"Crew figures." Topic

I looked at some vehicles in the last few days. To "improve" the detail the vehicles had been created without windows, just open spaces so you could see inside but had no crew figures.

I dislike empty vehicles moving about my battlefield, to me its worse than painted windows, in that it makes suspension of belief for want of a better term, in the game much harder to achieve. Even crude figures to me are infinitely better than non at all. A "jeep" with a 50cal on the back shooting at the enemy crewed by the invisible men, to me is an utter turn off, as is a crew less field gun, but crew less field guns certainly at larger scales seems to be a rarity.

I can tolerate limber less field guns as there can be a serious model vs ground scale issue, which make putting them on impractical. Crew or Limber I would go for crew but it is an interesting, I think Artistic debate. Clearly Covid 19 is taking its toll when I get to consider artistic as an issue in wargameing.

Stay Safe Brian

I always do crew for vehicles, even if there is no open hatch option on the kit I will contrive to hack it open, as for me the crew, like the stowage, is a way of making the tank look like a lived-in, individual item.
It's a personal preference. Not for a moment saying you are wrong if you don't do that.
Ive noticed particularly in photos of larger scale aircraft models that there is rarely a pilot-the intention presumably is to show the intricate details of the cockpit.

Clearly Covid 19 is taking its toll when I get to consider artistic as an issue in wargameing.

I consider visual arts to be part of the hobby: we make things that we want people to enjoy looking at, and that's the essence of visual arts.

It doesn't feel right to me to have empty vehicles moving around the battlefield. I don't object to painted windows, and armored vehicles may be buttoned up, especially in science fiction settings, but open-topped vehicles and free-standing crew-served weapons need crews.

I just put drivers in my Sdkfz 251s! You can't really see them except from behind, but I also dislike driverless vehicles. For tank, my convention is the one with the exposed TC is the command vehicle.

Most of my vehicles are manned.

My preference is not to have removable crew in vehicles. Magnetized or inertially fixed drivers & passengers are best. Second best is a manned and unmanned version of the vehicle.

That said, about 1/3 of my vehicles are like this and about another 1/3 are opaque. Of the remainder, about half manned only and the remaining half unmanned.

The great majority of my vehicles don't have crews in them. It doesn't bother me at all.

I try to give all open and open window vehicles drivers and riders. Some years ago, I obtained a lot of Dixon ACW limber riders cheap. Now with head changes they drive every thing. Some work with no changes