Scale figures

[theoldmansminion]

hi guys,

getting really frustarted with figures!

 

i've got some Dapol oo figures, painted them up...looked great, then brought some preiser figures, described as OO/HO, painted them up....and yes, they are all about 2 to 3 mm smaller than the Dapol ones...aaarrrggghh...it wouldn't be so bad, mixed up on the layout, but if you put 4 or 5 of the same make  in a group, they either look like a group of giants ...or dwarfs!

 

 

i then got some Hornby figs...and yep, they are smaller still

 

 

any one got any ideas about a range of figures...quite large in range....and consitent in scale?

 

 

i would use the Dapol ones, the detailis nice, as is the scale...but i'm gonna need loads of figs...and the're just isn't enough in the range

 

 

any help would be greatly appreciated

[kandc_au]

If you are looking at consistency I would suggest look for the Chinese ones and buy in bulk.

 

Khris

[marc smith]

Don't forget, when talking about consistency
that the human race isn't particularly so....

I myself am around 6' and was at a show recently,

with a pal who stands 6'4 1/2" and another of 5'2"

that's over 4mm difference in scale size - ish....

A lot of really well respected modellers use perspective modelling techniques
you can place larger figures toward the front of a scene,
and smaller ones further back in the scene....

Cheers

Marc

[shortliner]

Preiser may be described as OO/HO, but are to HO (3.5mm) scale - unlike with many other items described in the same manner which are to OO (4mm) scale - it doesnt sound a lot but it adds 3mm to an HO size 6'figure and an increase in bulk too!

[theoldmansminion]

cheers for posts guys

 

 

yeah, its the bulk on the figure

 

4 Dapol on the left, 3 presier (unpainted) on the right, even taking into consideration the basing on the Dapol figures, there is still a massive difference

[marc smith]

Also, you should note that the 4 Dapol figures are mounted on bases, which must be 1 1/2 - 2 mm thick / high...
There's no variation there which is inconsistent with the human race....

The detail on those old Dapol / Airfix figures really is still superb!
A product which has stood the test of time so well....

Marc
 

EDIT: A colleague just popped in to my office
she's about 4'10" and made her other colleague of about 5'3" look positively tall....

 

[wamwig]

_{Preiser also do some useful 1/72 scale figures which are more compatible with the Dapol ones, as are those from Dart Castings and Pete Goss and the Bachmann figures, as well as some from other more military orientated ranges, which can yield some surprisingly useful figures sometimes, the Preiser HO figures can still be used but their positioning needs some careful thought, mine are mostly either inside buildings or to the rear of the layout where their lack of stature is generally less noticeble!}

[BernardTPM]

The detail on those old Dapol / Airfix figures really is still superb!

A product which has stood the test of time so well....

Actually the Airfix and Dapol figures are from different tools; it wasn't just the bases (Airfix - rectangular block, Dapol - near elliptical, tapered) that changed. When I get a new camera I'll try to take some comparative shots. In most cases the differences are just detail, but a few have slightly altered positions.

[Removed a/c]

I just use the Presier figure full stop. Always have always will, they are good looking figures and reasonably priced. When you look at the layout as a whole (as we usually tend to do) I don't think the size becomes an issue. 

[allan downes]

 

Having built a massive town center layout for a customer back in the 70/80s,he needed about 2,000 figures to populate it and so as to keep it uniform he used all prieser and merton figures and the most realistic figures you could get then and even now.

 

Most figures, and especially those cast in white metal look like disfigured mutants that have fallen out of the waste chute of a passing space ship and have ruined many a good modelling scene, mine included !

 

What never fails to amuse me is that the manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on developing a new loco for the mass market then stick a loco crew in the box consisting of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and his cousin, the Phantom of the Opera with shiny faces in shiny overalls!!! - and the larger the scale, the uglier they get - just check out Bachmanns Big Train loco crew - enough to bring old ladies out in a rash and have kids clinging to railings!

 

And not to mention the old Triang and Slaters one dimensional 'flat pack' effigees!

 

Cheers.

Allan.

[JeffP]

I couldn't agree more, Allan.

[Removed a/c]

Just had some pics in my facebook feed of Her Majesty and the Grenadier Guards. Granted they are wearing their bearskins but there are a couple of the lads that are clearly head and shoulders above our Queen. 

[theoldmansminion]

Having built a massive town center layout for a customer back in the 70/80s,he needed about 2,000 figures to populate it and so as to keep it uniform he used all prieser and merton figures and the most realistic figures you could get then and even now.

 

Most figures, and especially those cast in white metal look like disfigured mutants that have fallen out of the waste chute of a passing space ship and have ruined many a good modelling scene, mine included !

 

What never fails to amuse me is that the manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on developing a new loco for the mass market then stick a loco crew in the box consisting of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and his cousin, the Phantom of the Opera with shiny faces in shiny overalls!!! - and the larger the scale, the uglier they get - just check out Bachmanns Big Train loco crew - enough to bring old ladies out in a rash and have kids clinging to railings!

 

And not to mention the old Triang and Slaters one dimensional 'flat pack' effigees!

 

Cheers.

Allan.

 

 

yeah i've got some oo,( now they could be 1/76, or 72nd, or 87, in realtion to the Dapol figs, which are are i belive 25mm, which is if i'm correct 1.72nd, which was the whole idea of that particular scale in the  first place) white metal figs as well....stunningly 2D...from the front they look ok, from the side....well there is no side!

 

 

you mentioned merton, might have to look at this....and airfix....though i seem to remmber these as being that god appauling rubber plastic stuff, ok, unless you have to knock them, then the paint falls off.

 

i've had a look at the o scale figures...in the main, worthless...for such  large figure, the detail is atrocious, is it 1/35th or 32nd?

 

 

actually, sod it, i'm going over to TT...dont need figs then

[Clive Mortimore]

How about making your own?

Tools, craft knife, pencil, scrap plastic card, Airfix (or other) 1/76th scale person and cup with water in it. Materials Milliput.

 

Place the Airfix figure on the plastic card and using the pencil mark his hieght, where shoulders, and crouch are as refernce points.

 

Mix a small amount of Milliput and roll into a susage shape and place on plastic card.

 

With the craft knife shape a head, the arms and legs using the reference points. THis will be the start of the front of the figure. I make the front then once set I do the back.

 

Cut arms to right length and shape the body.

 

With the point of the knife make two dents where the eye sockets are.

 

Gently shape the nose, mouth and chin. I find dipping the knife in the cup of water, and using it while wet makes the Milliput  more malleable.

 

After doing the face I then start to clothe my figure and move her in to a natural pose.

 

As I am working I am rmoving bits of Milliput, these are reused for things like her hair, handbag etc. She now left to set.

 

This lady has set on her plastic card backing. She is peeled off the plastic card.

 

Using the left over milliput from the figure just started the back is slowly built up. The water from wet craft knife comes in very handy when attaching the set Milliput to that still in its plastic state.

 

Nearly done. Once set I grt out my needle files and do the final shaping.

 

When finished the two being made can join their friends on a shopping trip to the city.

 

Blokes can be made as well.

[brightspark]

I have been looking at the different scale figures as well. I also was working under the assumption that people are of different heights and that it wouldn't matter however when you put the figures side by side, it seems to stick out that the HO really did look like a different scale to the OO ones.

 

So I guess it goes back to looking at the prototype. What I have noticed is that people are indeed different heights and shapes but some parts of the body are about the same size. I have been experimenting by cutting down some Dapol/Airfix figures to prove the theory. Sorry no pics yet.

 

However it looks to me that the head is about the same size no matter how high the person. There is also something about the width of the body perhaps at the shoulders (being proportional to head) and perhaps the pelvis proportion.

 

To follow on from Alans thought, perhaps it is time we studied the prototype.

 

What are your observations? Am I warm?

[BernardTPM]

you mentioned merton, might have to look at this....and airfix....though i seem to remmber these as being that god appauling rubber plastic stuff, ok, unless you have to knock them, then the paint falls off.

Most of the Airfix figures, aimed at the wargaming market, were in a flexible plastic. In railway terms this included the very early 'Station Accessories' set (which were small H0 scale anyway) and the later 'Civilians' set. The last two figure sets, introduced around 1979/80 were 'Railway Workmen' and 'Platform Figures'. These were moulded in hard styrene, usually cream in colour though I have some in grey as well. Dapol ones are grey too, but a slightly lighter shade. Incidentally, Dapol mould the old Airfix 'Station Accessories' in styrene now.

[Fat Controller]

Two other points :-

People are generally taller (and heavier-set) now than they were a couple of generations ago, which is worth bearing in mind when choosing figures to suit the period you're modelling.

There's some regional variation in stature; when I've visited my old home town in South-West Wales, I've been struck by the fact that I'm above the normal height, whereas in Kent, I'm distinctly average.

 

One thing I've discovered is that the plastic Airfix used for figures becomes brittle with age; when sorting out some livestock for the Reverend's layout, I realised that many of the sheep only had three legs..

[kandc_au]

 

One thing I've discovered is that the plastic Airfix used for figures becomes brittle with age; when sorting out some livestock for the Reverend's layout, I realised that many of the sheep only had three legs..

That was just the workers avoiding charges of theft, yet still having their Sunday Roast

 

Khris

 

edited to sign post.

[PhilJ W]

What never fails to amuse me is that the manufacturers spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on developing a new loco for the mass market then stick a loco crew in the box consisting of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and his cousin, the Phantom of the Opera.

 

Cheers.

Allan.

Isn't that a typical loco crew?

[Fat Controller]

Just had some pics in my facebook feed of Her Majesty and the Grenadier Guards. Granted they are wearing their bearskins but there are a couple of the lads that are clearly head and shoulders above our Queen. 

Not entirely surprising; the Brigade of Guards has always included height amongst the recruitment criteria. Even when my uncle joined the Welsh Guards in 1940, there was a six-foot minimum height restriction- and there was a war on...

HM isn't particularily tall, from the photos I've seen.

[allan downes]

 

I've took the liberty of putting up a station scene that hopefully illustrates the reality of Preiser figures. These I consider are the best 'RTR' figures on the market and come ready painted in MATT colours that don't flake off !

 

They are also available en mass and unpainted on a large sprew and though quite expensive, like everything else, you only get what you pay for and after hundreds of hours of work creating the scene as shown below, I wasn't about to ruin it with a white metal version of the Adams Family!

[freebs]

spot on Allan!

[allan downes]

Another station scene again showing the reality of Preiser figures, natural stances, all limbs in proportion, no glossy suits, skirts or overcoats and the range is endless - painted or unpainted.

 

[allan downes]

Even the gee gees look like gee gees but I have to admit that I'm not too sure whether this is Preiser or not, and I have a feeling that it came as a complete white metal 'kit' comprising of horse, coalman, cart, scales and sacks of coal - does any one recognise it?

 

[allan downes]

Here is the last example of population explosion ( I really do promise!) where the client went into Preiser overkill!

 

However, since this was in O gauge, I can't guarantee that all the figures were Preiser where, under close scrutiny, some have suspicious looking origins!