Gents

Is there a room for high quality resin figures in 1/48?
If there is, how big is it???

Or is it some sort of overkill in such a small scale?

Also,
who do 1/48 modelers buy resin products from?
Any reliable dealers?

TS

LOL! Hope your ready for that barrage of figure requests, Taesung

p.s. AccaDacca have been rocking out Melbourne

I think there is and if people know they can get such products more might be willing to try out a 1/48 scale build. I think it's a growing market and as with all growing markets there is always a certain risk to it.

As to where to buy apart from the regular sellers (such as hlj etc.) the only shop dedicated to 1/48 scale I know of is http://www.track48.com .

Cheers!
Stefan

What do you mean by a 'room'. There are 1/48 scale buildings, Custom Dioramics has some. Black Dog has AM detail kits that are great.

This review shows both
Review

Scott,

I think TS means is there a market for 1/48 scale minis? Not are there any buildings for them

Rudi

YES YES YES PLEASE! Anything! We need more figures in 48th!

Try to be a tad more specific, mate

The most appropriate figures would be those for existing (Styrene) models in 1/48th scale. Tamiya have released a few sets which cover most of the major participants in WWII they aren't bad, not brilliant but adequate.

The most logical would be AFV Crews (all nationalities).

It's a personal view, but it seems that 1/48th is NOT in the best of health as an alternative/additional interest compared to 1/35th scale. The parity between price of 48th and 35th models seems to be the biggest problem. Yes, they'd be welcome but it might be a bit of a gamble...

Another online store dedicated to 1/48th scale stuff :
http://www.quarter-kit.com/

Frenchy

Thanks for the comments, guys!

I do have a couple of masters from Mike Good that's ready to be cast.
As some of you noted, the problem is the price. There isn't a big difference
in sculpting, producing, packaging and advertising between 1/48 and 1/35.
And yet, modelers expect a big price difference.

This issue brings me to a question:
Okay, modelers want high quality 1/48 resin figures. But are they willing
to pay the price???

Hi Taesung,

Modern figures would be appreciated, seated. Tamiya have just released three humvees so Crew for those would be great. Anything that does not go with current trends would be good, you hardly see any figures actually aiming down and shooting. Or soldiers at rest?

Hi Taesung
I really had to chuckle at your last question mate!!!
Mikes work is always consistently good so I wouldnt think you would have a problem there!!!
It's a great scale because there is so much to re-do from 1/35th. Like anything (remember how 120mm etc took off because a known firm got behind it?) it's a gamble!
It's also related to money too!!!
I would love to spend as much time on a 1/48th set as I would on a 1/35th or other but it's about time-money!!!
That has to reflect in end prices!
Good Luck and Best Wishes mate!!!

I think one way you can approach this is to design multipose figures, similar to that from Airfix, whereby you can sell one box set of figures which can be use for different situations.

Hi,

Figures are very much needed so more dioramas can be done in this 'small' scale.


My personal thoughts would be for tank riding infantry (Russian & German, DAK), and marching figures (German and Russian, DAK).


A few modern US figures for all the Humvees and humvee conversions coming out would be nice too. Tamiya's box art also suggests an Abrams may be in the cards in 1/48.

We'll pay a 1/35 price without complaint for good figures.

Track48 and quarter-kit, but also Greatmodels.com in USA has a lot of 1/48 aftermarket

If the price of 1/48 is close to 1/35 figures, it would be a hard sell. However, I think there is a market for high quality 1/48 resin figures. AFV market isn't so big but there definitely is a need in aircraft model market. Good luck!

Personally, I would love to see more good quality figures in 1/48. Especially modern era.

Is there a market? Yes, but definitely not as big as for 1/35 scale figures.

As for price, here are the prices of some 1/48 figures out there :

ArtOFWar : 3 figures for around $20
Dartmoor : 2 figures for around $12
Gasoline : 2 figures for around $11-12.

With some fluctuations in price, of course, depending on where you buy them.

So, I guess you would need to keep the price around $7 - $7.5 per figure as a maximum, or I don't think too many people would buy them.

Again, I personally hope to see you doing figures in 1/48, but, in the end, you have to decide whether it will be profitable or not.

Hisham

Hi Taesung

I think most points have already been covered, certainly Hisham's last post quoting available prices beat me to posting what I had found. I like the Dartmoor figures and would certainly buy some if I was modelling in 1/48th.

As regards 1/48th scale figures I think it will of course be tied to the popularity and quantity of model kits available in that scale. I can't see it as a scale that figure modellers would use to create individual figures or small two/three figure scenes like they do with 1/35th and above scales. But that's a personal opinion not borne out by any research.

Where I think they come into play is as accessories to a chosen subject like a tank, vehicle etc. Of course the scale has always been popular with aircraft modellers for many years.

I looked at 1/48th scale not for the reason that many seem to say, size as I've plenty of space, but for price. As the cost of 1/35th scale kits have risen dramaticly in the last 18 months or so to the point that £45 - £50 Dragon kits seem to be the norm rather than rare I've started to consider 1/48th scale as an alternative, as I say based on cost not space.

So your question and feelings about price are well founded. Speaking personally if the price of modelling in 1/48th scale was close to 1/35th I'd probably choose to stick with 1/35th scale over 1/48th. Purely I guess based on that old human feeling about getting "more" for you money.....silly I know but true.

To be honest I think price will be the factor that decides the popularity of 1/48th scale as a whole, into the future. If the cost of modelling at a larger scale becomes too prohibitive then I see more and more modellers looking to 1/48th scale....if its priced to show a big saving over 1/35. It can virtual match the larger scale for detail. What it needs to do to take over is to beat it by a good margin on cost.

Looking forward to more great releases from Alpine in 2010.

all the best.

Alan

A modern crew for the newish Tamiya HMMWVs would be nice. I'd like to see figures for both the mid-90s (Blackhawk Down era) and OIF (soon to be renamed to OND on 1 Sep). Hopefully other resin AM companies will follow suit and provide resin upgrades to modernize the Tamiya 1/48 scale HMMWVs.

Hi Taesung,

I already replied to your post at ML but not regarding price. Personally having used gasoline and Dartmoor figures in 1/48 I would be willing to pay upwards of $10 for an 'alpine' quality figure in 1/48.
As many others have stated 1/48 is a great dio/vignette scale so maybe it would be possible to offer more value with multiple figure sets (as most current 1/48 manufacturers do) Personally I would feel way better paying say $25 bucks for 2 figures than $13 of $14 for one figure, even if I only want one of them its easier to justify paying the cost if I get an extra figure out of it.
Yes most people expect 1/48 to be less expensive than 1/35 but also know you have to pay for quality, especially in a niche market

Also its important to remember that unlike 1/35 figures 1/48 figures would almost never be stand alone. So their cost could be seen as part of an overall project. IE say I'm working on a Panther G ; ) I could get the kit, complete PE, fruils, turned barrels for the main gun and mgs for about $120 as opposed to 1/35 where I'd probably be looking at closer to $200. So I would feel comfortable adding figure that is a bit more expensive because of the money I'd saved on AM parts for a good figure. To me a figure is an essential part of the model.
I'm sure other people would disagree, but this is just one opinion

In a word, yeah.

I personally would love to see Blackhawk crews in this scale(Heck ,they scarcely exist in 1/35th) But sure, it is a risk, but he quality figure you produce should offset the slightly higher price tag.

Hello Gents
Thank you all for taking time to leave the comments!
I appreciate it all.

It all comes down to numbers.
The current going MSRPs (listed above) are simply not realistic for me.
I have to pay top dollars for top quality masters. Top sculptors will charge
just as much for 1/48 masters as 1/35. Most 1/48 modelers will not pay the
same price for 1/48 as 1/35. And there I am... in the middle, forced to cover
the difference. I would have to sell hundreds of 1/48 figures just to cover the
cost of the masters. Not counting the boxart painting cost and printing labels, etc.
The big question is:
"is the market big enough for me sell enough figures to keep going?"

BUT you never know... just like when I dove into 1/16 market.
I have 2 1/48 masters of SS tankers from Mike Good. I'll test the market with these
2 figure first and see where it takes me...

That's great news!

A new company called Total War miniatures has been featured in the news section here. They're selling their 1/48 figures at - 2 figures for around $19.

So, I guess $9 - $10 per figure seems to be accepted by modeleres. Maybe that's close to what you think would be profitable to you, Taesung. I mean, after all, just being Alpine figures means you're getting some of the best figures in the market.. and that in itself has a price.

Anyway, looking forward to see your 1/48 figures

http://www.totalwarminiatures.com

Hisham

according to mmir, gaso.line just came out with a marderIII crew on the ostfront in the summer. comes with a turned brass shell for the gun.
they also came out with a dak panzer crew resupplying. so if panzers flip yer switch, gasolines the way to go. the tamiya figgures are kinda blobby and misshapen. AND TOO SHORT! there all about 4 scale feet tall. lol. the german army wasnt made up of jockeys!!! lolol