Are 54mm figures getting bigger and bigger?

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legend69

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2010
Messages
446
Location
Athens
Hi Everyone,

I just finished a so called 54mm figure by Beneito (24th reg at Rorke's Drift, 1879). I carachterized him as a generous 54mm, but as another PF member (Babelfish) noted he measure " 70mm from the top of his helmet to his toes". How in the world is this a 54mm figure? I have 75mm figures which are the same size!!!

I have notcied this trend with all the figure manufacturers and especially the one that cast in metal. Ok...I can forgive the fantasy manufacturers as they have artistic license with their subject matter, but the historical figure manufacturers, should get their measurments correct or start labeling the figures with the correct size.

Why call them 54mm figures when clearly they are not...

Thanks for "listening" to my rant. Any and all explanations are welcome :nailbiting:

Anthony
 
Here is a great explanation from Colorado Miniatures website

http://www.coloradominiatures.com/infoscalesandsizes.aspx

Gary


Hi Gary,

Thanks for the link...it is a great explanation indeed...the math seems to be correct, but that still does not explain why 54mm figures (lets say the head to toe 65mm) in real life (1:1 scale) would be about 3 and a half meters tall !!!

The figure labelled 54 mm are clearly not 54mm in any scale or with any mathematical equation.

Anthony
 
Can't say it particularly bothers me as I tend to do single figures and scratchbuild the scene to match.
It's the figure I buy and don't really bother whether they scale out at for example 60mm, as long as the anatomy is on the money.
Obviously scale is important if a figure is being matched to a scale aircraft or AFV, but the guys doing this have got the whole scale thing really sussed.
 
I have bought Beneito figures in the past. Their figures generally tend to be larger60mm than expected 54mm or 1/32 scale. But this is also noticeable generally with some other European metal figure kits, eg Pegaso. On the other hand, I have also noticed another opposing trend to go smaller with 1/35 resin figures, sometimes almost reaching 1/48? I think that different manufacturers tap into different segments of the figure modelling fraternity.

Rgds Victor
 
The gap in figure sizes makes it very difficult to mix manufacturers in dios and vignettes.
Mind you figures listed by "size" (ie 54mm) are really fall into a more general size range as opposed to those listed by scale which should be an exact ratio of say, 1" on the figure equals 32" in full scale. Therefore, a 1:32 from Dragon should be the exact same size as a 1:32 from Masterbox... should be.

The real litmus test should be with weapons and equipment... for any given scale or size, a Brown Bess should always be the same size as opposed to a human figure of an adult male who could be a squat 5'4" or a lanky 6'7". In the hands of either man, the musket remains the same length.

I wish the figure producers would get together and come up with a workable standard to develope some kind of consistancy... for the sake of us would be diorama builders. PLEASE?

Colin
 
I'm currently working on the Beneito Spanish arquebusier,it is classed as 90mm but looks more like 120mm not that I mind.
 
54mm is still 54mm. In scale terms that should approximate 1/32nd scale for an average height man.

Some manufacturers are clearly unable or unwilling to measure their figures to ensure they are actually 54mm. It doesn't matter too much if the figure is on a base on its own, but does become an issue when adding diorama accessories or multiple figures from different manufacturers.
 
Shouldn't worry too much about this , my wife has the same problem with Dress sizes, "Thats never a size12!!!!"
 

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