A model figure is a scale model representing a human, monster or other creature. Human figures may be either a generic figure of a type (such as "World War II Luftwaffe pilot"), a historical personage (such as "King Henry VIII"), or a fictional character (such as "Conan"). Model figures are sold both as kits for enthusiast to construct and paint and as pre-built, pre-painted collectable figurines. Model kits may be made in plastic (usually polystyrene), polyurethane resin, or metal (including white metal); collectables are usually made of plastic, porcelain, or (rarely) bronze. There are larger size (12-inch or 30 cm tall) that have been produced for recent movie characters (Princess Leia from Star Wars, for example). Large plastic military figures are made by some model soldier manufacturers as a sideline.
Military models Enthusiasts may pursue figure modeling in its own right or as an adjunct to military modeling. There is also overlap with miniature figures (minis) used in wargames and role-playing games: minis are usually less than 54 mm scale, and do not necessarily represent any given personage. Back in the early '80s and '90s military modeling figures were largely produced in 1:72 and 1:35 scales with other scales such as 1:48 and 1:32 holding a smaller market share. Typically 1:48 scale was reserved for aircraft and aircraft support vehicles with figures being maintenance and flight crews while 1:32 scale miniatures were composed largely of vehicles such as tanks and their crews. 1:35 scale miniatures were produced by many companies such as Tamiya, Testor's, Revell, Monogram and others. Kits of soldiers, vehicles and combinations covered World War I through Vietnam with the largest portion centering on World War II. 1/72 scale miniatures covered a much wider and diverse range of time periods with Atlantic offering figures of Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Cowboys, American Indians and many more. Other company's such as Airfix supplied not only high-quality figures in 1:72 scale but also fine planes and military vehicles and still do so today. One of the largest distinctions between 1:72 scale and 1:35 scale aside from the obvious size was the amount of ready-to-paint dioramas and sets available to small-scale modelers. Airfix, a leader in the small-scale model market offered several kits for modelers from pontoon bridges, the Atlantic wall, Waterloo, and many others. These kits came with everything a hobbyist would need to portray a given moment from buildings and trees to vehicles and men. None of these were available to the larger scale modeler. Tamiya, a higher-end supplier of military vehicle and soldier kits, has, in the past few years, taken 1:48 scale modeling a step further offering an interesting line of German and American World War II figures and vehicles making it possible to incorporate tanks, jeeps, and foot soldiers into dioramas with aircraft, something which was only possible in 1:72 scale for quite a long time. For the serious military modeler this opens a new realm of possibilities in diorama making. The same growth in availability is true for 1:32 scale as well. For quite a while 1:32 scale figures were more or less better versions of the army men children play with. Kits came as single-cast figures molded as a unit instead of the ready-to-assemble versions found at 1:48 and 1:35 scale where arms, helmets and gear must be cut from plastic sprues and glued together. 1:32 scale soldiers were often slightly lower quality than their 1:35 scale counterparts as they were molded from a softer plastic allowing things like rifle barrels to bend while the soldiers sat in the boxes. 1:32 scale kits were limited and this made extensive modeling difficult. Lately, 1:32 scale modeling has made a large push to expand as companies now sell these figures professionally pre-painted making them exceptional for large-scale military gaming of all sorts. In fact, the diorama industry has started supplying pre-painted diorama scenery as well making high-quality 1:32 scale diorama making much easier than ever before. Figure model kits can be as large as 1:16 scale. These kits include motorized vehicles and stand alone figures. Kits of this size take a great deal of effort and time to paint as lengths must be taken to get the details of the paint job precise whereas with smaller kits, while details is still essential, there is less to be done. Many model figures used for gaming are measured in millimeters ranging from 15 to 80 mm with miniature wargaming figures running on the smaller end especially where armored vehicles are used. Traditional modelers tend to stick to the more common 1:72-1:32 scales leaving the other sizes to the gamers. As with all things, quality and price vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and the result of a model is often limited by its initial quality. Today many new model manufacturers take great lengths to make 1:72, 1:48, 1:35 and 1:32 scale models as highly detailed and realistic as possible. This, unfortunately, makes many of the older, still existing sets, less desirable for diorama making but still fun to build, especially as starter kits for a less experienced modeller. Many of these older kits can still be found online at a reasonable price and while they don't offer as many pieces or as highly detailed molding, they can still produce a respectable product after paint and proper weathering is administered. Model aircraft and vehicle kits in even smaller scales will also often include "model figures," or can be purchased as accessories. There are also kits of the drivers and servicers of cars, and the series of figurines that stand in the streets and platforms of model railroads.
Japanese figures
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