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Best figure manufacturer?

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  • Member since
    March 2004
  • From: Kincheloe Michigan
Posted by Mikeym_us on Thursday, July 30, 2009 7:54 PM
 SMJmodeler wrote:

Guys: I am an armor guy whose figure painting skills have moved up from crappy to lousy...But I continue to try to add fig's to give my builds some scale and context.  I'm to the point now where I really need to make a serious effort to improve my skills and get my figures to look "the part" or not add them at all.  I have only worked on Tamiya fig's and from what I understand they are not the best...so to speak.

So what mfr. do you recommend?  what should I expect to pay per figure?  I need some good US WWII figs for some upcoming builds to go with a Stuart, Lee, Sherman...do you have any thoughts on ones I should check out?

Thanks for the help.

SMJmodeler

I think I would go with the Dragon set seeing as the uniforms never changed much during the war. BTW the Dragon set was made for the Sherman but I don't see a problem using some of the fig in a dio with a Lee or a Stuart.

On the workbench: Dragon 1/350 scale Ticonderoga class USS BunkerHill 1/720 scale Italeri USS Harry S. Truman 1/72 scale Encore Yak-6

The 71st Tactical Fighter Squadron the only Squadron to get an Air to Air kill and an Air to Ground kill in the same week with only a F-15   http://photobucket.com/albums/v332/Mikeym_us/

  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Bournemouth UK
Posted by Bodge on Thursday, July 30, 2009 3:03 PM
Priesser and mig do some nice 72 scale and i also have some nice metal ones but dont know the make as they are in clear plastic bags and i got them from a model show and cant remember the manufacturer.
  • Member since
    November 2004
  • From: derbyshire england
Posted by craig.mason on Thursday, July 30, 2009 2:41 AM
Are there any 1/72 scale figures you would recommend previously i have used revell and airfix figures and currently i am using caesar figures.
  • Member since
    January 2008
  • From: Bournemouth UK
Posted by Bodge on Sunday, July 26, 2009 2:01 PM

You can make most of the leading figures look good if you put a Hornet head on it be it a plastic figure or a resin one the hornet heads are hard to beat.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Oregon
Posted by falschimjager on Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:33 PM

 Boba Fett wrote:
I've only used Tamiya figs in plastic, and the new ones are pretty good. Now compared to that resin D-Day bunker dio made by Jaguer...

How much better than the old ones? I haven't bought taimya for 3 or so years. and mostly it was the older stuff than.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Saturday, July 25, 2009 6:29 AM
its probably what i need...get "crackin"! Laugh [(-D] funny thing is i almost landed right there a few months ago hans...was looking at a job at kinsey near des moine!! but here i am...Grumpy [|(].
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2008
  • From: Iowa
Posted by Hans von Hammer on Saturday, July 25, 2009 1:09 AM

Too bad we don't reside closer together... It'd take a book-length post to tell you how I do it, but about an hour and a half to show you at the bench...

Maybe I should try to make a Youtube video, lol..

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, July 24, 2009 7:00 PM
see while i can paint them, i give people like you hans all the credit in the workd for "making your own"! i've tried a couple of times and got semi good results but my motto is y cut'em if ya dont have to? i realize y you do hence the credit! Bow [bow]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
  • Member since
    June 2008
  • From: Iowa
Posted by Hans von Hammer on Friday, July 24, 2009 6:45 PM

As long as you want to let the manufacturers dictate what poses you're gonna use, I reckon there's some decent resin figures and such...  Verlinden makes some of, IMHO, the best ones.  But I buy damn few of 'em, simply because I can't stand being locked down into using the same poses everyone else is using...

Buying you some Tamiya, Revell/IRC, and Dragon sets, you can afford to have a lot of figures to select choice body parts from and create your own poses, which adds much more flexibility to a diorama-builder's story-telling abilities... By buying some after-market heads, you can create many more "personalities" as well...

I know that there's some guys here that are absolute masters at figure-painting, and that their work is, to say the least, outstanding, but the truth of the matter is that you don't have to create figures that you'd swear were about to talk to you in order to tell a good story with them... Base-color, with some shadow and highlight, a face with a five o'clock shadow, some shadow, and well-placed slits for eyes can be as effective as anyone else's work... You just have to remember to CWR (crawl, walk, run) when it comes to figure painting...  A pair of High-dollar figures will not save your diorama if they have a crap paint-job... On the other hand, cheap figures, well-posed & placed, with well-done paint-jobs can be the saving grace of an otherwise mediocre diorama...

My suggestion is to forego the high-dollar figures, buy up a half-dozen or so Tamiya or Dragon figure sets of at least 4 figures each (6-8 would be better), a good razor saw, pin-vise with a #78 bit (for drilling holes to insert wire "joints"), putty, and start chopping up your squaddies at the joints...  If you can get 4 or 5 good poses built out of a dozen figures, you're about par for the course on figure conversions, and no one will have any figures like yours anywhere...  And don't forget to ordder some generic heads... They'll go a long way for little money...

Oh yeah, one more thing... Don't sweat whether you're doing "modern" figures of WW2 or whatever.. Although the uniforms change, anatomy doesn't...Also,adding action & drama to your dioramas is easy when you learn to keep your figures in off-balance poses (even mid-air sometimes)... Quiet scenes, although usually more effective than "shoot 'em ups", can get old after awhile (how many mail calls/map-readings/busted track/flat tire/taking a leak/ dioramas can one do, anyway?), so don't be afraid to get a little crazy now & then...

 

 

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Friday, July 24, 2009 6:16 PM
I know they do jack prices but these figures arre like 7.99 fo 2 alpine figures or 2.99 for platoon figures
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Massachusetts
Posted by ajlafleche on Friday, July 24, 2009 6:01 PM

 figure freak wrote:
yes but go to squadron, they have a major figgy sale goin on right now just go to squadron savings and on criteria got to figures-military and scale 1/35 and last time i checked thee were a ton of figgies on sale

Be cautious here. They are notorious for jacking up the retail to make the del seem sweeter. OI recently bought the Young 75mm LRDG figure for $30 +shipping. Not a bad deal, it lists elsewhere for $55-$60. They had theirs listed at $90. If you see something you like, look around at the other figure sites before committing to a purchase.

Remember, if the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy.

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: clinton twp, michigan
Posted by camo junkie on Friday, July 24, 2009 4:49 PM
i dont know, i've only done modern figures but i started using new world miniatures resin figs and they are incredible!! just one more line in a long one for you to consider! Smile [:)]
"An idea is only as good as the person who thought of it...and only as brilliant as the person who makes it!!"
Mic
  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: AusTx, Live Music Capitol of the World
Posted by Mic on Friday, July 24, 2009 4:44 PM

In addition to the aforementioned manufacturers, I also recommend S&T for resin US figs, and TANK for resin Germans and Russians. Jaguar and Hobby Fan can also be good, sometimes. Here's a good site for browser-window shipping:

Colorado Miniatures

 

 

 

Steve M.

On the workbench: every tool, paint, brush, glue I own

  • Member since
    May 2008
  • From: Wherever the hunt takes me
Posted by Boba Fett on Friday, July 24, 2009 4:08 PM
I've only used Tamiya figs in plastic, and the new ones are pretty good. Now compared to that resin D-Day bunker dio made by Jaguer...

  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, July 24, 2009 3:56 PM
ALPINE, I think is the best figgy maker out there...and they have a few cool sets of US Tankers...
  • Member since
    August 2007
  • From: Toronto
Posted by BGuy on Friday, July 24, 2009 3:13 PM
Just a thought, but since you're a novice figgie guy like me, I'd recomend you try a couple of 120mm projects.  The large size gives you a lot more room to work with (1/35 is hard to work with sometimes) and you get a more impressive product when you're done.

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:43 PM
yes but go to squadron, they have a major figgy sale goin on right now just go to squadron savings and on criteria got to figures-military and scale 1/35 and last time i checked thee were a ton of figgies on sale
  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Schroon Lake, NY
Posted by SMJmodeler on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:40 PM
resin or plastic...doesn't matter.  I understand that resin has nicer detail...but more $$$...correct?

  • Member since
    June 2009
  • From: Joplin, Mo
Posted by figure freak on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:36 PM
warriors is up there in my top czech isnt too bad either oh and platoon makes awsome detailed figgies, for plastic i think dragon gen2 is the best as far as they go
  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Las Vegas, Nevada
Posted by model maniac 96 on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:14 PM

Well, Alpine makes some good figures, and DML does some good guys, even more so if you get their Gen2 figures, what era are you lookin for?  1943? 1944?

     Hope that was of help, Jim

"Veni, Vidi, Vici" Julius Caesar: I came, I saw, I conquered.
  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:13 PM
In plastic there is not a lot to choose from, either Tamiya or Dragon. The Dragon US tank crew set is pretty decent. In Resin the field opens up a lot more. I really like Ultracast, but their line of GIs is limited as they concentrate on Commonwealth subjects primarily. Verlindens are decent, but Warriors look better to me.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Schroon Lake, NY
Best figure manufacturer?
Posted by SMJmodeler on Friday, July 24, 2009 2:02 PM

Guys: I am an armor guy whose figure painting skills have moved up from crappy to lousy...But I continue to try to add fig's to give my builds some scale and context.  I'm to the point now where I really need to make a serious effort to improve my skills and get my figures to look "the part" or not add them at all.  I have only worked on Tamiya fig's and from what I understand they are not the best...so to speak.

So what mfr. do you recommend?  what should I expect to pay per figure?  I need some good US WWII figs for some upcoming builds to go with a Stuart, Lee, Sherman...do you have any thoughts on ones I should check out?

Thanks for the help.

SMJmodeler

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