The Little World

And so do little people.

Every scale model, whether alone or as part of a diorama, needs some sort commonality with the viewer. This can be finer points in the case of something seen by an expert, but the rest of us need a different post to hitch our horse to. Most often it is a scale figure posing somewhere near the vehicle or structure.

PDMC did this magnificently with their Hot Rod Show at the WASMex weekend. The scale of the vehicles was a constant 1/24 – 1/25 and the accessory makers have obviously learned that there is an additional fortune to be made in supplying spectators.

Not just stiff figures, either; real action types caught as a slice of life. Even ignoring the cartoon figurines scattered amongst the cars, there were enough little people to make vignettes all over the place. Pure military figure painters might snort at the commercial colours on some figures – glossy and bright – but these entirely suited the theme of the table.

People look for people, and faces look at faces. Imaginations can supply the dialog and we can see the action even though the entire display is unmoving. Kids can do this better than adults, but some of the scenes resonate with the oldies as well.

For the military modellers in 1:35 scale, I note that there can be frighteningly realistic and poignant kits available of civilian figures – often refugees. These are made for a number of different periods, including last week…I would hesitate to paint them myself as it seems to be mocking real misery.