Japanese Minis

[Steiner]

Dear Comrades,

I bought a box of Japanese infantry, but now when I see them next to other troops, German SS for instance, they look like so small, like a different scale. It is like in The Lord of the Rings, Mr Frodo Compare with the Humans. It looks VERY WEIRD!

Is this intentional or did I get a box of … a different year, model or whatever?

Look at these pictures …

Attachments:

1. 

   20210501_152405-scaled.jpg
   

2. 

   20210501_152438-scaled.jpg
   

3. 

   IMG-20210501-WA0010.jpg
   

[SteveT]

I have both of these too, and I didn’t think it was too noticeable,  except for:

(1) the SS that were raised up on 1 leg – that really added to their height.

(2) The SS jackets are bulkier, even compared to some other German infantry types. You can see, for example, if you try to mix and match some of the SS arms with regular German bodies – the SS arms are bigger.

(3) Some of the SS hands were a bit big too.

But I wouldn’t worry about it too much, as  Germans would have been taller than their equivalent Japanese soldier (it is not just a stereotype) who are modelled carrying only light equipment. In addition a lot of the Japanese are modelled in crouching styles which might add to the apparent discrepancy.  Cover the bases with scatter and bushes, etc  and the eye will be draw away from any differences.

 

 

[Kar98k]

You are not alone. I also have the plastic Japanese infantry. I know what you are talking about. In fact, this is one of the main reasons I made a comment about this sometime ago. Here is a link:

Stop the Madness – Heroically over-sized Miniatures.

The problem is not the height of the figures, but its the over-heroic proportions (over-exaggerated girth and features). Because when it comes to height, the Japanese infantry are just fine when compared to the older and newer plastic box sets, but as you have noticed, when compared to their newer plastic box sets, well, they look thinner. That is because they do not have the over-heroic proportions. The newer plastic box sets look, well, like very nicely detailed Stay-Puff marshmallow soldiers.

We will have to wait until they release a new plastic Japanese infantry box set to get that Stay-Puff marshmallow soldier look.

Take a look at the new plastic British infantry set that was just released. Very nice figures, but they have that Stay-Puff marshmallow soldier look. More then the older plastic British infantry set. I was hoping we would be able to use the arms from the older set with this newer set, but we can’t because if you do, you get something like Arnold Schwarzenegger bodies with skeleton arms.

Long story short. The plastic Japanese infantry have better anatomically correct proportions for their height while the newer plastic box sets are becoming more and more heroically over-sized. More details in the post linked above.

[Steiner]

Thanks to both. Now, I understand the issue. 🙂

[richard zamudio]

A large part of the problem is that the Japanese figures were made in a period when 25mm figure size was the standard. Today the norm is 28mm. It might be appropriate for Warlord to designate as to the size/scale of the figures. Almost all of the newer figure sets made by other companies are clearly made to 28mm standards.

[SteveT]

It would be unrealistic for ww2 Japanese soldiers to be the same height as their western counterparts. But whether this  by happenstance or design is another question.

Fourth chart down : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284624063_Height_and_skeletal_morphology_in_relation_to_modern_life_style/figures?lo=1

 

 

 

 

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