William Britains 1/30 Scale! When! Why! (1 Viewer)

[Artillery_crazy]

Hi Mgw,

Just to point out to you one aspect related to vehicle compatibility......the diferences will not jump out into ones eyes in a nicely laid out diorama where perspective/field depth and angle will play a great help in masking the difference....and that is helpful....^&grin
All it takes is getting two sets of the same vehicle, have them side by side in a neutral set and the size diferences will jump into your face.....:salute:::salute::
A_C

The issue of compatibility of Britain's figures with 1/30 vehicles was also raised and the pics below show Britains figures along with Figarti vehicles (also TGM)- IMO the Britain's figures and 1/30 vehicles go well together.
Mike

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[katana]

UKSubs; Everyone may know that W. Britains WWII figures are 60mm but three major U.S. retailers are selling them as 54mm. A collector buying them for the first time to go with 1/32 vehicles is going to be very dissapointed. The purpose of this specific post is to correct the misadvertising of a fine product and to avoid customer dissatisfaction!

 

[uksubs]

UKSubs; Everyone may know that W. Britains WWII figures are 60mm but three major U.S. retailers are selling them as 54mm. A collector buying them for the first time to go with 1/32 vehicles is going to be very dissapointed. The purpose of this specific post is to correct the misadvertising of a fine product and to avoid customer dissatisfaction!

I thought this was common knowledge about five years ago ,it not like you reinvented the wheel when it comes to scale

 

[katana]

UKSubs; I have 9 U.S. Patents; but last time I checked the wheel was not among them! I wish it were the Royalties would really be nice. I would be able to affoed First Legion Armor.

 

[uksubs]

UKSubs; I have 9 U.S. Patents; but last time I checked the wheel was not among them! I wish it were the Royalties would really be nice. I would be able to affoed First Legion Armor.

Knc / FL. None of it cheap

 

[katana]

UKSubs; I have 9 U.S. Patents; but last time I checked the wheel was not among them! I wish it were the Royalties would really be nice. I would be able to affoed First Legion Armor.

 

[uksubs]

UKSubs; I have 9 U.S. Patents; but last time I checked the wheel was not among them! I wish it were the Royalties would really be nice. I would be able to affoed First Legion Armor.

Knc / FL. None of it cheap^&grin

 

[katana]

Thats why I buy Figarti. Hopefully W. Britains will reintroduce some Armor in 1/30. The new Flak 36 looks really well done!

 

[uksubs]

Thats why I buy Figarti. Hopefully W. Britains will reintroduce some Armor in 1/30. The new Flak 36 looks really well done!

I agree WB Flak 88 look really good and hoping for a eight ton prime mover to go with it

 

[katana]

A bit of research on the internet and queries to various sellers indicates that the change in scale by W. Britains from 1/32-54mm to 1/30-58mm occured about 2005 when W. Britains was aquired by 1st Gear. Some have obviously been aware of the change; many others have not. Misinformation continues to be widespread as many Ebay sellers label the same figure as either 1/32 or 1/30 as do many online sellers! I have found the WW I 210mm Howitzer specified as both depending on the seller.
Hopefully this discussion will assist in correcting this problem.

 

[OzDigger]

A bit of research on the internet and queries to various sellers indicates that the change in scale by W. Britains from 1/32-54mm to 1/30-58mm occured about 2005 when W. Britains was aquired by 1st Gear. Some have obviously been aware of the change; many others have not. Misinformation continues to be widespread as many Ebay sellers label the same figure as either 1/32 or 1/30 as do many online sellers! I have found the WW I 210mm Howitzer specified as both depending on the seller.
Hopefully this discussion will assist in correcting this problem.

Britains were making over size 1/32 (54 mm) figures before 2005, especially evident in their WWII artillery sets. For example set No 17249 - US Paratroopers with 75 mm Pack Howitzer - released from 2001 to 2004. These figures were huge, the standing figures was taller than 70mm I believe.

All of the toy soldier companies, including K & C, Figarti, The Collectors Showcase, and First Legion etc have issued sets and even complete ranges that have been a different size to that advertised on their packaging and or website. From bitter experience discussions on this forum, or other forums, won't change these variations, as much as some members (including myself) would like that. The size of figures and tanks in sets has varied in the past, and I suspect will continue to vary in the future due to a number of factors. The most important factor being that some company owners don't care enough to check every set released for correct scale sizing, despite what they may say to the contrary.

 

[katana]

Were this disregard for scale accuracy prevalent in the 1/35 or 1/25 scale model kit hobby the manufacturer would not be long in business. If I ordered a 5/16 Carbide drill and received a 1/2 inch Carbon Steel drill in a package labeled 5/16 Carbide drill; I would immediatly return it for a replacement or a refund. If a product does not conform to any scale than mark its size as L, W, H!

 

[OzDigger]

Were this disregard for scale accuracy prevalent in the 1/35 or 1/25 scale model kit hobby the manufacturer would not be long in business. If I ordered a 5/16 Carbide drill and received a 1/2 inch Carbon Steel drill in a package labeled 5/16 Carbide drill; I would immediatly return it for a replacement or a refund. If a product does not conform to any scale than mark its size as L, W, H!

As you have already been told, the Toy Soldier hobby is different to the Model Kit hobby, get used to it. To add further to your confusion some toy soldier manufactures calculated the height of their figures from soles (top of base) to eye level rather than top of head. This was apparently to take into account the wide variety of heights in headwear such as those tall hats of the Napoleonic era. Some people claim this is a myth however I've found that a lot of King and Country standing figures measure 60 mm from top of base to eye level, so in that respect they are true 1/30 scale.

 

[katana]

Sloppy adherance to scale may have been ignored by many when prices were much lower i.e. $20.00 figures and $86.00 AFVs. $50.00 figures and $250.00 AFS increase the demand for greater detail and accuracy commensurate with the increased cost. First Legion's success validates the demand for improved products IMO.

 

[maddadicus]

Britains were making over size 1/32 (54 mm) figures before 2005, especially evident in their WWII artillery sets. For example set No 17249 - US Paratroopers with 75 mm Pack Howitzer - released from 2001 to 2004. These figures were huge, the standing figures was taller than 70mm I believe.

All of the toy soldier companies, including K & C, Figarti, The Collectors Showcase, and First Legion etc have issued sets and even complete ranges that have been a different size to that advertised on their packaging and or website. From bitter experience discussions on this forum, or other forums, won't change these variations, as much as some members (including myself) would like that. The size of figures and tanks in sets has varied in the past, and I suspect will continue to vary in the future due to a number of factors. The most important factor being that some company owners don't care enough to check every set released for correct scale sizing, despite what they may say to the contrary.

That is why I do not purchase without seeing side by side comparisons of one model to another. I purchase by actual size rather than trust " scale " and thus my collection ,no matter the mfg. looks OK by sight. Since I do not collect many WW2 figures, I do not get hung up on those discussions. I own CS, KC, and Figarti tanks and depending on the type tank, make sure they all look right next to each other. Scale just anther empty word in passing, but measurements last forever...Michael

 

[jazzeum]

Scale just anther empty word in passing , but measurements last forever...Michael

With apologies to Janis Joplin:

"Scale's just another word for nothin' left to lose / Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't to scale, no no / And, feelin' good about wrong scale was easy, Lord, when he got the package / You know, feelin' good about wrong scale was good enough for me."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTHRg_iSWzM

 

[katana]

That is why I do not purchase without seeing side by side comparisons of one model to another. I purchase by actual size rather than trust " scale " and thus my collection ,no matter the mfg. looks OK by sight. Since I do not collect many WW2 figures, I do not get hung up on those discussions. I own CS, KC, and Figarti tanks and depending on the type tank, make sure they all look right next to each other. Scale just anther empty word in passing, but measurements last forever...Michael

I fully agree. I have my polystone Panzer collections displayed on two large shelves. One for 1/28 +/- 1 and 1/30 +/- 1. A third large shelf displays my 68+mm figures with my 1/25 scale armor. I even have shelves for 1/32 +/- 1 and 1/35 scales; FOV and Minichamps. I like all scales; but like you I like to know prior to purchase what I am buying!

 

[gra30]

I fully agree. I have my polystone Panzer collections displayed on two large shelves. One for 1/28 +/- 1 and 1/30 +/- 1. A third large shelf displays my 68+mm figures with my 1/25 scale armor. I even have shelves for 1/32 +/- 1 and 1/35 scales; FOV and Minichamps. I like all scales; but like you I like to know prior to purchase what I am buying!

As an afv builder I have noticed the figures have changed within the Tamiya range, advertised as 1/35 it was clear when the new vehicles were released they had previously wrong scale figure, if you look the figures now in the new releases are smaller.

Scale is a black art, 54mm, 60mm , 1/35, 1/32 etc but I do know the new owners of WB will give you a constant range, honest, as they care and WB could not be in more safe hands for continuity .
Best wishes

 

[OzDigger]

As an afv builder I have noticed the figures have changed within the Tamiya range, advertised as 1/35 it was clear when the new vehicles were released they had previously wrong scale figure, if you look the figures now in the new releases are smaller.

Scale is a black art, 54mm, 60mm , 1/35, 1/32 etc but I do know the new owners of WB will give you a constant range, honest, as they care and WB could not be in more safe hands for continuity .
Best wishes

Lol.....scale sure is a black art, when it comes to Toy Soldier marketing, the truth is out there, but it's well hidden. And that applies to ALL Toy Soldier companies, it's not just Britains or King and Country.

I remember when First Legion first issued their World War 2 Russians that were promoted as being 1/30 scale. For several years they were advertised on the First Legion website as 54 mm yet were smaller than their existing figures. Now most items are listed as being 60 mm yet there remains variance in size between their ranges, including WWII. Some of you guys have 'convenient' memories, let's be fair about this.

 

[katana]

I recently bought some Patriot Panzer Grenader figures. The figures are well sculpted and the detail is superb. I had read in the Forum that some considered the Patriot figures heads to be too small. I applied the Human Proportion Ratios and found that the Patriot figures and the W. Britains Fallschirmjager figures have the most accurate proportions of all the figures I have measured. The height of the human head in relation to body height is critical to the perception of correct proportion. The figure head height divided into the figure height gives the ratio; which will be between 7and 8 head heights if the figure proportion is correct i.e. figure height 59mm/8mm figure head height=7.3 a correct proportion for a WB Fallschirmjager. 4 of 7 companies figures evaluated had correct proportions of head to height. Another ratio for correct human proportion is head width to sholder width. The correct ratio range is 2 to 3. The WB Fallshirmjager figure has a head width of 5mm and a sholder width of 15mm the ratio is 15/5=3. Excellent proportions for a 60mm figure and an indication that Ken Osen is applying the Rules of Proportion to WB figure sculpts. Human figure proportion is complex and other rules apply to well proportioned figures i.e.
the top and bottom halves are equal and divided at the crotch. Correct human figure proportion is a series of ratios and can be calculated. Misproportioned and out of scale figures are the result of poor design and lack of attention to detail. Given the prices for good figures today; accurate proportions and scales should be as much a requirement as the correct uniform colors and insignia are IMHO!