So far I have brought and built 1-35 figures from Tamiya and Italeri, and although I would side with the Tamiya for ease and better overall figures, could someone please explain to me, why people would spend £8.00 to £12.00 for a single resin figure ? Obviously these still require assembly and paint, I have just brought a gun crew (8 people) for £6.00, please don't tell me its a matter of taste and resin is better, not being funny, for almost 3 times the price, the resin 1-35 should be a whole lot better then the plastic 1-35, but how much better ? And are they honestly worth the big extra money ? Look forward to your reply.

it depends on the manufacturer, which one did you have in mind?

The same question can be asked of a $10-15 USD photo etche update kit, or a $8-10 USD turned aluminum barrel...

To me - sure - resin kits are better, the poses, the integration, the detail, the ease of painting because the detail is better is worth the extra money.
In a resin kit the cleanup is usually limited to resin block areas, not a seam around the entire figure. So, the time saved can equate to money spent.
Also, it's an income thing. If my disposable income allows it, why not. It's the difference between high end ice-cream and store brand ice-cream. Why drive a BMW when a Citroen will do? Any more with the economy the way it is I'm starting to take the bus (but that's a whole different debate).

Bottom line it's a taste and income thing. I think they are much better, the company paid a sculptor to focus on a few figures for smaller run production in a different format. While a larger company spreads thier interest into sculpting a set of figures and a vehicle for a mass production type of system.

Do I look down on injected kits -no not all. Some members here can really do some great figures no matter the medium.

Hi Alec

To help answer your post may I suggest you either find a way of looking at an actual resin figure by one of the leading makers such as Alpine Miniatures etc. or take a trip to their web site, look up any reviews on this site to see the quality.

Ironically that you should have chosen two model figure makers to buy and make figures from that would not be my first choice in moulded plastic but you seem happy with them.

From what I've seen of Italeri figures sets they are pretty poor, looking like the stuff we'd accept in the 70's. As for Tamiya, their newer sets are okay but the older ones they still sell are truly awful, I know because I brought them the first time around.

If you don't want to pay for the finesse of resin figures I'd suggest looking at figure sets from Dragon, especially the Gen2 range, Tristar, Miniart, and Masterbox. They'll be a marked improvement over your current choice in both animation and detail.

Also it really depends what your intention is with regard to figures. Do you want to populate a scene with lots of figures or is it just a tank with a couple of crew members.

I agree with many of the points noted by Scott. It's about cost of sculptor, production and volume sales just like any other product. I have a mixture of both plastic and resin in my collection.

One way of improving plastic is to replace the heads with resin substitutes and with good reason most people choose something from Roger Saunders excellent Hornet headsets.

Headsets
Click on a head image to see the full set.

Alan

Thank you for the replies, this goes a long way in explaining the different types of figure out there, I like the idea of resin heads, obviously having to match the body would equally be as important, as for the resin figures it would appear very much the same as the 1-350 warship resin, all very nice considering the high price I can't imagine anyone paying this for rubbish which would be the same for resin figures, find a good plastic subject and save a lot of money for now would be the way forward for myself. Thank you once again.

If you are not ready for resin figures, at least get some better plastic ones. Tamiya and Italeri are some of the worst for soft detail and weak molding. Especially older Tamiya ones, they are detailless blobs. The higher end plastic ones are Dragon Gen 2, regular Dragon, Master Box, and a few others. I use almost exclusively Dragon for plastic figures. I do prefer resin though.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3316197746_3244704c8f.jpg
From what I understand Tristar, Miniart, Dragon gen 2, masterbox, Alpine are all better then the figures in my display, true, they could have been painted a lot better, however I am looking at the details and equipment that came with the Tamiya kit above, and although I am doing my best not to be argumentative, I simply can't believe that resin is even better than the best plastic that I haven't tried for myself yet, and at almost 3 times the price of a good plastic kit, I simply find it difficult to justify that amount of money for a 'single' figure.

Hi Alec

You're not being argumentative, just stating your opinion, and in doing so in a civilised manner is what this as a forum is all about.

It is you, the person spending their hard earned cash that has to decide in the end if it's worth it. We can all give our opinions etc. but at the end of the day it's your choice and most will respect that.

Without a doubt there are reasons why a single resin figure costs more. Taesung Harmms, the proprietor of Alpine Miniature is a regular contributor to this and other sites and will openly tell you he won't become a millionaire creating and selling resin figures. I'm not trying to justify their prices, they can do that very easily themselves.

It's not so much the equipment as your last email focused on but the figure itself, the detail in the folds of the clothing, the detail in the faces. Some like Taesung are even able to create the likeness of a particular person at this scale, which I find amazing as I can hardly see the face without a magnifer let alone create a likeness at such a small scale.

The resin figures have gone up in price recently but so has many other things, including kits. You could argue why pay £13 for a plastic figure set from Dragon when you can get a old Tamiya set for £4.99. I don't think anything increases exponentially with cost. Many years ago I was into HiFi and the more money you paid the lesser the increases in sound quality became, but for many it was a price worth paying.

There are now some very good plastic sets on the market such as the Dragon Gen 2 range which in many respects are as good as the worst in resin.

As I said get access to a figure made by one of the leading resin makers such as Alpine and hold it up against your Tamiya plastic. You will without a doubt see a marked difference in quality of detail in depiction of clothing, facial detail etc. It's entirely up to you and your wallet if you think that difference is worth paying for. Of course you also have to accept your own capabilities as a figure painter will effect the final figures outcome.

For many the choice of one beautifully render figure in resin is better than six poorly sculpted plastic ones. It's not so much about the equipment, indeed Calvin Tan who is a well known and much respected figure painter and sculptor himself uses equipment such as water bottles, gas mask containers etc from Tamiya's range to add detail to his figures, it's about the figures finer details such as the convincing folds and creases, representation of say a fur collar in the uniform, the hands and face more than the equipment.

Alan

http://www.alpineminiatures.com/35figures.html

If access to a figure is not possible then maybe a look at the above will go some way in getting across my point. As I said, it's up to the individual if they think the difference is worth paying for.

Remember the plastic figures are reproduced by a process that can create and sell tens of thousands, indeed they have to, to recoup the moulding costs. Resin figures have a master and the moulds made from this have to be remade on a regular basis as they wear out much quicker, adding to the more labour intensive process that creating resin figures involves.

Alan

You actually don´t have to justify why you paint the figures you do ... or the money you are willing to fork out for figures ... but you have asked why others would. All those that have answered have recommended at least Dragon or Tristar quality of injection figures, but have agreed, top of the line resin figures cannot be beaten.
Most people who participate on this site and any other, have some ambition and want to improve their skills and results, and in all honesty, the chances of doing that with an early Tamiya or Italeri figure, is Noll. The details are so soft or maybe not even there, so it makes painting very hard ... and especially for a beginner, that the resulting quality will suffer.

Its not possible to convince you ... so you should buy one single Alpine figure and paint it. Doesn´t matter which one, but I think you´ll see for yourself, what the fuss is about. When you´ve finished and still don´t agree, I´ll swap a bundle of low grade figures for your Alpine figure, so you don´t lose out too much. Can´t be fairer than that.

Hello Frank, I suppose a deal is a deal then - I've just brought my first 1-35 resin figure inc postage for £14.84 from ebay, this http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3327378163_4bdd18698a_o.jpg
is a 2009 model and comes with 2 heads and made by Alpine, all I have to do now is wait by the post, I will of course write again when it arrives.

Hi Alec,
most of the guys have explained about the differences between plastic & resin figures.and it looks though you have taken the plunge with some resin figs but dont give up on the plastic figures, follow the suggestions made by some of the guys and go for better quality plastic,Dragon,Masterbox,Miniart,tristar have a look at the kit reviews and renditions of completed figures.

Alec,

The boys have said it all.

Congratulations, you've just gone from driving the beat up 1970's VW Beetle to the late 2008 model Mercedes Benz of figures. Sure the beat up bug did the job and got you from A-B, but the Benz does it in style - it's the quality and details that make the difference.

Read my review of this figure here: Joachim Peiper and LAH NCO in the Ardennes

Rudi

The price you paid seems a little bit high to me. AFV Modeller have it for £11.31.

As for your original question, I once worked on a film with Bruce Beresford the Australian Director who asked Stephen Rea for the name of a good Irish whiskey. Stephen suggested Middleton but said it was a bit pricey at over £100 a bottle. Bruce's reply was "What do I care? I'm a f%&*ing millionaire"



I'm not a millionaire but I buy a lot of resin such as Alpine, Resicast, S&T and to me they are worth the money. Sometimes because you can't get the type of figure I want in plastic and sometimes because they fit perfect for the vehicle or dio that I want.

I also buy a lot of plastic figures but I haven't touched an Italeri figure since the 70s and while some Tamiya figures such as their Panzer crew at rest set are good a lot of their figure catalogue is frankly rubbish. Nowadays I buy mostly Masterbox and Miniart and use hornet heads to improve them.

Before you buy any figures check out the figure review section on Armorama and shop around. there are no real bargains on ebay anymore

Hi Alec

Well done. Those are one of the figures I mentioned about likeness.

I use a magnifier for modelling and it may pay you to invest in one of these, not just for figure work but all modelling needs. Sure you look a bit of a dork, my family laugh at me and say I look like the toy repair man from Toy Story Two but it makes working on fine detail so much easier...and you can see the detail we talk about. I got mine from ebay, quite reasonable.

hands free magnifier

Also as this is resin you have to take a slightly different approach to assembly etc. Instead of being on a sprue which you cut the parts from, the figure will come with casting or pouring blocks as they are known. This is part of the moulding process. Some leave the ones on the base of the feet to hold the figure by till finished painting, but in any case these will need to be removed at some stage.

Cutting through them with a sharp scalpel is one method but you have to take it steady and do repeated cuts to get through the thicker blocks. Most people use a razor saw, which is an excellent addition to your modelling tool kit anyway not just for this task. Then just some sanding to finish. Don't breath in the resin dust, it's nasty stuff and inhalation is to be avoided. The resin figure themselves pose not a threat to your health but the dust can be harmful. Some even work under water when cutting their figures to prevent dust in the immediate atmosphere.

Once cleaned up you'll need to assemble the figure. Some people leave of the arms etc and paint everything in their individual pieces, joining later and then just touching up the join with paint. Others stick everything together and paint it assembled. It depends on personal preference and the figure (some its hard to get to certain areas due to the figures pose)

Before painting give the figure a wash in soapy water, this removes any slight mould release chemical that may be still present on the figure from the manufacturing process causing the paint not to adhere correctly.

You won't be able to glue the parts with plastic glue, you'll need something like Superglue etc. As you want to ensure the part is in the right place maybe go for a slower setting version, like a 5 minute epoxy type.

Many people leave off the head until finished painting, drilling a small hole carefully up though the base of the neck and mounting the head on a piece of wire or straightened paper clip for ease of handling during the painting process, then cut it off for final mounting.

Hope that helps and you have fun.

All the best

Alan

Ah yes Pat but the price AFV Modeller quotes does not include VAT or postage till you get to the checkout. Vat is added to the figure price and to the postage once you go to the final check out.

Total price is £16.01 so Alec got it cheaper

Alan

yep,slightly more expensive than ebay,but all the figures I've ordered from AFVModeller have arrived the next day,thats Newcastle to Norwich overnight!for the impatient modeller it's ideal....

resin versus plastic,I think it's a no brainer,and for us allied modellers the recent releases from Alpine and Ultracast have been a godsend

no connection,just a very happy customer

Hi

I don't want to get into some lengthy debate about the price of figures, or imply that AFV Modeller are doing anything bad, just wanted to point out that Alec, who after all was expressing his thoughts on high resin figure prices anyway, hadn't made a bad choice on his first purchase.

I do find it a bit disappointing as a site dealing with retail customers that AFV Modellers prices are minus VAT when most of the other "none trade" sites don't. I guess they would say they deal internationally and as such some people in other countries are exempt from VAT hence they only add it at the end of a transaction, which is fair enough, no problem. When comparing their prices on Tristar items I thought great, they are about the cheapest but didn't realise until viewing the "basket" what the total price would be. Having said that, they do some cracking prices at shows they attend in the UK and hopefully they'll be doing the same this year.

So not knocking AFV Modeller or implying they are doing anything wrong, just making people aware of the pricing differences. The seller on ebay of course only carries certain figures and if it's not one you want your out of luck, so in that respect any retail outlet stocking a named range is much better, provided they have stock.

Alan

Sorry I didn't read the small print Actually believe it or not it is cheaper for me here in Ireland to buy resin Figures such as Alpine from Firestorm in Australia than from UK Distributors

hey,no worries!once you get your head around AFV's price display you should be aware of the final price,it's rather like LuckyModel's 'available' blue square (it's a regular topic in these forums)

Again it's down to the individual and how much is in their pocket,these credit crunch times have certainly had me returning to the stash and new kit purchases are not high on the list of priorities.

Do what you feel most comfortable with,practice on the figs that come with the kit,then start on the resin,practice practice practice then maybe you can rival the Calvin Tans of our hobby!!

Oh I think it'll take more than practise in my case to rival Calvin, maybe some form of pact with the Devil would be more effective

All joking aside I agree 100%, which is what I've been doing, practise on plastic to one day be good enough for the expensive resin. I couldn't bear to mess up all that lovely detail with my ham fisted attempts at painting until I'm at least better than my current attempts.

Alan

I don't doubt it. But it's swings and roundabouts. You get cheaper figures but much more rain than we do

Then again you'll say that's compensated for by the great beer, lovely countryside and gorgeous red haired women with knee trembling accents.

Alan

Wow this is getting complicated all of a sudden, from what I understand, resin is much better agreeably all round than plastic figures, there is also old types and obviously new types, extras and small dio bases if you simply want to display a single figure, my dio base arrived today, and its going to take ages to finish, there's no rush, its just as well when I stop and consider I haven't got a clue what I am going to do, my wish list is as follows - a stream, a bit of armour, a few good combative figures hense the original post, a few plants and a BIG headache at the moment as I can't find a start point to this dio. People on this site so far have been fantastic, flesh colour that's been sorted, washes, shading and all I can give back at the moment is a sorry for taking up so much room on this site. With me, its always been the same problem, getting the right paint colour, and knowing where to make a start, only once I have 1 of these 2 little problems out of the way can I actually make a start, and it might sound an easy task, for me however, its very difficult to actually get going, thank you all for such a great respose.

Wow!! Those are the two longest run-on sentances I have ever seen.

Hello Alan, I brought my hands-free last year for £38.00, very nice set from Opti Visor as I required something better than my 20/20 vision eye sight for my 1-350 warships, the only problem I find is hand shake, and finding a paint brush small enough to paint eyes on these fantastic 1-35 figures.