Anyone else feed up with WW2?

[Robin]

Lets face it, its down to market forces, what sells is what is produced. Often we don't get teh figure we want, and when it does come out its not quite what we had in mind we still don't buy it.

Like does a figure painter that likes Romans have every roman I would be surprised if the answer is yes. The figure market is small, so many manufacturers do what sells, not many can afford a couple of bad sellers. which is why even the best like Pegaso bring out the food and drink figures of Romans etc.

My 2 cents

Robin

 

[PJ Deluhery]

I have no interest in WWII, but I have seen some beautiful pieces, German and otherwise. I say each period has its own charm, and if you enjoy it, paint it.

I understand your complaint is with manufaturers, and if what you say is true, I would be in touch with these manufacturers to let them know what you want. As was said above, it's market driven. Manufactuers will offer what they can sell. All it takes is one or two successful figures, and you will be up to your ears in them. Maybe some of our sculptor Planeteers will take up your cause.

My 2 cents!

Happy Painting

 

[Anders Heintz]

There are plenty of other stuff then Germans out there , just look at Warriors latest releases the past couple of months, 95% is non German WWII they are mostly WWII Americans, and 2 vignettes of WWI Germans, and soon modern figures will be released, US Marines and Iraqi Insurgents. So I dont think that Germans are the only game in town so to speak, there are more and more US figures hitting the market.

 

[KeithP]

For me, there are so many older pieces that I'll never paint everything that I'd like to even if no more figures were ever produced.

Keith

 

[T50]

Hello Gents
When there are so many different subjects to be covered in this hobby
(even within WW2 AFV market), some subjects are bound to be covered
more than others. It is impossible that all subjects to be presented in
even quantity and quality.

In my humble opinion, subjects are covered more widely in historical
miniature figures than they are in WW2 AFVs models.

Just my two yens!
Taesung Harmms

 

[stormtrooper]

As a producer of said boredom all Ican say is I love them to bits especially in 120mm where the true detail of the uniforms can be appreciated. 54 mm Ican see as a very viable scale for WW2 germans especially but they are too big for tanks and it is generally not figure modellers genre and peas 44 does not quite do it for said painters usually .Then you get the usual question of "haven't we got enough germans " (romans/french napoleonics /indians/etc ) but every figure is different and should be judged as such and not just what period it's from .Personally I Like everything even fantsy (but especially BIG germans)

 

[Chazman]

Originally posted by Luis R.@Feb 11 2005, 07:22 AM
I've always wondered how a 30th century archaeologist would write history if his only source was a hobby shop from 2005 AD which had miracously been spared by an alien invasion, WWIII or whatsoever disaster:

Rome and the Celt tribes ruled the whole world, until the Viking Empire was established. The Vikings were to be defeated by the Templar Kingdom.

After that, nothing happened for centuries, till Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops conquered Earth. They were finally defeated by Third Reich troops, who ruled the world until Alien Invasion.

There were minor conflicts in-between, sure, like ACW (there would be a good discussion on which side won the war), WWI, etc., but none of these were significant.
:lol:

These same archaeoligists would also get the impression that most/all of these German soldiers were armed with Sturmgewehr 44's, wore SS oakleaf or pea pattern uniforms, and won every engagement against the Soviets.......that is, when they weren't too busy swapping captured American socks and cartons of Lucky Strikes.

 

[amherbert]

Originally posted by Craig B@Feb 11 2005, 12:25 AM

What I meant was I am looking for true 54mm or larger, I have a couple of the Verlinden sets but not really happy with them. Myself I would rather build a stock figure to than convert something.

Hi

There are some Warriors Paratrooper sets that are OK.
Hornet have some nice ones too, but those are closer to 1/35 than 54mm. The Hornet paras are pretty sweet.

There's not much else out there I've seen except for some other resin stuff from Resicast, again 1/35.

Cheers
Andy

 

[amherbert]

Originally posted by Anders Heintz@Feb 11 2005, 11:46 AM
There are plenty of other stuff then Germans out there , just look at Warriors latest releases the past couple of months, 95% is non German WWII they are mostly WWII Americans, and 2 vignettes of WWI Germans, and soon modern figures will be released, US Marines and Iraqi Insurgents. So I dont think that Germans are the only game in town so to speak, there are more and more US figures hitting the market.

That's because Warriors and Verlinden have already released the entire Waffen SS and Whermacht in resin! :lol:

Andy

 

[AFSOC]

I'll have to agree, I do like the "snazzy" German uniforms, but WW2 GIs are cool to paint, too. Just have to find them.

If this is bad, read some of the rants at atthefront.com. Reenactors have sort of the same problem. They said that at some gatherings, everyone is E Company, 506th, 101 Airborne!

 

[Chazman]

Originally posted by Craig B@Feb 10 2005, 11:25 PM

What I meant was I am looking for true 54mm or larger, I have a couple of the Verlinden sets but not really happy with them. Myself I would rather build a stock figure to than convert something.

I find that most of Warrior's Germans, seem like they're 54mm, rather than 1/35th.

 

[Marijn Van Gils]

Hello all!

just my two cents:

I really don't care which subject is covered more than others. If you only want to paint top quality sculptures, there is too little of anything (IMO, even 1/35 WW2 germans, because after Roger Saunders' work, everthing else goes downhill...). The only solution: whip out that putty!

What bothers me more is the lack of imagination, and I don't mean about the period being depicted, but about the actual figure itself. I see many, many nice representations of a typical soldier from a certain period, but I only rarely see one that has a character of its' own, clearly transmits an emotion, or that really tells me a story no matter how simple.

There are also few figures that show the exeptions to the rule: improvisations, field modifications, captured clothing or equipment etc. instead of the standard issue uniforms. After all, the use of these might have been more typcial than the use of the standard gear, and it certainly adds life and character to any fig!

The solution: whip out that putty again!

Will the results be as good as the top commercial productions? No way! (well, maybe in the distant future... :lol: ) But will it be really what you want to make and show the ideas you want to communicate? Yes!

Cheers!

Marijn

 

[Dan Morton]

Nice thread! For me, it's not so much that I'm fed up with WWII or any particular historical period, just fed up with dullness. While it is true that there are thousands of figures available, unfortunately, a lot of them are so similar.

Marijn, I find myself agreeing with you more about the lack of originality in poses, lack of action, lack of "story" associated with far too many commercially available figures. Elsewhere, your absolutely great vignette of the two Poilus struggling over the only available gas mask - wonderfully original idea!

If I may, I'd like to continue the complaint re lack of originality in choice of uniform, weapons and equipment. There are so many possibilities that haven't been done!

How about a 75- 80 mm five figure melee hand-to-hand combat involving Austrians and Russians in a fortified position? How about a mounted Ulan and a mounted Brit Hussar slamming into each other at Mons 1914? Take a look at the "Submit a Figure" topic for examples of some interesting possibilities.

And finally, I also agree - where's the putty? I just wish I were even a fair sculptor instead of an acute novice.

All the best,
Dan

 

[David H]

I'm sorry, but I really think we need some more Napoleonic releases. A Roman Legionaire would be real cool, too!