Busts?

[Andrew May]

Hi all. I'm pretty new to larger scale sculpting and was wondering if there was a standard size/scale for busts? I've seen 200mm banded about but what does this refer to? Chin to 'crown'?
Thanks Andrew

 

[Showlen]

I'm pretty new to the hobby itself, as I haven't painted miniatures since I was a kid. One of the figures I'm doing now is a 1/10 bust of the Red Baron. Most of the busts that I see are either 1/9 or 1/10 in scale. I'd like to know the difference between two as it relates to size.

As far as your question on 200mm referring to chin to crown, not sure on that.

Thanks,

-Ronnie

 

[housecarl]

I think 200mm refers to if it was a full figure, roughly 1/9th.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, as counting as never being my strong point,
Carl.

 

[Andrew May]

Of course! Busts aren't 200mm tall, what a fool I am sometimes!

So the actual head is what? 28mm tall or so? How ironic.

 

[polyphemus]

Hi Andrew, I'm afraid there isn't a simple standard scale for figure busts. 1/9th does mean that if the bust was extended to a full scope figure then it should equate to 1/9th the size of the subject, theoretically. However manufacturers'/sculptors' definitions of scale vary widely. There are ranges of busts out there from the same manufacturer all defined as 1/10th, for example, with some degree of variation of size between the busts in the range.
I guess that it probably doesn't matter a great deal to most painters as each bust is treated as a single discrete item without reference to other items in the cabinet.

It would be nice though to have some form of consistent scale so the buyer knows what to expect, particularly if purchasing by mail order. I guess though that applies to most scales of figures.

Hope that helps.
Geoff

 

[housecarl]

Of course! Busts aren't 200mm tall, what a fool I am sometimes!

So the actual head is what? 28mm tall or so? How ironic.

Now funny you should say that, but this is 200mm.
Carl.

 

[Andrew May]

Ha ha! Ok well I might give one a go (at some point) I guessing that most heads on busts must come out around 25mm high. It's funny but the standard of painting I've seen is so life-like that the bust's 'scale' is really hard to judge.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[Augie]

Hi Andrew,

Most commercial busts are executed in 1/10th, 1/9th, or 1/8th scale, which translates roughly to a 180mm, 200mm, or 250mm full figure. The actual size of the head depends on the anatomical proportions preferred by the sculptor. For example, I prefer "realistic" proportions, or 7.5 heads tall; most figures are done to 8 head proportions. That means that head of my busts will be slightly larger than the commercial norm, though the scale is identical.

A 25mm head will = an ~200mm full figure, or ~1/9th scale.

Hope this helps!

Augie