Figurees wish list

[Jamie Stokes]

Hi Gordy & Team,

I have an idea for a rolling series of polls for figure hobbyists
My aim is to find out what is already popular and what is missing out there.

OK, we already have a rough idea of whats popular, what scales and so forth.
By running a series of polls monthly, with a focus on a particular aspect of the figures area, the larger manufacturers may generate more of what they already are, but it may bring to light areas that aren't currently serviced, and wished for by the market; an area for the niche/ small scale producers.

Areas to poll on are scale, casting material, full figures versus busts, eras covering (but not limited to) Napoleonic,WW1, WW2, modern, cavalry, knights, American Civil War and any thing else suggested.

Other areas might be sculptors or painters, how many figures a year, what makes a good/ desirable figure

Polls would be about one a month, at least, data and results freely available on the website.(not sure where to place it though) More then willing to duplicate the effort across other sites (such as Historica Forma, etc)

The other reason for doing this is to get some data I can use for my Uni course studies. I admit, I may need help with set up of polls specific to the site

Thoughts, suggestions and feedback welcome

Cheers

 

[btavis]

More Nazi stuff

 

[vergilius]

We'll I do like the new Gebirgsjäger from Alpine.
But I want more Belgian Figures !! And something non military too
Hey here's an idea; why not a series of explores? La Meridiane made some fine figures of Lewis and clark but there's a lot more historic persons to 'exlpore'

 

[jacksparrow1979]

I like the idea of this. Give us paying customers what we want to paint. Having a figure or bust that interests you in the first place is prob 90% of why you are painting it.
How about busts of Sgt. Barnes from Platoon, the knight from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade?
I'd also like to see the Blackfoot Warrior bust that was going to be released by Seil Models released - http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26771

 

[Mark S]

G'day Jamie,
Sounds good! What Uni course are you doing?And how will the polls help with that?
Sorry Bob,Less Nazi stuff is my poll vote.

 

[jacksparrow1979]

Sorry Bob,Less Nazi stuff is my poll vote.

I'll second that, We need something different but that appeals to a wide audience.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Thanks for the ideas so far Gentlemen,

This helps me clarify how to break down the polls into more distinct areas.

Mark; the areas of study are going to be psychology/ sociology, and statistics are a key part of that. Why not turn the learning into something fun, something I enjoy, and can help all involved. (And thanks for the nipple colour hint way back when!)

Peter; I agree, if its Romans in red Togas with Swords,, French Line Infantry with Muskets, WW2 German (preferably late war camouflage) or big hairy Vikings with huge swords or axes, then it will sell. There is room for others to produce figures for other interests, and leave room for the big boys to churn out whatever....

Patrick; the idea of explorers and so forth I completely missed, so I will be adding a section on Civilian/ non combatants with Explorers, Famous (non Military) personalities, service areas such as Firefighters, police, and anything else that crops up. Just thinking about it, there may be a section on cartoon style figures, as well as fantasy from Conan types to fairies.

Bob; I think you are being a bit cheeky; see this link
http://www.planetfigure.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28656&page=2

and the response number 16, by Nappy1. I guess Bob, that you are being very dry humored about this, something that the typed word on the page is not so good at conveying

The plan is that the first few polls will see where we are at currently. Then we move onto the wish list/ missing from the market stage.

Here is the preliminary plan; 1st Poll, What era do you prefer. 2nd Poll, what scale do you prefer (and why)
Ok, here is the suggested first poll

What is your main area of interest in Figures? (that is, 70% of all your figures
come from the following Era?). Built, partly built, or just Grey Army.
- Ancient
- Medieval
-Napoleonic
-American Civil War & wild west
- World War 1
- World War 2
- post World War 2
- Other

If other; leave a post saying what you do, so your input can be added to a future poll.


thanks for looking, more feedback welcome

cheers

 

[btavis]

>I guess Bob, that you are being very dry humored about this, something that the typed word on the page is not so good at conveying

Gee, and I thought the smiley at the end of my post was a dead give away.

 

[mcsneed17]

how about something different like the early winners of the medal of honor from all the periods or maybe something else like information on the imergrant regiments of england during the napleonic wars.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

How about extending the idea...

..of Medal Winners?
say, Nominate Congressional Medal of Honour (Audie Murphy, for example).

How about Hero of the Soviet Union, such as Vasily Zaytsev (sniper) or Lydia Litvyak (Female fighter pilot)

Victoria Cross recipients, such as Kevin Wheatley, Vietnam, or Henry Andrews, (Medical officer) Waziristan campaign, India?

Other national awards from Greece, Belgium, France, anywhere fellow pF'ers come from will be heartily welcomed.

cheers

 

[nzgunnie]

Modern British figures!

Modern SF figures, yes even American ones...

Actually anything that's not WW2 German. Lets face it, you could quite happily live the rest of your life painting just the WW2 German figures that are on the market already.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Anyone sugesting WW2 Germans...

.....will probably be chased off by other members with the digital equivalent of pitchforks and flaming torches.

So we'll take it as read that the German segment, particularly later period WW2 is over serviced for this particular band of painters...

More British (expanded to Commonwealth) and some sci -fi....added to the list, care to add some more points on Sci-fi figures you'd like to see?

Cheers

PS; While this sites members may feel the German WW2 may be over serviced, I will not exclude them at this point. Alpine, for example, have recently released the British North Africa figures, and I sure they would like to gather some ideas from such research. No Offense intended to any commercial sculptors outhtere, and I apologise if any has been taken.

 

[T50]

Gents, please allow me to be quite honest here:
Let's not complain about someone else's situation.
It won't solve your problem.

Whether or not WW2 German figures are over-produced,
it's for WW2 German modelers to decide, I believe.
WW2 German modelers have established a sizable and reliable
market for themselves over the years, and this is why
they deserve all these new releases. The same applies
to other popular genres.

Just my 2 Yens

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Thanks for adding your 2 Yen

Taesung,
thanks for adding your input.

I would rather hear what others wanted. I may have to work out a gripes statistics, but thats a separate issue.

(Quote)
Whether or not WW2 German figures are over-produced,
it's for WW2 German modelers to decide, I believe.
WW2 German modelers have established a sizable and reliable
market for themselves over the years, and this is why
they deserve all these new releases. The same applies
to other popular genres.

Hopefully there will be some crew for all those Sherman firefly's that have been released in the past year. A different forum though.

Thanks again for your input

 

[vergilius]

I'm not into a certain period. I just look at the figure. If it's well sculpted and has something special, I might buy it. sometimes I have an idea and look for a perfect figure to execute this thought

 

[megroot]

Well,
I think there are enough WW2 Germans, tankriders etc. WW1 figures are not as common as WW 2 figures but that could change thanks to JMD and Jon Smit who produced lovely WW 1 figures.
I really would like to see some figures of our rich dutch history like the VOC.
Willem scratchbuild one at a large scale but a 70 mm of this periode would be great.
Beside that i would like to see some middle age figure's not knights, but civileans.
And it would be great to see civileans from the Napoleontic era too.

My two cents.

Marc

 

[tonydawe]

My two bob's worth...

I agree with Patrick. I'll buy a commercial figure from any nationality in any period if I like the pose, and its well sculpted and cast. And a reasonable price too....

Personally, I'd like to see more Australian subjects but I realise I'm in a minority there. That's why I started sculpting, so I could eventually create my own figures and not be dependent on what is produced by others.

I find the obsession with WW2 Germans quite bizarre, but I also find the lack of WW2 Japanese figures equally bizarre.

 

[T50]

Janus
I hope my post did not sound aggressive.
If it did, my apology.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Thanks for the input

so lets get our start point rolling!

More input welcome (more data is good data!!)

 

[Brent Fordham]

As others have stated above, I tend to buy anything that has an attractive pose and strikes my fancy when I see it. However, my interests generally range as follows, in order of importance:

1) Medieval
2) Napoleonic
3) Fantasy
4) Ancient

Oddly, although my aviation modeling interests are almost entirely WW2, I have almost no interest in WW2 figures.