Guest KingK_series Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Really? I ought to pull mine out of the spares box and sell them off to pay for some of these new Mike Good figures. Yes, so that begs the questions....... The Tamiyas are stiff, have badly modeled anatomy, are too small for true 1/32..... so I ask the questions Edited November 25, 2012 by KingK_series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDave Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Was the Soviet female pilot modelled on John Malkovitch? Uncanny... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 - this is in the light of having flogged off the truely hideous pilots from the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfires , - I've managed to flog 4 sets of 'oirrible Tamiya figures for £37! - amazing! I have to disagree that the Tamiya pilots are "truely hideous". Your criteria is obviously pretty strict but I think they look fine and are, like most crew figures, adaptable. The scale size of a human is, as you know quite variable. I personally prefer generic figures to 'recognizable characters'. I wouldn't use ebay as a gauge for either demand or price when contemplating a product for sale to the general public. I'm not a penny pincher but I think the price of most aftermarket figures is too high even thought they are well done. They may have an appeal to those who collect figures but when they cost almost half the price of a kit, I'm off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOTR Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Well, at least the Tamiya Phantom pilots would measure hardely more than 1.5 metres/5'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KingK_series Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I have to disagree that the Tamiya pilots are "truely hideous". Your criteria is obviously pretty strict but I think they look fine and are, like most crew figures, adaptable. The scale size of a human is, as you know quite variable. I personally prefer generic figures to 'recognizable characters'. I wouldn't use ebay as a gauge for either demand or price when contemplating a product for sale to the general public. I'm not a penny pincher but I think the price of most aftermarket figures is too high even thought they are well done. They may have an appeal to those who collect figures but when they cost almost half the price of a kit, I'm off. Well you are clearly not alone in that view, which is why ebay has been a ready market for the figures with the Spitfires I have bought, however I think you are very generous in your view. As far as price, there is a great deal of work that goes into making anything, which is offset by the numbers produced, the bronze pictured earlier sold for many thousands of pounds even as a small 'study' but was editioned at 9. Tamiya makes tens of thousands of it's kits - I trust Mike Good gets the sort of money his care and knowledge deserve, my question remains if there is such a demand for [second hand] out of the box plastic pilots [regardless of quality] - is there an interest in really sensitively modeled pilots in classical proportion for genericic figures or correct proportion for an individual portrait? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midnightwrecking Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I am disappointed that the seat straps are not sculpted over the parachute harness. The end user is going to have to add them later (not an easy job I can tell you). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Funny! There were quite good plastic figures of Bader, Marseille, Galland, Hartman, Bong, Kateo and Sakai ...! They were released some years ago by Fine Molds and they were also included in some special editions of Hasegawa kits! Some are still available. Here's a set of examples: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021604 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021605 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021602 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021599 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021604 Obviously, you cannot compare them with resin figures sculpted by Good but they really look like the full-scale models. I think that the most produced 1/32 pilot is probably Hans Joachim Marseille (I've at least four different ones!). Far more 1/32 pilots were released than most people think. I'm sure I've far more than fifty different ones and if I had any interest in WW1 or metal figures, the number would be noticeably higher! The problem lies in the fact that few manufacturers ever developed an important line of 1/32 figures (except Ultracast and Verlinden) and generally the products disappear quite quickly. A lot of producers tried but stopped after one, two or three figures and existing lines are generally limited ones. For instance, Legend made three of them, Carter and Crawley one, MDC one, Pegaso two, Masterbox has one plastic set, Tamiya made one 1/32 German pilot (looking like Molders), Nemrod made four, RB has two, Craftworks had six, etc. etc. So if you look at all 1/32 pilot figures ever released by all manufacturers, the number is impressive. However, availability is a problem as well as knowing that some figures were ever released! For instance, I saw a very nice set of two resin Italian pilots drinking a Chianti bottle some years ago. I did not purchased the set as it was quite expensive but never succeeded in finding it again or even remembering who released it! Last, there are numerous producers of excellent figures but generally airplane modellers don't know them! Consider for instance Allarmi. The figures are comparable to the ones sculpted by Mike Good. Look for instance at this page of a French model webshop: http://www.specialeast.com/specialeast/produits/categorie484/figurines-1-32.dhtml My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KingK_series Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Funny! There were quite good plastic figures of Bader, Marseille, Galland, Hartman, Bong, Kateo and Sakai ...! They were released some years ago by Fine Molds and they were also included in some special editions of Hasegawa kits! Some are still available. Here's a set of examples: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021604 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021605 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021602 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021599 http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10021604 Obviously, you cannot compare them with resin figures sculpted by Good but they really look like the full-scale models. I think that the most produced 1/32 pilot is probably Hans Joachim Marseille (I've at least four different ones!). Far more 1/32 pilots were released than most people think. I'm sure I've far more than fifty different ones and if I had any interest in WW1 or metal figures, the number would be noticeably higher! The problem lies in the fact that few manufacturers ever developed an important line of 1/32 figures (except Ultracast and Verlinden) and generally the products disappear quite quickly. A lot of producers tried but stopped after one, two or three figures and existing lines are generally limited ones. For instance, Legend made three of them, Carter and Crawley one, MDC one, Pegaso two, Masterbox has one plastic set, Tamiya made one 1/32 German pilot (looking like Molders), Nemrod made four, RB has two, Craftworks had six, etc. etc. So if you look at all 1/32 pilot figures ever released by all manufacturers, the number is impressive. However, availability is a problem as well as knowing that some figures were ever released! For instance, I saw a very nice set of two resin Italian pilots drinking a Chianti bottle some years ago. I did not purchased the set as it was quite expensive but never succeeded in finding it again or even remembering who released it! Last, there are numerous producers of excellent figures but generally airplane modellers don't know them! Consider for instance Allarmi. The figures are comparable to the ones sculpted by Mike Good. Look for instance at this page of a French model webshop: http://www.specialea...ines-1-32.dhtml My 2 cents. Thankyou , good answer that begas the question though - if these products appear but disappear/ are difficult to find/ not readily available - that the demand for them is so small as to make it of marginal value to produce/ market them? I'd have to say that these, neither Fine Moulds or Allarmi are that well done, certainly not well done enough to make someone want one who might otherwoise be indifferent to havbing a pilot with their model - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 (edited) There have been some remarkably good "portraits", and again Mike Good seems to be particularly talented at capturing a likeness in a figure. He's done 1/32 figures of Gabreski, Boyington, Voss, Billy Bishop, and a few others, including the Battle of Britain RAF pilot that looks suspiciously like Robert Shaw in the movie! Another one that I marvel at is the George Preddy figure by John Rosengrant, from Eagle Editions. The face is so good, and the pose so natural and dynamic. I believe that one sold very well because for a time it was very difficult to find. It's interesting, I'm not sure about figures of famous individuals. I like the idea but in my own mind it limits me to putting them beside models of only their aircraft. I acknowledge that to 98% of the people who will look at my models it is only a figure of a pilot...not that historical figure. At the same time, how likely is it that I will ever get Mike Good quality figures of Eugeniusz Horbaczewski, Witold Lokuciewski, George Keefer or Lloyd Chadburn? Maybe someday 3D priniting will become so accessible that you could start with a generic figure body and print a face and head of your choosing. Well...it could happen... I find a lot of figures, even the larger ones, stiff and the poses unnatural. The relaxed stances of Mike Good's figures just look so realistic. And no I'm not related to Mike Good! Richard Edited November 26, 2012 by R Palimaka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 I'd have to say that these, neither Fine Moulds or Allarmi are that well done, certainly not well done enough to make someone want one who might otherwoise be indifferent to havbing a pilot with their model - I agree about the Finemolds (plastic injection technical limitations) but not about the Allarmi resin figures! They're gorgeous and the faces look like the real ones (I compared the faces with period pictures). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 It's very hard to judge the quality of un-assembled figures from a few photos. If they look good and I haven't heard any 'bad press', I'll normally buy one or two and see for myself. Right now like everyone else,waiting for the Mike Good figures to be released. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 It's very hard to judge the quality of un-assembled figures from a few photos. If they look good and I haven't heard any 'bad press', I'll normally buy one or two and see for myself. Right now like everyone else,waiting for the Mike Good figures to be released. Peter Look here for a view of the painted figures: http://www.specialeast.com/specialeast/produits/categorie1839/allarmi-1-32.dhtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 For instance, I saw a very nice set of two resin Italian pilots drinking a Chianti bottle some years ago. I did not purchased the set as it was quite expensive but never succeeded in finding it again or even remembering who released it! http://guide.supereva.it/modellismo_statico/interventi/2010/05/il-capitano-buscaglia-e-il-tenente-cimicchi-la-meridiana & http://www.elgrecominiatures.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d200_La_Meridiana_Regio_Esercito.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 http://guide.superev...hi-la-meridiana & http://www.elgrecomi...o_Esercito.html Eh, thanks a lot!!! I did not the same error twice. I just ordered a set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 Thierry Thanks for the link. Yup, they look fantastic Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now