces... no problem!  Moving on, this article will be discussing the options for the German Panzer Lehr Division in 20mm.

There are three main options for doing Panzer Lehr in 20mm being:

• Adler Miniatures
• Wartime Miniatures - Bought out by Simon's Soldiers
• Elhiem Figures 

I have previously written articles for Adler and Wartime.  I will write my thoughts on the ranges here.

Wartime Miniatures - now Simon's Soldiers

These Australian manufactured miniatures have a broad range of options covering the Panzer Lehr.  They have enough options to create a platoon with plenty of variety and support weapons, specifically a medium mortar, panzerschreck, LMG and MMG options.  Wartime Miniatures gives you a terrific option for a HQ with some Officers Reading Maps, a radio operator and some NCOs.  

My main criticism with Wartime's sculpts is they are slightly on the smaller size when compared to AB Figures, Adler Miniatures and Elhiem Figures.  At this scale it doesn't matter too much and doesn't bother me however it may be a contributing factor for other hobbyists. Saying this given the variety of the range you can almost exclusively use the figures for whatever ruleset you wish to play.  Cost wise, they are by far the cheapest however postage will vary depending where in the world you are.   

In terms of variety Wartime sticks out from the rest as there is some really characterful sculpts.

Wartime Miniatures offer a nice variety of poses

Officer Options for Wartime Miniatures

NCOs and a Radio Operator 

Medium Mortar

Panzerschreck Team

Adler Miniatures

Adler Miniatures produce a very nice 20mm WW2 range.  Their German Infantry range is not specifically for the Panzer Lehr and it focuses on the Panzer Wrap aka Panzerjacke. This is what the Panzer Lehr was kitted out with so essentially these figures are perfect for the Panzer Lehr.

The thing I love about the Adler Range is the sculpting.  The proportions are more realistic and on par with AB Figures and Elhiem Figures.  Although there is not as much variety as Wartime, I tend to prefer Adler.  They are more expensive than Wartime and the website is dated however saying this they are very responsive for when you order.  Don't let the website put you off the miniatures as the quality of the sculpts certainly makes up for it.

Adler also produce decals for collar tabs.  I initially used these however they are so small and fiddly I prefer just painting the collar tabs on.  Adler is expanding into the 20mm WW2 market and I am excited to see what they produce - spoiler - their Panzer Lehr isn't the only range of theirs I have in 20mm.

Adler Miniatures have some terrific well proportioned sculpts

My most recently Painted Adler Panzer Lehr - MG42 Teams

I love the advancing poses of the Adler MG42 teams

Elhiem Figures

Elhiem specialises in 20mm Miniatures.  They have a fantastic range covering many periods throughout the 20th century and beyond.  Their Panzer Lehr was some of their first sculpts and has been discontinued and is due for replacement.  This is great news as the early sculpts are no reflection on what they are currently producing now.  Do a google image search for their Panzer Lehr and you will see what I am talking about.  

The range did start to get replaced from what I can gather however was stalled.  Elhiem offered a type of crowd funding for some of their projects and I have essentially funded the Panzer Lehr range to be priorities.  It only cost me 25 GBP but I think it was 25 pounds well spent to support a great product.  Elhiem tell me the range is due soon.  I am hoping they are released in 2020 but once they release I am certain to grab them although I currently have enough painted Panzer Lehr to fulfill a basic force for multiple rulesets.  

Cost wise Elhiem are terrific value for money and postage from the UK to Australia is very reasonable and almost cheaper than buying locally.  

Elhiem currently has about 7 sculpts available for the Panzer Lehr.  I am hoping Elhiem will produce a full range that will rival Wartime's range.  The 7 sculpts I have are really nice and are very well proportioned.  I am confident that Elhiem will produce the "go to" range for 20mm Panzer Lehr and will be the best sculpts out there.

A preview of what is to come from Elhiem Figures.

Miniature Comparison

As stated, Adler and Elhiem go really well together whilst Wartime is slightly smaller.  Again I will stress at this scale it doesn't matter too much.  If this is an issue I would recommend people go with Wartime until we see what Elhiem releases and I am confident the release will be worth the wait. 

Comparison of 20mm Panzer Lehr Miniatures Left to Right - Wartime aka Simon's Soldiers, Adler, Elhiem

Elhiem are the largest but are a really nice match with Adler and gives you lots of variety

Conclusion

Unlike 28mm, we are rather spoiled for choice in 20mm for the Panzer Lehr and it is only going to get better with Elhiem replacing their range.  Let's hope that Adler expands on theirs.  Each manufacturer has their merits and I can highly recommend them all.  You can have a very unique and aesthetically pleasing Panzer Lehr force in 20mm by simply mixing the ranges.