I’ve recently been coaxed to start putting some people on my layout, I particularly needed people for my new Walther’s Union Station. But as I looked for people I was amazed at the poor selection. Maybe it’s because most manufacturers are from Europe but a lot of the people available are things like people on the beach, an auto race pit crew, monks or a group of nuns. How much demand is there for these on N scale railroad layouts? One thing I remember from going to railroad stations as a kid back in the 50’s & early 60’s was the place was full of servicemen, soldiers & sailors, yet no one offers these.
N Scale People
The finished figures are
The finished figures are somewhat limited in variety, and are also pricey. I recently purchased a bag of 72 unpainted figures at Caboose Hobby in Denver for about $8. Bag contains at least a dozen different figures. I got a few very fine cheap brushes at Michael's and am experimenting with various on-hand paints, using a magnifier and one of those Helping Hands from Radio Shack.
So far, so good. Use enough colors to give some contrast and make the figures visible; let the 3 foot rule reign supreme. I also picked up a hint from one of Dave Frary's books on scenery, and tracked down some Tacky Wax at Joanns. Use this in place of glue so that your figures can be moved as needed. Just don't ask for Morticians Wax, you'll get some strange looks.
One of the clinics at the
One of the clinics at the Louisville Convention, was about Populating your layout, given by Marty Vaughn, MMR, In this clinic he teaches a very simple and economical way to make figures with 30 gauge hobby wire, Latex Paint and Water putty, He recommends Durham's water putty, but also says any dry powder putty will work, and glass headed shirt pins. using the head only.
The figures he presented are very convincing, and seems easy to make, I can´t find the copy of the leaflet he handed out, but maybe you can contact Paul Downs who is one of the organizers, if he has a way to get a copy and place it here. It really is worth the effort.
What ever you decide to do
What ever you decide to do for little people, don't forget copious amounts of Dullcote! One of my biggest pet-peeves (in spite of that REM song) is "Shiny, happy people". I have seen so many awesome photos in magazines like Model Railroader ruined because the people are glossy. Dullcote, Dullcote, then Dullcote again.
N Scale People
I agree with dugbonz about the shiny look. That was one of the reasons I had always held off putting any people on my layout because they always looked unrealistic to me. I’ve seen photos of great looking layouts in magazines that I would swear was taken at a real yard or RR location, until I noticed a phony plastic person in the shot. And I do agree that Woodland Scenics has a better selection of people than others, but too a lot of their offerings are individual scenes, guy changing flat, etc. For a busy big city station I wanted lots of different looking people, Woodland’s would look like a bunch of clones with only 10 or so variations.
I guess I’ll end up going with jimr1cos suggestion of just buying blanks and painting them myself. I was kinda trying to avoid that route as I’ve never been a good painter anyway, and these 54 yr old eyes haven’t gotten any better, nor have these hand gotten steadier! Oh well, my fault for falling in love with N scale I guess. I just figured I’d ask in case someone knew a source I could buy from.Thanks all
Use the "dip"
If you want to give quick shading for people without a great deal of effort, try the Minwax "dip" technique used by wargamers. All you need to do is block in the base colours on the figure and let Minwax do the rest.
That, and Dullcote them to get the shine off.
If you're looking for cheaptastic people, have a look at this ebay store. The figs are a bit bright, but the dip should take care of that. There's a closer picture of them on my website.
Joined: 2004-01-14