Chinese figures

[russ p]

Without sounding racist  has anyone used those bulk packs of figures for from China? 

I'm going to need quite a few figures including some seated ones for a ferry but don't want to buy them if they are obviously Chinese.  Some look quite garish which would be out of place in 60s Norfolk 

[Oldddudders]

I have loads of them, populating some of my trains. Faces do not look oriental. Size is an issue - they may not be 1:76 - as is colour, but you can quickly tone that down. Ridiculously cheap for what you get. 

[Dungrange]

I wouldn't say they look particularly Chinese, but the moulding isn't that detailed, which I suppose is the reason they seem fairly nondescript.   The pack I have will largely be fitted in buildings along with lights, so all I really need is a human shape to convey the room being occupied when the lights are on.  Modelu figures are too expensive for that purpose.

 

If you get painted ones, the painting is usually very poor and can't really be described as anything other than partially painted.  Cast them in yellow plastic and you have Chinese people, the ones that are a more 'flesh' coloured plastic are perhaps meant to be European, but the ones I got often only had one colour of paint on each figure - ie a woman's skirt was painted bright blue, but the rest of the figure was just yellow plastic.  If you're lucky, there will be a tiny dab of paint on the top of the head to represent hair, but it's just as likely to have run across the face.  Therefore be prepared to repaint them yourself.

[Dungrange]

The ones that I purchased are allegedly 1:75, which is an architectural scale.  I avoided the ones labelled as H0, as these are likely to be nominally 1:87.

[GWR-fan]

I have used many of the seated figure packs and have no issue with them (once their legs are cut off).    When I used to buy "G" scale figures some of the mouldings and paint application far exceeded the traditional (expensive) European brands like Preiser and LGB and around 1/10 of the cost of those figures.   

[GWR-fan]

Double posting.  Odd that when I posted my response the posting (previous posting above)  timed out and an error was reported.  I assumed that the posting never happened and lo and behold it posted twice.

Edited February 17, 2020 by GWR-fan
Information

[TonyMay]

yes, because all Chinese figures are going to come wearing conical straw coolie hats (/sarcasm)

[ianmacc]

On 19/02/2020 at 03:41, TonyMay said:

yes, because all Chinese figures are going to come wearing conical straw coolie hats (/sarcasm)

There was no need for that aggressive comment. We all know very well what he was asking which is whether they had characteristically Eastern physical features as it is clear from pictures of the figures online that they are in generic ‘western’ dress. 
 

As it happens in small scale it wouldn’t be that obvious anyway. 
 

I own a lot of them on my layout and the main issue is their gaudy clothing colours rather than any ethnicity issues. I’ve actually painted a lot of mine in African skin tones to represent the community makeup of the era and locaility I model.  

 

Regarding 1/75 vs 1/87 figures (or indeed 1/72) there is no such thing as a ‘1/76‘ person. Man made things are a fixed scale but flora and fauna is varied and I mix and match randomly. A 5ft skinny guy is represented by a 1/87 figure whilst a 6ft 6 rugby player is 1/72! 

 

I find that the Chinese figures are great for gatherings/crowds in the same way that their cars are great for car transporters but that you need ‘feature‘ figures by the more expensive model companies in cameos to balance it out. 

Edited February 22, 2020 by ianmacc
Pic of figures