Imho, definitely preiser. And lgb, for railroad workers.
Lgb figures are a bit toylike, but serviceable. Still Very affordable.
While like everything, theyve gotten pricey, imho, they are great in terms of detail and paint quality.
I rarely find ‘bargains’ new or used. (Fwiw, I believe the newest pola g figures are also preiser. But, Chinese manufacturing…..who knows what changes are going on.
I own several sets. They seem top quality. The painting, while excellent, is not quite the same as the older, sometimes subtlety shaded preiser offerings.)
I used to try to save by buying unpainted ones. After the paint, brushes, and time, i feel that the’good ones’ are a bargain.
Otoh, i have bought a few of the cheap Chinese 1:25 ‘preiser clones”….globs for faces, hands, and feet. strictly for building interior or coach population. They need to be painted, and the details are abysmal. Really. But, they are a viable option. Consider 6 preiser or pola passengers will be about $55, while the Chinese ones will be about $6. Imho, it really depends on your wherewithal and, how closely your interiors will be inspected. One plus of the Chinese versions is that they are a bit smaller than preiser, possibly 1/24. Thus, the can fit into those models with smaller seats.
Prehm too, although even more expensive. Otoh, i have recently purchased a number of them, including a drop dead gorgeous bavarian band (mint used, Dickie shuco..if the same as the current prehm). The band paint is as good as top notch military figures. The waiters and engine crews are good but not great detail and painting. However, they are metal. I love metal because, with a base plate, they stay upright outdoors. Also, the engine crews can add a bit of weight to lighter locos. (These have made a good difference on my lgb saxon kii locos.) given the paint and metal aspects, i think they’re a fair value.
I am absolutely smitten , however, with the old lubosch wimmer, lgb wimmer metal figues (zinnfiguren).
While the ‘new ones’ (NOS) are unpainted, and some older previously owned ones are often painted, i love the detailed molding, and the whimsical characatures. I wash, file, prime and paint these, when i can find them. They come with a metal rectangular base, to which they can be glued. As my layout is outdoors, i love the wind and critter resistance.
Then, there are the Jones line of very crude metal figures. Pros, very hefty. I use certain types for engine crews in light small locos. . Cons…they look like 30s-40s crude metal figures. Odd poses, almost no face detail. Otoh, aside from paint wear, virtually bulletproof. Initially I disliked them. I now find in the right place (usually well obscured) they're great.
In the course of my g scale hobby, i have found that there are some old wimmer figures that have been re-cast/copied by a number of brands, fwiw.
there are many others. Just buy what you fancy.
I have few woodland scenics (a bit too comic book), American diorama, muella (resin, great detail and ‘character” but very difficult to find now), just plain folk (brittle resin, mediocre painting and detail), railroad avenue (good), even some wallace and grommit and tin-tin figures. They're all fun. The American diorama ones are superb quality and detail and paint, but sometime car specific quirky poses…some are great. Elastolin….perfectly serviceable, but, imho, toy like details.
I bought a couple of different 3d printed figures. The quality of detail, especially faces and hands, can vary greatly from that shown in the listing, in my experience.
Hope this helps.
