"HEIGHT Of Human Figures: Forget Absolutes!!!" Topic

Check this out:

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I guess that, as long as the weapons are in their correct proportion to the scale or range they represent, we should have a certain level of tolerance for the actual height of the figures.

I don't know. I found the list pretty cool and thought I'd share it.

Dan

PS. And that's just for today's height averages!

Dan

Most people do not have problems with the size of the miniatures. Sometimes it is the style (heroic or normal)more than the height.

For me it has always the equipment where the differences are the most blatently different in the same scale.

"we should have a certain level of tolerance for the actual height of the figures."

Not because people from different countries are different average heights. A miniature figure usually represents a particular type of person, not a generic human. A given population varies in height around the average but not in a random way. Height falls in a known distribution the standard deviation being a little more than 2.5". That is to say whatever the average height 70% of people will be within 2.5" taller or shorter and 96% within 5", only one in 50 will be more than 5" taller or shorter. Translated to figures about 30mm tall that means most of the figures in a line should be within a millimeter of average with only a very few being more than 2mm taller or shorter than average.

Proportions are where small figures really depart reality, few (adult) people have a head more than 1/7 or a hand more than 1/15 of their overall height yet figures commonly have 1/5 heads and 1/10 hands. For a man 70" tall that's a 14" head and a hand 7" across the knuckles, truly freakish.

It is not the height what is a problem in miniatures, it is proportions, as Mr. Meier said.
I have no problem mixing miniatures with different heights; I have a problem with pinheaded or baloon headed miniatures, hands as large as the heads, etc.
Height difference has been used as a crutch to excuse poor sculpting skills. If you stick with a scale there will be difference between miniatures' height, but not in proportions.

I agree. It's all about proportions, and how they change in relation to local average height and the age of the subject:

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Everywhere I look, it's all about heads:

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All that talk about heads is starting to give me a headache. :)

Dan

check this one out:
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The brit is the equivalent of a 15mm and the german a 20mm.
Why did the germans ever think they were a master race?

And, when it comes to figures that aren't just simply standing at attention . . .

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Dan

Beowulf is right!

mjc

Yeah, I care a lot more about the sculpting style and weapon scale than I do about figure height.

Something else that I think is important is that where I have an army from one nation, I don't mind variation within a unit. But I really don't want to see variation BETWEEN units.

That is, if my 10mm High Elf Swordsmen are all 9mm, and my High Elf Rangers are 11mm, then it is noticeable because they're all uniformly taller (or shorter).

"That is, if my 10mm High Elf Swordsmen are all 9mm, and my High Elf Rangers are 11mm, then it is noticeable because they're all uniformly taller (or shorter)."

Easy to solve. Just place the taller units furthest from you, and the shorter ones closest to you. :)

Dan

Cool! I'm 6 cm taller then the highest male average!

Here's Matakishi's page:

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Dan

However, if what you're sculpting is not exactly "human" . . .

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TMP link

Dan

Agree with you Dan, I'm happy to mix anything from 27-35mm…

as long as I'm not mixing the scale equivalent of 6'6" grandmas with 5'0" Marines!