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In fairness to Mars

I actually have some sets from Mars: notably some of their Thirty Years War ones.

My creed is, "Anyone who produces figures for me is a good fellow".

Re: In fairness to Mars

I too have some 30yw Mars sets.

Re: In fairness to Mars

...and just about every manufacturer is in my collection, or I have bought and painted.

Re: Buying a range of figures

I'm like you Paintdog, except I collect and paint figures from bronze age to modern era - even going above and beyond into fantasy! Though there are some eras I will not touch (because of my lack of interest, budget reasons).

It really is amazing how some figures do not look great unpainted in the PSR photos but when I paint them up they then look a whole lot better. I wish PSR would show all their figures painted (I know they have some like that), and show photos of the backs of the figures too.

Sizing is a pet peeve, and kinda really bugs me when I can't mix figures from different manufacturers to form a larger army. Recently, I painted Italeri 95th Rifles (beautiful sculpts) and arrayed them next to my Revell 95th set - to my horror my older Revell 95th appeared to look like little boys next to the Italeri adult men!

Size matters in our hobby! Having said that, I came across Warlord 28mm plastic figures (they come in a kit form, and so need assembly like Games Workshop figures). They have a decent range and good sculpts. Does anyone have experience with Warlord figures and how their 28mm's match up with the recent Strelets figures?

Re: Buying a range of figures

Baratheon
It really is amazing how some figures do not look great unpainted in the PSR photos but when I paint them up they then look a whole lot better.


That is too true.

Re: Buying a range of figures

I buy on the basis of what interests me and if I think the sculpts are of tolerable quality bearing in mind they will be painted and seen from 3ft away. I bought all the Mars medieval artillery sets and some of the old Redbox sets (before they improved) because they fulfilled a specific need (not always their specific intention - many of the Redbox Boxer Rebellion civilians are now serving in my VBCW forces) or because I'm addicted to medieval artillery - got more pieces than Charles the Bold ever had in reality! Yes it is amazing how some apparently poor figures come alive with a lick of paint, this was particularly true of early Strelets sculpts, probably my favourite figure ever is the short, stout, mail clad and axe armed viking from the Vikings Vs Franks set. A few brushstrokes and he really looked as if he meant business with the axe! Although I share the feeling that figures in a unit should be about the same height, we are a bit out of line with reality. I'm 5' 8'' but my friends are 6' plus, one being 6' 4'', so alongside them I look like a midget, in scale I think I would be nearly 3 millimetres shorter than my 6' 4'' mate.

Re: Buying a range of figures

I'm looking at some personality figures here.

Napoleon, Blucher, Wellington and Maj. Henry Percy are Italeri.
Ney and Grouchy are Strelets.
Gniesenau is Italeri with a Strelets head.
Bulow is Strelets on an Italeri horse.
Uxbridge and Hill are Strelets on ESCI horses, Hill has a HaT sword.
Orange and Picton are from Waterloo 1815. And so is Brunswick but his pipe is from Italeri and a cheap broom.
La Salle and Murat x2 are Strelets.
Fournier is Strelets with a HaT sword and Bessiers is italeri with a HaT head.
Lord George is Strelets with some plastic surgery.
Boudicca is Orion, her spear is Italeri and her torc and Iceni standard are from HaT parts. Her chariot and driver are HaT reissued Airfix and the wheels are just Airfix. Her war hounds are from Stenfalk.
Up the back waiting for me to finish painting them:
De Lancey is Strelets on an Italeri horse.
Col. Anne Mackintosh is HaT reissued Airfix.
Jesse Dowsett is HaT.
A Queensland Native Policeman is HaT, except for his hat, which is Strelets.
And Claudius is Orion but his elephant will be HaT and I think the scroll he wrote his history of Carthage on will come from Italeri.
All of them live together in perfect harmony... except when they're shooting at each other. And they all look pretty darn good together in defiance of my crap painting.

One of my very favourite figures is made from 2 Strelets Boers, a HaT Roman Legionaries scutum, a sawn off HaT Young Guard musket and a drilled out section of sprue from a Strelets set (other company's sprues just don't have the girth). When you combine figures from different companies it's just more fun.:relaxed:

Re: Buying a range of figures

I have no problem mixing and matching figures from different manufacturers (as I've said on another thread) so long as I like the sculpt and style and the size isn't too far out of whack. Even if there are some differences then I try not to place the figures together.

One of my long term (my wife says "Never ending") projects has been to put together a 1/32 scale recreation of the Alamo for a photo series. I've used figures from about every plastic maker available in the scale and have included some 60mm figures as well. As anyone familiar with 1/32 scale knows, there are currently two "54mm/1-32 scales" - there's an older, smaller 1/32 scale and a newer larger 1/32 scale - the two rarely go together. In that situation I will either use them in different shots or place them so the difference works to create distance.

The big factor to me is style. I prefer figures to look as real as possible, though some sets have appealed to me because I like their "character." I also agree that painting helps many figures - though I don't know whether PSR could do that beyond allowing some collectors to post their work. But even then painting is subjective. There are some guys out here who create works of art - others paint pretty fair enough to look good on a gaming table. It's a matter of taste, I think. I think that's where sites like our host, who allows folks to share their work provides a service.

Nothing like seeing some of the figures displayed here and elsewhere to inspire, encourage, and get a dose of humility at the same time.

Re: Buying a range of figures

It all depends on the historical period I'm interested in to start a project... then I decide which figures I'll be using. If the figures are available in 1/72 plastic, I go with them, if not, then 28mm metal or 28mm plastic. I have figures from many 1/72 manufacturers and if they match I mix them on the same bases, if not, I keep them separate to each own base.

While I don't own any Mars figures, I have seen some painted examples of them, which looked surprisingly good. So yes, a good paint job can be very effective.

Re: Buying a range of figures

Mars seems to have a future release of 1/72 WW2 German Elite Soldiers. It was a scale down version from the 1/32 set. Not sure if they plan to do the same for the rest of the post WW2 figures like the Vietnam War sets and the Delta Force set (Somalia Conflict). Does anyone has any information if they plan to release any new 1/72 sets scale down from their 1/32 series?

Re: Buying a range of figures

I buy and paint figures just for fun.What I mean is that I don’t collect soldiers to display or war game with,just to pass some pleasant time painting them up and giving my brain some much needed downtime.
So in essence I simply buy whatever new products are in my local model shop regardless of which era or manufacturer they represent.I will however attest to a great fondness for Strelets..and that’s not just bluster.

Re: Buying a range of figures

No particular preference I have: Airfix, Atlantic, Caesar, Dark Dream Studios, Emhar, Esci/Italeri, Hät, Odemars/Ykreol, Orion, Pegasus, Revell, Strelets, Valdemar, Waterloo 1815 and Zvezda... and probably a few I've forgotten about... Often the set/s in question were/are the only game in town or was when I bought them...

Some fit better together then others but people come in all shapes and sizes right?...

Whats important to me: good sculpts and a good accurate representation of the subject...



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