1. Copying kits is a crime that hurts original artists & producers. Help support your favorite artists by buying their original works. PlanetFigure will not tolerate any activities related to recasting, and will report recasters to authorities. Thank you for your support!

Attn all especially sculptors

Discussion in 'General Figure Talk' started by Nap, Apr 13, 2021.

  1. Nap Moderator

    Country:
    England
    Hi everyone

    A question :

    how do you define the scale of a bust.......for example a 1/10 bust... is it based on the overall complete height of a human 6ft figure? or is it based on on the half size of the figure

    image.png

    All thoughts welcome

    Nap
  2. bonehead A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    Boy, that is a sticky wicket! Presumably, 1/10 scale is one tenth of the actual size. Period. But practically, it does not work that way.

    As both a model builder and figure sculptor, I am more scale conscious than the average sculptor. Many sculptors are not that scale conscious because they are not concerned with 'model scale' since the figures are intended as stand alone pieces. In Europe, many "54mm" figures are routinely 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm) or even larger. I scale my 54mm figures (measured from the heel to the top of the head) as 1/32nd scale. That would represent an average height in that scale. To put one of the European 1/30 scale figures next to a 1/32 scale model looks ridiculous - despite the fact the manufacturer calls it "54mm" (presumably, measured to the eye). Who measures a person's height to their eye?

    Only a model soldier sculptor. Well, not this one anyway....

    To be clear: 54mm is NOT a scale, it is a "size". When dealing with busts, scale or size is even more subjective. With a bust there are no established models to display them with since the models defeat the bust format. So, the individual sculptor is free to interpret this any way they like. And that is what they do. Ultimately, scale is only relevant to a bust when making equipment such as weapons and gear which can be scaled precisely IF the sculptor is that scale conscious. I suspect that the size of the head is the biggest deciding factor in choosing the "scale" of a bust. Then any equipment would presumably be scaled numerically. That is my starting point for such an endeavor. But many sculptors are not that scale conscious, and sculpt by the seat of their pants: "close enough" being the goal. All bets are off in those cases.

    So, you can try to go down this rabbit hole. But I think it is mostly a waste of time. "Scale" and/or size will be subjective to each sculptor. You will probably find as many interpretations as sculptors. And I expect that even within a particular sculptor's bust works within a particular scale, you will find variations. I think that trying to split hairs here will be more frustrating than informative. But maybe that is just me.... ;)

    Mike
  3. arj A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Nap likes this.
  4. Moonraker Active Member

    Country:
    England
    Nice rabbit hole.......idealistically a human figure is about seven and a half heads high....with obvious variations, especially for children.
    For a bust then, measure the head height and multiply that by 7.5. That is the height of the “full” figure.
    Assuming the “ideal” figure is six foot tall, equating to about 1830 mm, then divide the height of the full figure into the height of the ideal figure.
    The result is the scale of the model.
    Of course, there are variations in the average height of people throughout the ages, and there are variations in history such as Napoleon and Lincoln, so none of this is set in stone.
    A scale is a ratio though, such as 1/72, or 1/24, not a number like 75mm, or 120mm.
    Cheers negotiating the minefield!
    Blind Pew and Merryweather like this.
  5. PLG Well-Known Member

    Nap

    as others have said - quite a rabbit hole.

    I work on the basis that 1/10 is 1/10 of real size, so to state the obviouse something 10 inches in real life would be 1 inch in 1/10 scale.

    Applying this to the human figures becomes a little more complex because people all differ in hight and build. This is made a little more complex when we consider that humans are getting taller (combination of better food and health). The current average height of a man in London is currently 5ft 9 inches. In Roman time it was about 5"5'.

    It can get more complicated when we consider nationality or race: the average Swedish male is 5"11', while the average Japenese is 5'7.5".

    since the main focus on a bust id the head I have worked on the basis if the average human eyeball is 24mm diameter, and therefore use 2.5mm ball bearings. The average human inter-occular distance is 63mm - 6.3mm in 1/10, that is the starting point for my busts.

    Peter
  6. Blind Pew A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    For some time, I've reckoned that descriptions given in millimetres help marketing but are not necessarily hard and fast.
    Airkid and Moonraker like this.
  7. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Two ways to work it out.

    For traditional sculpting you can work from the average human skull size being 53-58cm tall.
    For digital sculpting you can start with a full body set to the scale you want and cut.

    Honestly though, many busts stated to be certain scales probably aren't and they also don't account for variations in the human shape.

    Then... as you step in to the fantasy side of things you'll find scale can be thrown out of the window. A 1/10 minotaur bust will be huge in comparison to a 1/10 halfling. Artistic license is a very strong tool.
  8. Scotty A Fixture

    Country:
    Scotland
    I'm assuming that 53-58 cm is a typo, what should it be?
    Scotty.
    Forté likes this.
  9. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Scotty likes this.
  10. ivopreda A Fixture

    Country:
    Italy
    hi MI


    Hi Mike

    I always been convinced the the basic scale of the figure was 54 mm at the eyes. Scale established by the old Stadden in the early 60ies

    The reason is that the hat or the busby can create difficulties to mesure the figure. I still have some of them in my grey army and are 55/56 mm at the eyes.

    that means that the measure is about 58/60 mm at the head as mostly of the figure today...

    Ivo
    Scotty, Blind Pew and Airkid like this.
  11. Forté A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    54mm figures are still usually measured to the eye for size. But as you know, no everyone is the same height so some variation in the is good. 54mm is usually seen as being 1/32nd scale so 1/30th (50mm) things can work with them too sometimes.
  12. ivopreda A Fixture

    Country:
    Italy


    just some more small talk on the subject....

    54 mm to the eyes plus 3 mm from the eyes to the hair means 57 x 32 1.824 mt of height, I prefer to consider 1/30 that considers a man 1.71 mt tall... more normal especially for ancient times.

    is a theoretical discussion ... in any case I agree that sometimes different sizes of figures give reality
    Forté likes this.
  13. MCPWilk A Fixture

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Taking a height of 180cm (5'10"), 1/10 is 180mm and 200mm is 1/9. As has been pointed out size in mm is not a scale, and people come in different sizes.

    Mike

Share This Page

planetFigure Links

Reviews & Open Box
Buy. Sell & trade
Articles
Link Directory
Events
Advertising

Popular Sections

Figure & Minis News
vBench - Works in Progress
Painting Talk
Sculpting Talk
Digital Sculpting Talk
The Lounge
Report Piracy

Who we are

planetFigure is a community built around miniature painters, sculptors and collectors, We are here to exchange support, Information & Resources.

© planetFigure 2003 - 2022.