Last week I shared a few thoughts on truescale. This week, I'd like to look at one of the options out there and share some of my thoughts on the model and building process. The model comes from Three Stage Studios. It's their True Scale Space Crusader Heavy Armour.
SPECIAL NOTE: It has been brought to my attention that a considerable number of people have had varying issues with this product and company. As with all companies, please do your research before ordering anything from anyone in order to protect yourself.
I know there are other companies out there just starting to get into this kind of thing as well and I'd love to hear about them if you know of one. I chose this company because it's the one I found and they were willing to work with me on getting a hold of a model to test out.
I opted to paint him up as a Brazen Claw since I've never painted one of those before and always liked how the red and blue matched up against each other. I did mount him on a 50mm base if you're wondering. I found a 40mm base to bit a bit small looking and awkward in the end. The 50mm base just felt like it fit the model better.
My thoughts on the truescale armour
My personal opinion is that they are huge. Much bigger than I thought they would be. I guess I don't know how big things would be in truescale. Compared to regular guys, these almost start to look like Primarch type bits. But after looking around, I think they're on track for their size. Most folks figure the average Marine to be about 8 to maybe 10 feet tall (or 8 heads with the torso making up 2.5 - 3 plus one for the head for a total of 3.5 - 4 for torso and hips). Add 4 more for the legs and you get the 8 total. GW termies are only 5 heads tall which is why some folks complain. Doing them truescale really does increase their size and the bulk of the armour.
I think the GW arms work on the bits as they make the arms the correct length ending with the hands at the pelvis when hanging straight down. If anything, I think the torso is a shade too wide, but that's my personal taste. I wonder sometimes when I look at the model if the GW terminator arms and head are a bit too small for this armour. I go back and forth on that last point about GW bits "fitting" on these at the correct size.
It might be the shoulderpads that throw me off. I wish they were slightly bulkier to match the bulk of the rest of the armour. The arms are the correct length for me the more I look at them, it's just the shoulderpads and the bulk of the powerfist that seem lacking. Trying to upscale those could be a huge problem so I'm not sure how to remedy that one.
The bits are good overall, but need a little more work.
The poses could always be more dynamic. That will always be the case and I'm sure that creates a tremendous amount of work for the company so there is a balance there when it comes to what can be done and offered to us consumers. I like that the legs are split in two pieces with these models as that allows someone like me to reposition them as needed if I wanted to. The feet and legs do not stand correctly for someone in a standing position as the pelvis is situated just a bit too far back. The center of gravity is off and the feet need to be under the pelvis unless you are trying to show movement like running.
The guy would fall over backwards if he tried to stand like this. It's a minor point, but very important. Not everyone will notice it, but some might look at the model and it just won't "look right" to them. They may not be able to explain center of gravity and where a pelvis should be for stability when a human stands upright, but they will recognize something is not quite right.
The huge plugs of resin from the casting are a bother, but not too bad as they are in places that can be hidden or easily covered up. There are worse places to have them and a pair of hobby snips makes short work of them. The mold lines don't look too bad either. Things like mold lines can be hit and miss depending on the batch and I think folks understand that when working with resin stuff. The mold lines on these models are similar to what you'd find on other cast items out there.
In this case, they run down the sides of the legs like normal terminators do. This brings it over some detail on the sides of the legs that can be a bit of a paint to clean, but there are only so many places you can place mold lines for production I'm sure. It's a trade off in the end.
Compatibility issues
I had no problem plugging in a terminator helmet and attaching terminator arms to the sides of the model. I went a touch above and beyond and altered the pose slightly by adjusting his arm position. That and his leg got a little bit of greenstuff flex fitting added so I could practice altering the pose and working with the bits. Their larger size made it quite easy to pin the pieces (like the legs and the feet to the base).
The detail is
Lots of times, companies will use that "plain" excuse as a reason not to add any surface detail to a model. That's not the case here. You have lots of details and still have some nice areas to add freehand to.
All in all, I'd say these guys are a win, but will need some work.
Mainly because it brings the realm of truescale down to someone who would otherwise never have models like this due to the sheer amount of work involved.
Someone with no experience can order these and the associated bits they need (heads and arms) and create a great looking stylized force with some work.
Someone like me (with a little experience) can take them and build on them, make adjustments and fine tune them (while saving myself considerable work with custom sculpting) and create a great looking force just the same.
Truescaling gives a completely different look to an army. It's going to take time and money to pull something like this off. While being able to buy the "correct" sized bits is a big part of getting there and not having to sculpt each one of your figures, they are only the first step and certainly not a magic bullet for the whole process.
Next we look at a few size comparisons to give you an idea of how scaling up your troops will affect everything else in your army.
