There are five different Preiser Painted packs that have the 24 figures I am painting.
3 - four people packs that have been out of production, 1 - six pack with the Adults with 3 Babies, and 1 - six pack of the remaining seated figures. The cost for all five packs of painted figures is over $155.00 plus five separate shipping fees from Germany because no store has all five in stock or in quantity.
The Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People 24-pack costs from $25.00 to $37.00 (US) plus shipping. Shipping from Germany ranges from $10.00 to $49.00 for DHL so I buy multiple packs at a time. The Ebay sellers are my only source. Two years ago the Preiser 65602 Unpainted Seated People 24-pack was also out-of-production. I prefer the Preiser blanks because the white figures accept paint better and need only one coat of paint. My painting efforts save me well over $125.00 on each set of 24 people, or approximately the price of the passenger car they go in.
The problem with using the China figures is the pre-painted figures paint is glossy, the paint can't be matched easily to touch them up, and the plastic flesh-colored unpainted blanks are harder to paint, needing two coats of paint.
It is a gamble buying painted figures from China. Sometimes they look good, other times you might as well repaint them. Selection of figures is a matter of the level of quality you want from your detailing efforts.
"If you close your eyes, they all look good." - John Rowlen
