"Personality Figures ... Buy or Convert?" Topic

… or don't care
… what's a personality figure?
… just use rank and file
… something else?

For me, it's mostly convert. For some 'lesser' personality figures (subordinate commanders with numbers of equal rank peers), just light conversion or a convention (like all NCO's have their weapon raised or are pointing, etc.).

Buy if I can (and the price isn't silly), otherwise convert (possibly just with a paint job).

I also buy if I can but most of my personality figs (NCOs, staff officers, etc) are conversions, usually as noted a light conversion (arm swap, weapons swap, head swap, etc.)

In the 6mm and 15mm ranges I use such figs are rare and I don't have the talent to convert any – so I go without.

Convert if it is easy. Buy if it is not too expensive. Otherwise, pick a figure from my collection and go with it.

If I want a figure of e.g. Montgomery, I'll buy one.

If I just want different NCOs I'll paint on rank stripes, use particular weapons, base them a certain way or whatever. I do the odd conversion if required, but more commonly it is for specialist (particularly engineers, radio ops etc) but I do it for leaders sometimes particularly if you have three identical poses. Chop off heads, move arms, carve off/stick on binoculars etc.

In two cases I had them sculpted and made molds and cast them. Mostly I just buy them though.

Considering a "Personality Figure" as a fictional character:
I bought 2 "Jungle Lord" figures; both are excellent minis for Burrough's Ape Man, each with a distinctive style. I modified one by adding a bow & quiver, a lasso & a spear thus making a better armed Tarzan as described in the novels rather than his depiction in movies wielding nought but a knife.

I try to incorporate plenty of actual personalities in historical games … if there is one and it is plausible and a nice figure, then likely I'll use it. Otherwise I convert/adapt …

I guess that's whatever suits my historical interpretation ..

Phil

Where I can, in 15mm, I go with Legio Heroica for my command groups and personalities. Excellent figures. Xyston are good too, if a little large. Westwind's new Empire II kickstarter has some fone new command figures for many nationalities, which will be generally available after kickstarter. Some of the stretch goals are famous Roman generals too, plus Boudicca in a chariot, Shapur for the Sassanids and Theodoric.

Convert if I can, buy if I can't.

I know a guy who collects 15mm Napoleons. The last I heard, he had 12 of them. In Empire, that's more than a full cavalry regiment.
I have four different George Washingtons in 28mm.
Many of my British generals started out as Cornwalis, of whom I have several different ones.

I convert them.

However my "personality" figures are not what you might think.

For example, I recently completed one for Genral Swearby which is a Cuirsassier officer figure with his right arm straight out, designed by the maker to be bent and repositioned. I repositiond the head to be turned the other way and repositioned his other arm to be holding his nose, and in the arm straight out I sculped a large skunk being held by the general by his tail.

In my Ikean Army (Turkish) I have Al Kazaam, Lord of the Baklava. A Turkish officer figure holding a tray of "Baklava" I'm going to have a Turkish Sultan on a horse leaning over making a selection.

In my army of Bad Zu Wurst, there are the Alt-Knickerbocker Hussars. It's the Prussian Deaths head Hussars and the flag has the headless horseman complete with pumpkin on it.

The officer figure is in process. It's a headless horsemen with the jack O lantern under his arm. Of course, he's on a horse which is on a small cart with four wheels and the horse has no head either. On the base is the name of the figure "I'm the Headless Horseman!" (and we're the headless horse). The cart is pulled by another hussar.
I tried sculpting a horse made of two guys in a horse costume but I couldn't get it to work.

I have the figures for another hussar regiment. I'm going to make this one a "Winged Hussar" Regiment. No, not like the Polish Winged Hussars, each hussar on top of his mirliton instead of a plume will have a short post with a cross piece on which I will fasten an O scale parrot. it will be the regiment of the corn factors guild, and will be called (wait for it) "The Princessess Buckaneers"

The easiest conversion I ever made was for the regiment "Lord Dunfore's Horse." The officer figure is simply a plain stand with a white cross on it at the head of a little mound. Lord Donefore may be done for but his spirit lives on with the regiment.

Just buy it.

I did both in January.

The bought ones are Black Tree Design's Christmas sale's fault.