"Alter Reality Much?" Topic

The most-important-purchase-consideration question prompted me to muse about the prevalence, frequency, and rationales of people who modify figures (since amenability to modding was my #1!).

So … when, how, why do you modify figures?

[select all that apply]
a. Never
b. Rare Minor Mods (to make an important figure stand out)
c. Frequent Minor Mods (horde variety)
d. Only on Multiparts
e. Weapon swaps
f. Head swaps
g. Minor sculpting
h. I make/sculpt my own bits!
i. Rare Major Overhauls
j. Frequent Major Overhauls
k. I reconfigure whole figures
m. Armatures and Putty, Baby!
n. What?
o. You are soooo off base, I … (other)

For me….

b. Rare Minor Mods (to make an important figure stand out)
c. Frequent Minor Mods (horde variety)
e. Weapon swaps
f. Head swaps
g. Minor sculpting

I'd also add… repair mould/shipping damage, replace poorly moulded or executed features.

Cheers
Mark

B, but seeing as I play 6mm they tend to be minor mods to vehicles.
Such as adding gun turrets, adding weapon mounts, adding stowage etc..

i,k,m for me. Usually to make something that is needed to complete a unit, that is not manufactured. I usually shape plastic parts and blend them in the original model with glazing compound.

I've been altering reality since Nixon was president … Oh, you're talking about scupting

M for me

b. Rare Minor Mods (to make an important figure stand out)
c. Frequent Minor Mods (horde variety)
d. Only on Multiparts
e. Weapon swaps
f. Head swaps
g. Minor sculpting

For 28mm skirmish only. Have done a head swap in 15mm one time.

For me:

b. Rare Minor Mods (to make an important figure stand out)
c. Frequent Minor Mods (horde variety)

Only on Multiparts:
e. Weapon swaps
f. Head swaps

Unlike AB I do not mod vehicles except to add baggage etc.

c, then e,f,g,h,j & k …

6, 10, 15, 20, 54 and 90mm I always alter/adapt/remake to correct anything I'm not happy with in the figures or models and to add variety.

Phil

I think C. at present (removing skulls and spiky bit from GW stuff) but in the past up to j. (making Centaurs from horses and men). My hands are no longer up to anything fine.

x42

C through F

b,c,e,f,g,j and k.
Cheers
paul

E F G

Since there isn't a cool bargraph here …

a never 
b rare, min   XXXX
c freq, min   XXXXXXX
d multiparts  XXX
e weapon swp  XXXXXXX
f head swp    XXXXXXX
g min sculpt  XXXXX
h bit sculpt  X
i maj redos   X
j many redos  X
k reconstruct XXX
m all sculpt  XX
n what?
o other

Accepting the argument that there is such a thing as a linear measure from "less modding" to "more modding", and given the intent of the categories was to follow this idea, the resultant bimodal distribution tends to support the proposed ordering. That is, the responses follow a behavior that could be described in a closed analytic form with a few variables. The outlier of that behavior, is category "d" multiparts only, wich would need to go between a and b or g and h to fit the model. A reasonable argument could be made that "multipart only" is "more" modding than "never" (duh!) and also "less" than "rare minor mods", since "multipart only" is only work with OEM parts, not consumer modification.

The population sample is biased due to the publication areas for the survey, as well as the nature of Internet surveys in general. The Toy Gaming, Sculpting, and Conversion boards likely have a non-random subset of the general population of TMPers (and wargamers in general). While the title was designed not to give too much away in the Poll Suggestions board, it still conveys enough information (as a reasonable title should) that, for example, Napoleonic buttoncounters or wargamers solely focused on the Second Battle Of Fallujah, would be unlikely to select it. Additionally, people whose behaviour is in the "never" category would be unlikely to actually respond if they did read the survey.

The bimodality shows a large binomial response near the low end of the spectrum, indicating a "majority" or "consensus" behavioural trend. The low end "bump" is large enough to justify belief in a second behavioural cluster, as opposed to calling those responses outliers. This seems to describe an overall beahviour where the main population is motivated (vice just being willing) to exert a nominal effort to modify a figure, not to interfere with other modeling and painting efforts and a significant number of others want to wholly or nearly wholly make their own figures. It is also reasonable to assert that categories [g]h through j represent an "industrial" process that is not value added for "hobbyists" and "craftsmen".

o) something was missing to begin with