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Poll: How important is historical accuracy to you?

Discussion in 'General Figure Talk' started by Babelfish, May 26, 2016.

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How important is "historical accuracy" to you?

Poll closed Jun 23, 2016.
It is the single most important thing for me 14 vote(s) 16.7%
It's important, but the overall appeal & quality of a piece is equally important 55 vote(s) 65.5%
Not unimportant, but less important than the "wow" factor of a piece 9 vote(s) 10.7%
Accuracy is a bonus. I just enjoy painting 6 vote(s) 7.1%
Couldn't give a monkey's. I mainly (or only) paint fantasy or sci-fi 0 vote(s) 0.0%
  1. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    I was reminded of this thread and its question, by the recent post showing the bust of Tsar Nicholas II, in his Guard Cuirassier uniform, but wearing the supravest. That garment was reserved for the men serving in the watch, but he as the sovereign wouldn't have worn it.

    That made me think-how much is that bust? Would an error in accuracy like that deter anyone from buying it? Where do the price curve and the accuracy curve meet?

    Prost!
    Brad
    Vincent Z and Babelfish like this.
  2. smudger1960 PlanetFigure Supporter

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    I've been a member on here now for 11 years,in that time,I've seen people's pieces destroyed by criticism and rivet counters,I'm mostly a napoleonic modeler and I'll paint pieces based on paintings,pictures and colour plates,and that's how I paint,nobody,I don't care who they are is going to tell me that's wrong or that's wrong,because nobody knows what was actually worn over 200 yrs ago.
    When I started painting as a 6 yr old with airfix planes,I painted the piece to look like the package card art work,and that's how I've gone on for the last 54 years.
    My advice on here to anyone,paint to the best of your ability and don't be dictated to by the morons that don't or can't produce anything
  3. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States

    That's true-build and paint what you like. I do, too.

    My point is more about the price of any given figure or kit, and whether we have a right to expect a certain level of accuracy, particularly as price increases. If you're shelling out a hundred bucks for a figure, do you expect a better level of accuracy, than if you bought one for less? It's akin to thinking about the level of detail, too, as price increases, and detail and accuracy overlap as criteria, too.

    Prost!
    Brad
    Mark S likes this.
  4. Ned Ricks Active Member

    Country:
    United-States
    What follows is only my view and not binding on anyone else...or myself in the right circumstances.

    It's a hobby. Do what pleases yourself.

    I have a friend who is an auto modeler. From time to time, he will display his work and I am amazed at the detail of dash board gauges, interior upholstery, carefully picked out chrome trim etc. For him , the most pleasing aspect of car modeling is the paint work. He has a source who provides him with exact formula car colors by manufacturer, model and year , for example, a 1955 Mercury Montclair sedan. ("Only available that year in Sea Foam Mist Blue on special order, etc.") He told me that on an afternoon not long ago, he opened a dozen car model kits, just to paint the body and later replace that in the box. No construction at all, because he did the part of modeling that pleased him.
    When I built an example of a 1970 VW Beetle to replicate one I owned at the time, I used a green enamel I had at the workbench. Close enough. Two different views on the subject.

    In recent years, I have mostly been doing busts (larger faces are easier for me to paint) and therefore less that can be portrayed incorrectly. In that subject area, I find accurate, or life-like, sculpting to be the attraction. If I know what the person being depicted looked like and the bust/figure looks like them, that is very good. Sometimes, the contents of the box do not look like the subject or even the box art and that kit goes to the back of the shelf with a disappointed sigh. There are some manufacturers that appear to use the same face over and over for a pilot, a bombardier (bomb aimer) and a waist gunner, for example. Same rugged chin, same place in the lip line to hold a cigarette. Oh, well, maybe I will do better on the leather flying jacket this time.

    Keep smiling
    N
    Nap likes this.
  5. alecs00 Member

    I like to take my liberties, historical accuracy at all costs is boring
  6. Stonewall123 Member

    Country:
    Ireland
    IMHO if your portraying a historical figure you should attempt to accurately reflect the uniform and details as much as possible. Having said that uniform colour for example is a misnomer. Someone told me a while ago on another page that the butternut trousers colour on a Confederate infantryman was incorrect. I doubt very much if there ever was a uniform butternut in any unit.
    My vote is option 2 .
  7. Ray Stout Well-Known Member

    Butternut clothes are like jeans, I have seen various shades of Butternut items of various hues and shades depending on the weather exposure, manufacturer and treatment plus dirt!! Ray
  8. Airkid A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    If I'm going to shell out thirty to forty quid on a 75/90mm figure or a 1/9 bust I would expect it to be a good representation of what it claims to be. Quite often they aren't, and there are manufacturers out there I wouldn't consider, as their attention to detail, anatomy and accuracy leaves much to be desired. To my way of thinking, this hobby is mostly about historical characters, so I come down on the side of historical accuracy above all.

    Phil
    Mark S, theBaron and valiant like this.
  9. Henk A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom

    Everybody knows, and historical data confirms, that the German army wore "Feldgrau" uniforms. If only somebody would have informed the uniform manufacturers of the Reich what that colour should have looked like....

    :eek::D
    harrytheheid likes this.
  10. Henk A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom

    It depends. I have no knowledge of that period, and therefore I would buy it, if I liked the overall figure. But if it is a subject t that I do have knowledge about, I do care about accuracy, and would not buy an inaccurate figure or model.
  11. theBaron A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States

    For the sake of the poll, let's assume that the buyer knows the subject well enough to be able to consider accuracy in his decision. Obviously, if the buyer doesn't know about the subject, he can't place much weight on accuracy when deciding whether to pay the price or not.

    Prost!
    Brad
    Mark S likes this.
  12. Mark S Member

    Geez, just imagine if we saw this degree of apathy in historical accuracy in the hobby of historical figure modelling, in something more important like the science of climate change!!!!....:(
    "It's important, but the overall appeal and quality of fossil fuels are equally important".....:nailbiting:
    Oda likes this.
  13. Henk A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Well, personally I would not buy an inaccurate figure, if the inaccuracy is both obvious, and seriously distracting from the figure. That however, opens another Pandora's box, how minor an inaccuracy is one willing to accept.

    Let me give you an example (Well, two, as I have the pictures to hand)

    I recently bought, on evilbay from a private seller, the 200 mm figure of Sgt. Larry Ansell, by Mitches Military Models. A figure out of production, that I've wanted for a considerable time. Bought of the bay, unseen other than he pictures from the seller. Sculpted by Maurice Corry (based on a famous photo taken in Arnhem, and a superb likeness)!) and cast by Mitches, I expected the usual quality figure.

    I won't bore you here with detail about the considerable casting issues, more about that when I do a review when I start the figure. Suffice to say that I would have passed on this one, if I was buying new, and inspected the figure beforehand.
    But, regards accuracy of the uniform or equipment..

    I will leave these two pictures, and see if the mistakes are as apparent as they are to me.


    20220812_181529.jpg 20220812_182103.jpg
  14. Ekaterina New Member

    It is not historical but it is technically challenging.
  15. Banjer A Fixture

    Country:
    England
    Is this spam? Doesn't make any sense.

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