Getting Started In Figures

you should try 1/72 scale i have seen some people do super work on them

and it will really test your skills (and maybe your patiences)

I have done nothing but 1/35 54mm (no thats not true I did one 1/20 space marine that I really like).  I started doing them to go with armor but I will spend a good bit of time just on the figures.  I have recently started on major conversion so that I can build 1/35 Colonial Marines from the movie Aliens.  I have to say that I like that I can "hide" some mistakes with the smaller scale.  What I mean is that some details can hint at what they are instead of being.  I don't think I could get away from that in the larger scale.  Plus their cheaper.

Grizz

Cost was how I got into sculpting. It helped that I had a flair for the art, of course, but for the cost of one single resin 1/16th figure, I can buy a one pound kit of Magic Sculpt and make dozens of 1/16th figures of anything I darn well please. Of course I realize not everyone has that ability, but that was a big factor, in my younger years, for trying it out and discovering that I could actually do it. It was definitly a skill born, in part, of neccessity.

 Like I said, a good white metal figure in 54mm can cost almost as much as a low end 1/16th scale figure. But if you're doing mainly modern stuff, the Tamiya/DML/ect. route does it in a pinch for money's sake. Though a lot of the resin companies are starting to put out some really nice non modern stuff now. I didn't get into older stuff until about a year after I focused on figures, and that was after I branched off into other scales and had started toying with sculpting. If you're into Napoleonics, Midieval and anything other than modern day, Tamiya and DML aren't going to be able to help, other than Tamiya's 47 Ronin Samurai sets and DML's Civil War sets.

Plymonkey,

Yes, I started down the dark, dark path to figures by adding figures to my armor. A 1/32nd late 1944 Konigtiger is a LOT more interesting with a crew and say, tankriders, than just the tank along. I love history and always want my models to tell a story, so adding figures was a matter of time.

Then I realized that you could go in a LOT of different directions with figures alone. For example, I did a small diorama called A Close Call with a 4x6" base, five mixed Dragon/Tamiya 1/32nd Marines, a tent and some misc small stuff and a scratchbuilt 500 lb bomb. You can look at it and tell right away from the poses that the two lucky survivors are regaling some Marine buddies about their narrow escape. But, just as easily, I could have made them Wehrmacht troops or WW1 or even Iraqi soldiers from the current fun-and-games.

I like 1/16th (or 120mm if you like) because the larger scale permits much greater detailing than 54mm. My only regret is that Verlinden figures are so expensive.

I stumbled into figures in hte 54mm-1/35 range in teh late 70's with Historex, Tamiya, Airfix and Italeri ans my sources. I've tried a few 120 but concentrate now on )ostensibly) 54mm. For a newbie, I'd suggest some of hte newer Dragon and Tamiya figures, lots of bang for the buck, then move into eras you find interesting as you become more skilled in this dark art. 

I made the jump from armor to figures back in 1993 and I went straight to 120mm (1/16th). I got into 70mm, 90mm, 54mm (1/32) and other scales too, but the first figures I did were Verlinden 120mm. My first original figures were also 120mm as well. Did you do figures with your armor? That's what got me started in figures.

If you get into any subjects other than modern, you'll still end up spending a fair amount of money in 54mm, especially for accesories, since much of what's out there are made of white metal. Though, it's still not as much as for 120mm or larger.

I'd try a little of everything and see what works best for you and what you enjoy the most. I buy a particular figure for a variety of reasons, but above all, I buy it because it interests me. Scale doesn't usually play a factor.