Hi.

My figure painting used to be about a 7 out of 10 but I am rusty. I was wondering if anyone could suggest some 1/35 injected plastic figures that are good quality and can be built out of the box to achieve decent results.

I don't want to get involved with resin figures or resin heads just yet, I want to get my skill level up before I can justify the added expense. For the 14$ resin stuff usually runs I'd rather spend that money on a kubelwagen or jeep then make a hash of the figure if I can't do it justice.

I strongly prefer allied subjects if that helps.

Take care and thanks for the help, the site just got better with age.

Jeff

ICM and Masterbox are the best figures out there right now, Simple elegant builds with good detail. Masterbox also does Napoleonics and horsemen in 120mm.

If you dont mind the 2 piece heads then the DML gen2 kits are good, nice detail.

This is a question that will yield a highly subjective range of answers.




Personally I wouldn't rate ICM with the best figure manufacturers out there. MasterBox's subjects are interesting, but from what I've seen in the reviews the quality of the casts looks fairly average. But as I said, they've some interesting subjects, which is why I've got a few boxes on order personally. Masterbox don't do Napoleonics or 120mm figures, or a combination thereof, that would be MiniArt. Speaking of MiniArt though, I have a number of their early sets, which were honestly awful. These put me right off their figure range.

OOTB my personal opinion is that the DML Gen2 range of figures would be the way to go. DML's recent offerings also look good, seemingly wanting to offer an alternate to resin figures (given the poses and subjects).

My 0.02c

Rudi

Hi

As Rudi said, my vote goes for Dragons Gen 2 figures. These have to be the best detailed on the market.

Although great for an animated scene or a "diorama in a box" the Masterbox figures are a little soft in sculpting and detail in comparison.

I echo Rudi's remark about early Miniart figures, I have set and they are bad, sink marks, soft detail and even missing detail. If I hadn't brought them on ebay they'd have gone back! The new releases have improved greatly and both sculpting and animation is good.

Steer clear of old Tamiya stuff. It may be cheap in the shops but there is a reason for that, undersized rubbish that Tamiya should have discontinued years ago. Again, as with Miniart the newer stuff is a lot better.

I have a couple of sets of ICM figures and they are not bad. Probably on a par with Masterbox.

So rather than take pot luck in getting a new or an old dodgy set from Tamiya etc. look out for Dragon, but Gen2. They again have older figure sets in their range which isn't really good in comparison, but Gen2 should see you fine.

As you requested Allied take a look at this set. The don't have to be used on a tank, just as easy to see them in a gully or behind a hedgerow.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/3349

Alan

I agree with the others that DML's Gen II figures are probably the best in plastic. They are reasonably priced as well.

Likewise, ICM and Masterbox are not up there on my scale of "best figures".

As others have said, you can't go wrong with DML's Gen2 sets.

I'm surprised that no-one's mentioned Tristar or MiniArt. The latter in particular do some very nice figure sets.

Masterbox: Some interesting subject matter, but hit-and-miss quality-wise.

- Steve

We did, above. Well, MiniArt anyways. Personally I haven't found any of the Tristar figure sets particularly inspiring: they don't scream "buy me!" - well to me anyway. That said, I do know of a few modellers who's opinions I really respect who have been very happy with them. I've got a few of their armour kits, which are excellent; perhaps I'll slip a figure set into my next order, just to see what they're like.

Regarding Tamiya, the infantry equipment sets are generally very good (great if you need weapons for conversions etc), but as Alan mentions above the figures themselves a bit "aged". I find Tamiya figures useful if one needs "in-vehicle" crewmembers, where one needs a smaller figure. They also serve great for figure conversions, again where one needs a smaller framed body.

Hi

Tristar I like and I have a few sets, they are not as easy to buy as most of the others. It is getting better but I found that the hiccup they had about 12 months ago saw little stock held by anybody, but that's improving. I genuinely hope they remain as their tank kits are excellent, and have managed to buy about six of them.

The figures are nicely made, but are in what I guess most would describe as the usual poses. Terry Ashley has done a fair few reviews on them and they have on occasion employed the services of Yoshitaka Hirano, a leading figure sculptor, to create their sets.

Here is a link to the PMMS page of reviews.

Tristar figures

This is one set I have. Nicely done.



The only problem I see is the original poster wanted Allied, and whilst they do some Russian figures its mainly Axis subjects.

Alan

Hi jeff
i would recommend dml BEFORE they went to Gen 2 as these later sets were near resin quality without the agro of two piece torso/heads!

With the caveat that the non-Gen2 figures are very much a mixed bag, especially some of the early 1990s-vintage ones which are VERY soft indeed.

I recently built some DML Gen2 figures (Last Battle Austria 1945) alongside some non-Gen2 DMLs (Panzergrenadiers Cherkassy 1944) and the difference in quality was quite startling.

The Gen2s were "near-resin" quality. The others most definitely were not (soft folds, p!ss-poor weapons).

Whatever you do though, avoid the old Tamiya sets (the ones of 1970s vintage). They're horrible.

- Steve

Heres my 2 pence worth

Dragon Gen II are indeed great figures ... great details and a pleasure to paint, but you will spend a lot of time putting all the parts together. No matter how good you are of a painter ... poor builds will affect your figure quality.
Newer normal break-down Dragon sets (post Gen II) are also extremly good. Less building and more time for painting.
Tristar are among my favourites as far as figures go. Right up there with Dragon.

One thing you will find is that the occasional resin figure will move your progress along more than a few sets of injected figures. Again the quality is so good, they are fun to paint and the enjoyment will give you pleasure and confidence. Buying cheap and in bulk is not the way to go. Get the best figures you can afford. Id even recommend buying Hornet heads. You have to enjoy what you´re doing and good progress will keep you inspired. Poor figures will drain every last drop.

I would not rate Masterbox, ICM or Miniart as great quality figures. Great poses and very usable figures, but not many of them would be usable as stand alone figures. As your skills get better, they can be great for populating dioramas and adding crews to tanks. The molding quality does not match that of Dragon or Tristar. Details are softer and/or not as refined.

DML gen 2 by far the best styrene figgies. Heck some of the older DML stuff isn't that bad either if you dont mind cleaning them up a bit. Tamiya figs......................Eh, I have used tem in the past but have about 7 boxes of thier figs on the shelf I wont even use anymore.

Bob

Hi Jeff,
Dragon figures of course!
cheer
Antonio

For practice I would still consider resin figures, in my experience the much higher casting quality and sharper details, actually makes painting easier - and you can allways revisit the figures, clean them and repaint when you have regained your old skills.

Cheers/Jan

ditto on what Jan said, resin figures such as Alpine are great to practice on as they have fantastic detail and great face sculpts so you have the best foot forward for painting.

for styrene, agree with everyone the Dragon Gen2 figures are great and can allow for modification but the build may put off some folks. cheers, bd.