Does size matter? - French Indian wars (1 Viewer)

[NZGary]

Well the answer is inevitably 'it depends?' There has been some dialogue on these forums concerning the size of the TG French Indian War figures and their smaller scale compared with say Frontline, JJDs or WB. For some collectors this presents a problem as collectors may like their figures to match fairly well to create realistic dioramas or just look good on a shelf. Fair enough I say. Go with one size or style and stick with it.

I suppose I take a more liberal view in that I look at every figure in my collection as an individual mini work of art. Of course some are better than others. My passion is to collect a bit of everything particularly eras, conflicts and armies through the ages but also size (within a rough 1/32 to 1/30 range) and even gloss and matte. I am picky in that the figures have to be metal but beyond that I am not fussy.

I like to mix and match and although I am not that creative I do like to experiment a bit with set ups and displays. I take the view that people come in all shapes and sizes, careful positioning of figures can help mitigate size and style variations and of course art is not an exact science. Some collectors like to historically as accurate as they can - I say good on em. But I wasn't at Marathon, Marston Moor, Gettysburg or the Western Front so I couldn't tell you what is totally authentic or not.

I suppose I just enjoy playing with beautiful figures and going back to my childhood when my little Airfix plastic figures represented many different armies and my Rorkes Drift was acted out with WW1 Germans playing the British and Native Indians for Zulu's. The Barricades were dominoes! - what fun. It was imagination that brought it to life.

I was skimming the latest edition of Toy Soldier Collector yesterday and the article that caught my eye was on the museum and toy soldier shop in Valencia. Over 95,000 figures at the museum of all different types and sizes. The range and diversity itself must be an amazing sight. As for the shop if I can get sent to NZ some Spanish colonial troops and 17th century Spanish troops then another era and conflicts are represented in my collection. For me that's the buzz. So on balance I like the TG FIW figures and the size is no obstacle for me. As Oliver Twist said 'can I ave some more please sir?' But as they say each to their own.

Gary

 

[villagehorse]

Always like colour as you have displayed here Gary. For me I am always on the hunt for diorama pieces to compliment the figures. I notice in your vast collection there is no shortage of terrain and buildings which allows some excellent layouts. You are a very lucky collector. :salute::, Robin.

 

[marco55]

Excellent post from someone who truly enjoys his collection.
Mark

 

[ivanmoe]

By and large, no, at least not for me. In my limited experience, however, I've noticed that the concept of "scale" has become a shibboleth of sorts for some collectors. Rhetorically, they use it to assert the superiority of their brand preferences. "Our sets are true to scale," goes the mantra. In effect, these folks are claiming status as part of a kind of in-group by virtue of what manufacturer it might be that they've aligned themselves with. Well, I'd humbly suggest that those are some murky waters in which to go a bathing. Sacred-cows being what they are, these folks don't deal well with evidence that their VERY expensive sets offer little in the way of dimensional fidelity over something more reasonably priced from brand-x. Glass houses being what they are, perhaps it'd be a good idea to ban stones from all discussion of the subject.:wink2:

Thanks for asking,

-Moe

 

[Guy]

These discussions about "size" are becoming to be boring. In reality, you can see it every day around you, not all people are alike in height and width. The physiognomy from one person to another can be very different. A true diorama builder knows the ways and means to avoid this problem.There are enough tricks of the trade to deal with this problem ( if problem it is ?)I use all sizes together in a diorama from 1/28 to 1/30 to 1/32 scale , not ever have I received a remark that the size of the figures is not correct . It's how you present them and what you do with them in your dio.
However, historical correctness for me is important; there are millions of books, pictures, paintings, drawings etc on practically every battle ever fought and uniform ever worn. It needs some research from the part of the manufacturers to present a decent and correct product to the market.
guy

 

[Artillery_crazy]

Hi Gary,

Well put! And again fantastic set! As I have said earlier in a different posting of yours......you have a huge collection....:salute::and an even bigger storage area ......

On a different note, I liked what you mentioned about the museum and toy soldier shop in Valenica! Could you share the article and detials/contact info of the shop and museum?

Cheers

Luiz aka Artillery_Crazy

Well the answer is inevitably 'it depends?' There has been some dialogue on these forums concerning the size of the TG French Indian War figures and their smaller scale compared with say Frontline, JJDs or WB. For some collectors this presents a problem as collectors may like their figures to match fairly well to create realistic dioramas or just look good on a shelf. Fair enough I say. Go with one size or style and stick with it.

I suppose I take a more liberal view in that I look at every figure in my collection as an individual mini work of art. Of course some are better than others. My passion is to collect a bit of everything particularly eras, conflicts and armies through the ages but also size (within a rough 1/32 to 1/30 range) and even gloss and matte. I am picky in that the figures have to be metal but beyond that I am not fussy.

I like to mix and match and although I am not that creative I do like to experiment a bit with set ups and displays. I take the view that people come in all shapes and sizes, careful positioning of figures can help mitigate size and style variations and of course art is not an exact science. Some collectors like to historically as accurate as they can - I say good on em. But I wasn't at Marathon, Marston Moor, Gettysburg or the Western Front so I couldn't tell you what is totally authentic or not.

I suppose I just enjoy playing with beautiful figures and going back to my childhood when my little Airfix plastic figures represented many different armies and my Rorkes Drift was acted out with WW1 Germans playing the British and Native Indians for Zulu's. The Barricades were dominoes! - what fun. It was imagination that brought it to life.

I was skimming the latest edition of Toy Soldier Collector yesterday and the article that caught my eye was on the museum and toy soldier shop in Valencia. Over 95,000 figures at the museum of all different types and sizes. The range and diversity itself must be an amazing sight. As for the shop if I can get sent to NZ some Spanish colonial troops and 17th century Spanish troops then another era and conflicts are represented in my collection. For me that's the buzz. So on balance I like the TG FIW figures and the size is no obstacle for me. As Oliver Twist said 'can I ave some more please sir?' But as they say each to their own.

Gary

 

[maddadicus]

By and large, no, at least not for me. In my limited experience, however, I've noticed that the concept of "scale" has become a shibboleth of sorts for some collectors. Rhetorically, they use it to assert the superiority of their brand preferences. "Our sets are true to scale," goes the mantra. In effect, these folks are claiming status as part of a kind of in-group by virtue of what manufacturer it might be that they've aligned themselves with. Well, I'd humbly suggest that those are some murky waters in which to go a bathing. Sacred-cows being what they are, these folks don't deal well with evidence that their VERY expensive sets offer little in the way of dimensional fidelity over something more reasonably priced from brand-x. Glass houses being what they are, perhaps it'd be a good idea to ban stones from all discussion of the subject.:wink2:

Thanks for asking,

-Moe

I enjoy mixing and matching different mfg. to vary the overall presentation of my collection. I have 3 Grant, Lee tanks from Figarti, K/C, and K/C classic. In my armor column, they all fit well together as to size. I have 3 Shermans, Collectors Showcase, K/C, and Figarti..Same as before. They all fit in. But I do draw a line at stuff that does not, including figures. I no longer care about what is " scale "! But size does matter. Forget height difference, the bulk difference between mfg., different lines and releases within the same mfg. is a wallet closer for me. Michael

 

[Johnboy]

Hi All,
Interesting as usual, the scale obviously does matter in some circumstances. I collect mainly Napoleonic and FIW. Over the years my Nap collection has figures from just about every maker who produce metal painted 54 - 60 mm figures and they all look great in my large diorama's especially mounted figures. Now-I recently purchased all the current 60th foot British FIW (TG) from my usual supplier expecting them to be the usual TG scale. When I took them from the boxes and placed them next to my JJD figures I was very surprised at the difference. The TG standing firing figure next to a JJD standing firing figure is "David and Goliath" As general advice to like minded people on this forum.... do not mix these figures together, they DO NOT work. I attach no blame to any manufacturer , it was my fault for not doing my "homework" before purchasing. My supplier kindly let me swap these figures for others that were more suitable.............(thanks Magpies)

 

[mikemiller1955]

Hi All,
Interesting as usual, the scale obviously does matter in some circumstances. I collect mainly Napoleonic and FIW. Over the years my Nap collection has figures from just about every maker who produce metal painted 54 - 60 mm figures and they all look great in my large diorama's especially mounted figures. Now-I recently purchased all the current 60th foot British FIW (TG) from my usual supplier expecting them to be the usual TG scale. When I took them from the boxes and placed them next to my JJD figures I was very surprised at the difference. The TG standing firing figure next to a JJD standing firing figure is "David and Goliath" As general advice to like minded people on this forum.... do not mix these figures together, they DO NOT work. I attach no blame to any manufacturer , it was my fault for not doing my "homework" before purchasing. My supplier kindly let me swap these figures for others that were more suitable.............(thanks Magpies)

I agree...

and you have a very good supplier to let you swap them...I would be loyal to them...

 

[Andanna]

By and large, no, at least not for me. In my limited experience, however, I've noticed that the concept of "scale" has become a shibboleth of sorts for some collectors. Rhetorically, they use it to assert the superiority of their brand preferences. "Our sets are true to scale," goes the mantra. In effect, these folks are claiming status as part of a kind of in-group by virtue of what manufacturer it might be that they've aligned themselves with. Well, I'd humbly suggest that those are some murky waters in which to go a bathing. Sacred-cows being what they are, these folks don't deal well with evidence that their VERY expensive sets offer little in the way of dimensional fidelity over something more reasonably priced from brand-x. Glass houses being what they are, perhaps it'd be a good idea to ban stones from all discussion of the subject.:wink2:

Thanks for asking,

-Moe

I do not know about "superiority". All manufacturers struggle with having different sculptors. The size of a person is a subjective thing, the size of issued weapons like a gun is not, nor is the proportion of hands to body etc. I do not think that consistent scale of arms and anatomically correct bodies is asked for too much.

 

[ivanmoe]

The size of a person is a subjective thing, the size of issued weapons like a gun is not, nor is the proportion of hands to body etc. I do not think that consistent scale of arms and anatomically correct bodies is asked for too much.

When considering a combination of sets for display from different makers, I believe that color is a more important concern than strict adherence to scale or dimensions. Consider Randy's excellent pic from a nearby thread:

I can see minor dimensional and stylistic differences between the two figures above. However, I consider the more important factor to be the fairly stark similarities in color palette that the respective manufacturers adopted. Randy obviously has seized on this and exploited it to great effect. On the other hand, I can't see spending a bucket of $$$ on a single maker's sets based on the proposition that all such product is uniform in scale and proportion. That strikes me as a recipe for disappointment and frustration, given what I've seen of that which some collectors claim to be ideal in this regard.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter,

-Moe

 

[Andanna]

I agree with you. It is a decision from figure to figure whether it works or not, not necessarily from manufacturer to manufacturer.

And I do not get the repetitive reference to Dollar. Sculptors like Ken Osen and Allan Ball are top in getting proportions right for example. And Britains is not one of the top priced TS makers. Ken's research is also top class as you know when you talk to his master painters like Deddens or Youngquist.

It has hence more to do with quality than price.

BTW: I do not know who made those figures. I like the one on the left and do not care as much for the one on the right. If you look at the scupt of fave and hands you can see why I prefer the figure on the left.