Lead Adventure Forum
General => Announcements and forum stuff => Introductions => Topic started by: grapes on December 29, 2013, 08:44:33 PM
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Hello y'all,
I'm a dollhouse miniaturist usually working in 1:12 scale, but I'm thinking of starting a new project in 1:48 scale (an iron age Scottish tower) and I was thinking of getting some little people or sheep to add, and I somehow found my way into this forum. In a way I feel like I've stumbled into an alternate universe where everything is almost the same and everything is also extremely different. Who are you people and why have we not met before?
I have lots of stupid questions to ask you, if I can figure out what and where and all that. I'm glad you guys exist.
Well I'll go ahead and ask a couple of questions. What do you call 1:48ish scale? And do plastic figures discolor over time? And if you paint plastic or metal figures, do you use a primer first? And then what paints do you use? Does it have to be stuff like Testors so it won't chip off? Can you use acrylics instead?
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Hi and well met!
Its great here! lots of things and nice people!
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Thanks Mo!
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Welcome to the mad house :)
The workbench will probably be your favourite haunt on here but explore around, there are some gems about. I've met a few dolls house makers in the past and we've swapped useful tips etc and places to buy certain things. Mostly plants on my part, thinking about it, they always seem amazed by the foliage options available for wargaming and model railroad.
Ask away, we'll be happy to help.
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Thanks Dewbakuk! Yeah, we dollhouse people have been appropriating railroad landscaping stuff for a long time. Good stuff! And I sometimes encounter dollhouse and railroad shops combined, but I've never seen wargaming stuff combined with dollhouse things. Which is silly.
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Welcome!
We call 1/48 scale 1/48 scale - so that's easy :)
It's close, but not quite the same as 28mm, which is the scale of choice for many wargamers - 28mm high figures used to be 25mm. One inch high bascially. But they've grown over time as people have sculpted them bigger to get more detail in. Most 28mm figures are now actually nearer 32mm tall. True 28mm is 1/56 scale. So 32mm tall figures are probably not very far at all off 1/48.
The general process for painting any figures, plastic or metal, is to clean them up first to get rid of mould lines etc, then prime them with a spray paint, then paint them (most people use hobby acrylics, some people still use enamels), then varnish them. These layers help keep the colour fast and prevent scrapes from handling during games. Although you probably won't need to worry about that.
An Iron Age doll's house sounds like a great project - if you post a request in the 'Age of Gods, Myths and Empires board', I'm sure lots of 'ancients' enthusiasts will be able to suggest suitable figures to fit in with your project :)
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Here's my most recent miniature project, a Scottish blackhouse or crofter's cottage.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graceewhite/sets/72157633367657418/
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Thanks Captain Blood! I may not play with my figures very much, but I still like them to be sturdy and long lasting and not get chipped or discolored.
So you all don't use "O scale" and "HO scale" and terms like that? I have seen things listed as 28mm, which confused me - like 28mm sheep that are 18mm high. But I think I'm learning. I think I might skip on the people figures and just go for sheep. A lot of people figures look kind of weird to me, squat and bulky and not quite proportionally human. Is that a common problem?
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Here's my most recent miniature project, a Scottish blackhouse or crofter's cottage.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/graceewhite/sets/72157633367657418/
Fantastic stuff! I will have to show my good lady your album there as she is a dollhouse miniaturist too, though she has only really just started.
With regards to 28mm, the general rule is that 28mm is the height of a human being in that scale, which gives you a point of reference to other things made in that scale (such as a sheep). It's a big confusing mess sometimes as 28mm is a generic description of all manner of styles (as Captain Blood said, they vary from 25mm - 32mm with varying degrees of bulkiness!)
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Thanks Gibby! (I used to have a cat named Gibbie. Any relation?) How fabulous that your lady is a dollhouse miniaturist too. You two must have an excellent meeting of minds.
(Hee, why are Arctic Explorers available for icons? Not that I'm complaining. I love polar exploration very much. I have a polar explorer's dollhouse too.)
I did eventually figure the scale out when looking for sheep. I'll just have to work on wrapping my mind around the new system. I think O Scale sounds like it's pretty close to 28mm or 1:48?
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Thanks Gibby! (I used to have a cat named Gibbie. Any relation?) How fabulous that your lady is a dollhouse miniaturist too. You two must have an excellent meeting of minds.
I'm too clumsy to have any cat relatives :D. Surprisingly our hobbies have yet to fully cross over, but I am talking her into doing some kind of historical dollhouse!
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I think O Scale sounds like it's pretty close to 28mm or 1:48?
Kind of....
The problem is it's three different things. 1:48 is a scale. It is an accurate (in theory) replication of something in a smaller size where the ratio remains consistent. 28mm figure 'scale' is an artistic measurement that is at best approximate. The proportions tend to vary depending on the sculptor and their style/ability/critic input. Then you have O scale, usually called O Gauge, this is because the size is based on the size and distance between the tracks, not the size of the carriages riding it. Early O Gauge stuff can vary hugely but modern stuff is more regulated, however there are difference based on country. Which leads to US O gauge which is 1:48, UK O Gauge which is 1:43 and European 0 Gauge which is usually 1:45 but can vary depending on country/manufacturer from 1:43 - 1:48.
Now, all that said, personally, O Gauge is pretty close and I'm happy to use it most of the time. Some people are very much against it though and would rather go with a smaller size such as S Gauge, even though there isn't much available in that size.
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Ok, thanks!
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Welcome to LAF grapes.
Most of your questions has already been answered, so I only will encourage you to look at the works of some VERY TALENTED people who posts their work in our beloved forum.
Workbench, and the "How to" child board may be just the place to start.
About scales, it's all VERY CONFUSING at the beginning, but once you settle down, there isn't really.
And yes, wargames miniatures usually have some features distorted (big head, hands and feet to say something) so if you're used to anatomically correct models they may seen strange to you.
Not that some dolls are pretty accurate either... ;D
May you have a long and merry stay with us.
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Thank you magokiron! I'm having fun looking around and admiring everyone's work.
And yes, a lot of dolls are pretty wacky too! I usually don't include dolls in my dollhouses because they disrupt the sense of reality.
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Welcome to LAF!
Here is a very useful reference (http://theminiaturespage.com/ref/scales.html) over at The Miniatures Page. The commentary is a bit dated (e.g. in terms of saying which things are popular), but the explanation of scales is still valid. The most helpful thing for my use, though, is the handy cross-reference between 1/XX and XXmm "scales". I use this all the time to decide which die cast car might be close enough to use in a zombie game, or if a kitbashed spaceship model would have a cockpit that's too tiny.
One tip I would add to the scale issue is that, aside from the specific size, the listed scale should give you a good idea of the manufacturer's intent. A plastic airplane kit that says it's a "1/48 scale model" says that the manufacturer intended to make a replica aircraft with accurate details and proportions. A pack of medieval tavern furniture that says "compatible with 28mm heroic scale figures" means that the table and chairs are supposed to look good next to Games Workshop's Warhammer figures. Of course, that's no guarantee that either manufacturer succeeded, but at least it's good to know what they're trying to sell you!
- H8
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One tip I would add to the scale issue is that, aside from the specific size, the listed scale should give you a good idea of the manufacturer's intent. A plastic airplane kit that says it's a "1/48 scale model" says that the manufacturer intended to make a replica aircraft with accurate details and proportions. A pack of medieval tavern furniture that says "compatible with 28mm heroic scale figures" means that the table and chairs are supposed to look good next to Games Workshop's Warhammer figures.
Ohhh, that's a very useful tip. Thank you, H8! And thanks for the link too.
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There are a variety of reasons why so many wargames figures have that distinctly chunky look, verging in many cases on the munchkin tendency. Partly, it stems from some of the practicalities of sculpting, casting and using inch-high white metal wargames figures - the need to make them robust, durable, bottom heavy and so on. The fact that very fine (in scale?) detail would not survive the casting process. Etc. Mostly though, I fear it's a stylistic preference. Wargamers have grown used to and come to like that look, and it's only the most extreme examples of melon-heads and ludicrously outsized hands and feet that draw critical comment... All exacerbated by the dominance of Games Workshop in the miniatures market for the undiscerning pre-teen, where their subject matter - space marines and 'orks' lends itself to an uber-chunky style of fantastical body armour and muscle-boundness...
That said, there are certainly sculptors, manufacturers and ranges out there who eschew the munchkin look and go for more natural human proportions. Again, a question on the general discussion board, would soon generate a list of the people offering more proportionate looking miniature people... Whether any of them produce figures (or sheep) appropriate to your Iron Age setting, is another matter :)
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Welcome grapes! Some nice stuff you make.
Following on from Hatemongers link, there's also this one on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scale_model_sizes
Look forward some more of your creations.
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That croft is EXACTLY like the crofting museum up on Shetland, inside and out. Right down to the cupboard bed - fantastic work!
I've always said that if gaming didn't exist, I'd have taken up dollshousing for my daughters or railway modelling. I like building imaginary places and people and playing out their stories. I think I'm equal parts inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and the Brontes' "living fantasy" stories of Angria and Gondol, which they built around toy soldiers.
Don't know about the others, but I lived for a number of years in the village where the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin was born. I saw the option in the icons here and it seemed appropriate...
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That is a gorgeous, gorgeous model.
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That is a gorgeous, gorgeous model.
Ditto - that's just brilliant; nice cat, too :D
Welcome, looking forward to seeing the broch. 8) 8)
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Mostly though, I fear it's a stylistic preference.
Michelangelo's David isn't scale correct either. It has e.g. exaggerated hands. Maybe he was a total n00b who knew nothing about sculpting and made a mistake, or maybe he did that intentionally.
What it boils down to, IMHO, is that we are not really dealing with scale models. We are dealing with objects of art, and art comes in varied styles.
One may dislike a certain art style and that is just as valid opinion as someone else liking it.
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Mostly though, I fear it's a stylistic preference.