Ok, I've been over all the forum catagories, and I guess this one seemed most appropriate for my topic. If not, please point me in the right direction.
I've noticed quite a lot of interest in figures, or lack of, in this particular genre, especially in the 1/32 arena, and have made an interesting observation. As most, who have read my profile or saw my "Time To Relax" posts, will realize, I love to create dioramas. This is where I, in particular, run into issues. Lack of naturally posed figures. As I surfed the web looking for anything that might substitute for WWI, in both 1/32 & 1/35 scale, it occurred to me why this may be.
During the early part of the 20th Century, photography was still a novelty. Most film footage from the WWI era shows soldiers hamming it up for the camera. Pilots were most often shown posing with their aircraft, looking noble and dapper in their state of the art flying machines and new-fangled gear. Like intrepid adventurers.
Now jump 25 years to WWII. The camera is no longer the novelty it once was. The Germans, especially, recognized it as a fantastic propoganda and documentation tool. Whole units are built around photography, air, land, and naval. The cameras themselves became less cumbersome. Very "man-portable", if you will.
This may be why we see so many "stiff" figures from WWI. All the figure makers have to really go by are the few photos that still exist. Whereas the WWII modeller has any number of different figures, because the figure sculpters have a seemingly endless supply of photos depicting any number of different poses.
That doesn't even include the fact that equipment and uniforms had to make a rapid transition from 19th Century standards of war, to the new "mechanized destruction" that was WWI. By WWII, machinery was a normal part of warfare. Gone were the bright, proud, colorful uniforms. Horses were replaced, first by aircraft and eventually by the tank. So many variations in such a short time.
As an American, it gets a little worse. Although we entered the war on the tail end, our equipment and uniform changed from the time we embarked, until we reached the front. Our helmets were British, our machine guns British and French, our aircraft French, etc... We boarded the ships wearing campaign, (Boy Scout), hats and entered the trenches wearing borrowed British steel helmets.
That alone made me realize, that if someone can develop a series of figures, in multiple poses, and gear, they may be able to fill a niche that, in my opinion, is sadly lacking.
Just curious to know what others may think.
