Graham456 Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Diverting only very slightly ,can some one recommend a good paint to paint drivers and firemans a faided overalls colour as I can't seam to find a good blue in the paint ranges stocked around me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted May 2, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 2, 2013 I use Humbrol 96 - Matt RAF Blue, then rub some black artist's pastel over with a finger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium TheDukeOfWellingtons Posted May 2, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 2, 2013 My biggest problem with figures is where to sit them and how many. Steam crews are easier: one driver, one fireman, one cab. Maybe an instructor/ pilot/ shunter to add variety. In diesels there are more combinations, none of which seem to work in both directions. My era at the moment is late 60s/early 70s so I need a driver and a secondman in the leading cab. I could put a guard in the rear cab for some freights and light engine moves but a full crew in both ends just looks wrong, and I like to have one empty cab for depot scenes. What we really need are DCC operated crews which can be dropped out of sight when not needed, aswell as working headcodes and disappearing tail lamps. Whoever comes up with that little lot will get (all) my money!! Since my layout in planning is an engine shed I am as likely to leave the cabs empty as populate them in the meantime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Look to me like Springside. thank you they are.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Those two just epitomise everything that is wrong with Railway Modelling figures: poor proportions, shapeless blobs for faces, poorly posed... Just have a look at some of the 1:35 figures available for military stuff, from the likes of Tamiya. On some my lad had, for the 88mm gun crew, you could pick out individual decorations on their uniforms. And the faces had expressions, not just features. Yes, they are an accessory to the main model, but then, so are the couplings and vac pipes, yet we strive for realism there. I know exactly where you are coming from and agree with most of what you are saying,although I dont think the proportions are too bad, better than those fat and chunky cartoon ones where they try and fit too much detail on which doesnt scale well imo. I thought the colours where ok too. 1:35 is different to 1:76, cant really compare. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I suppose I better chime in as I sculpt for some of the ranges mentioned (Dart /Montys,Gibson ,S&D /Pheonix ,PFM/junes Small world (USA) and my own 1/48 range and some I have forgotten about ,.Its very hard to produce figures that actually fit many cabs as the cabs are rarely in scale and often the seats cant be removed and the cab walls are too thick yada yada .also I cant buy a loco every time someone wants a crew as It still wont fit any others .I am gobsmacked at some of the awful figures that are placed in some superb models and wonder just what the "sculptor " had intended as the result certainly wasnt human as we know it JIm .Even worse they are recommended on forums as great figures .God knows I've made some figures I hate ,some I look back on and scream....WHY ????????? , but I do at least try which doesnt say much for others .There is no such thing as a character figure,any more than there is a pastiche loco ,it either has the right anatomy or its a freak ,a dwarf ,.I have seen good reviews of muppets where in the same page a loco is slagged off for being a few rivets short of perfection. There I've finally said it so I now throw my fate to the wind ........................................................... martin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 the problem I have,in 4mm, is that from a normal viewing distance,if you compare that to the distance you where looking at the real thing from a similar distance, say looking down from a block of flats or a helicopter, then you wouldnt see the detail of the face. too much detail can stand out like a sore thumb in the same way that hardly any detail does if you get in close, tricky to get the balance right. R1479. V3 67636 at Newcastle. May,1964. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I use Citadel paints for mine in various shades of blue. Regal/Kantor Blue for new overalls, down to Shadow Grey/The Fang for faded. I often use two shades on a figure as they might have had new troos with an old jacket and vice versa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Michael, I thought those two were "O" gauge, they aren't that bad for 4mm. No, the colouring is fine, it was the shape of the left-hand figure and the poses that didn't sit right. I wish I still had the subbuteo team I painted and mucked about with for a lad I know. I could show you what I mean...they had different coloured hair, different styles, icluding a pony tail and a top-knot. Facial hair went from a full beard to a small moustache and even a mexican droopy moustache. For me, I know what people mean about viewing distances, but IF there is detail, like, crew, that's when i get down to look. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed a/c Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 I think the problem also is that we also tend to break a layout down to its individual parts and scrutinize each piece individually. If you look at it as a whole and in action, I am pretty sure the 4 missing rivets from a Stanier tender would not be noticed or that structurally that building would not exist in the real world or the figure has a mangled face. Try zooming into your own face then magnifying it 400 times. When we play with our trains we are watching it from on high and seeing the whole picture. I know I can't even see the figures in my Bachmann diesels. Photos also seem to emphasise faults not always seen with the naked eye. As with anything in life, buy what you like !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted May 2, 2013 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Which is totally right, IMHO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horfield Mob Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Falcon figures are stocked by Rural Railways of Worcester although they don't have a website.You can buy them direct from Falcon at this address. Mr M.R Hill 20 Millvale Meadows Milland Liphook Hampshire GU30 7LZ 01428 741426 He has moved now it is Mr M.R Hill 28 Chiltly Lane Milland Liphook Hampshire GU30 7HJ 01428 727341 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d600 Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Hi I use aidan Campbell diesel figures not bad castings clean up well and has some good detail which you cant really see until you prime the figures,i think some of them are a tad overscale (4mm),although the dmu drivers I find are excellent and look good. cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 You can buy them direct from Falcon at this address. Mr M.R Hill, 20 Millvale Meadows, Milland, Liphook, Hampshire, GU30 7LZ. 01428 741426. According to the Southampton Show Guide from this weekend the address is now :- Falcon Figures, Mr. R. Hill, 28, Chitley Lane, Liphook, Hants. GU30 7HJ and Tel: 01428 727 341 No web site. Email : masterpiecefalconfigures@yahoo.co.uk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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