Crew members for 1/43 to 1/50 die cast vehicles?

[Grumpy Gnome]

As I am finding myself freshly getting drawn into 1/43 to 1/50 scale die cast vehicles to use for 28mm wargaming… what do folks recommend for putting crew into some of those empty seats?

[vodkafan]

1/43 is near enough 40mm.
5'9" man is 1,752mm.  1752 at 1/43 =40.7mm.
 

[Grumpy Gnome]

Yeah, I learned about the discrepancies in scale in that other thread I started about vehicle scales. After now purchasing several models from different companies, in different scales, I believe 1/56 vehicles and the crew figures sold with them are too small for me.

So I am looking for sources of figures bigger than your average Rubicon 1/56 keep driver.

I see Empress makes some US jeep riders, I am wondering how these may fit in an Atlas 1/43 Jeep.

Or am I on a hopeless quest and must resign myself to driverless vehicles on the tabletop?

[Sgt_T]

I've chopped up plastic Warlord figures for use as drivers in Atlas 1/43 jeeps.
I will have a look in my tightly packed storage space and post a picture when I've found them.

T.

[Grumpy Gnome]

I've chopped up plastic Warlord figures for use as drivers in Atlas 1/43 jeeps.
I will have a look in my tightly packed storage space and post a picture when I've found them.

T.

Thanks Sgt_T, I thought I may have to cut up some Warlord figures but was unsure as to how exactly to cut them up to get the right sitting pose.

[Idguardnomore2]

Have a look at blacktree minatures they do some crew for most nations. Also they are quite big and chungy compared to most.

[carlos marighela]

Quite a few 1/48 tank crew available. Tamiya do Brits, Yanks, Russians and German figures. Often enough they come bundled with some infantry figures but that just gives you more crewing and stowage options. They’re well detailed and relatively inexpensive and many model shops stock them.

Interestingly enough the Tamiya  1/48 figures don’t look that out of place, at least height wise, with many of the bigger 28mm figures although they tend to be better anatomically proportioned.

There are other options beyond Tamiya. Gasoline/Quarter kit produce some very nice resin crew figures, as do CMK. In the UK there’s Dartmoor Models. If you have a look at this site it will give you some idea of what is available in 1/48. Bear in mind some companies like Verlinden are kaput and some items like Bandai can only be found second hand through ebay and the like.

https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?q=%22tank+crew%22++1%3A48

To be honest I mix and match with what ever is available.

[carlos marighela]

Ah, I noticed you also specified 1/43 as well.  I think you’ll find that most minis that aren’t based will look somewhat petite compared to the average 1/43 vehicle even if it is accurate scale wise. The trouble with 1/43 and to be fair sometimes the unexpected benefit is that diecasts advertised as 1/43 often turn out to be another scale. Fit-the-box is the watchword of many of the more inexpensive ranges.

There are 1/43 figures out there but they tend to be civil and model railroad subjects. Possibly best to try the uglier, oversized 28mm ranges like Chiltern, although to be honest I’m not sure if they did crew or, for that matter, if they are even still in business.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate folks taking the time to help me.

I have not had much luck finding crew from Tamiya at a decent price. I am not keen to buy a box of infantry for one sitting figure. And I am looking more for non-crew specific equipped figures to operate several of the open topped vehicles. But I will keep my eyes open for deals on eBay for 1/48 Tamiya figures.

For scales on die casts, I have come to the conclusion that the scales marked on the box are not necessarily the actual scale of the vehicles. Even some vehicles from the same company, marked to the same scale are clearly not the same scale based on seat, tire and steering wheel size.

Very frustrating.

But I do appreciate the time saved with die cast vehicles compared to building plastic scale models.

And the 1/50 scale Corgi vehicles we managed to get at great prices on eBay are already painted to a decent standard. Just some minor repairs and they should be great for the table.

[Sgt_T]

The pictures I promised:







The jeep is an Atlas/Altaya/DeAgostini 1:43 post war caribineri jeep. I removed the windshield and put an allied decal on the hood. The figures are Warlord British plastic commandos (previous version) with Warlord para heads. The machine gun is from a 1:48 kit.
It is supposed to be a late war Belgian/French/British SAS jeep. Yes I know the SAS wore denison smocks, but the Warlord paras didn't fit in the jeep.
I'm fairly pleased with the result. The driver probably can't reach the pedals but the whole thing looks good enough for me.

T.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Yeah, those look the part to me.

Did you cut the torsos in half and use greenstuff to sculpt the new join?

[Sgt_T]

Actually, I cut off the legs just below the groin and (after some filing and cutting to make a reasonable fit) repositioned the legs to the front of the body to resemble a sitting position.
Gaps were filled with greenstuff.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Ah! Thanks, that is helpful.

[vodkafan]

There are 1/43 figures out there but they tend to be civil and model railroad subjects. Possibly best to try the uglier, oversized 28mm ranges like Chiltern, although to be honest I’m not sure if they did crew or, for that matter, if they are even still in business.

SHQ do all the old Chiltern ranges.  I am a big fan. But, you are right they never did vehicle crews. I use the seated Brittania jeep drivers from the Congo range with, headswapped Chiltern heads. They look right and are the biggest drivers you will find out there.  I consider my Chiltern WWII to be 1/48 (they are about 34mm tall, although the helmets, waterbottles and weapons are almost 1/32) and shoehorn them into 1/48 vehicles.

[Mako]

Rubicon sells a lot of 1/56th vehicles and crew figs, so some of those might work.

I haven't seen them first-hand, so don't know how compatible they will be with 1/48th - 1/50th, but they should work, since real humans are different sizes.