HO vs 00 figures

[40034_Nick]

Is it me or are the HO figures more fitting for inside coaches !!?? 

The 00 figures look Bl00dy massive in my Mark2 DRS/ Mark2 Virgin Hornby coaches (The DRS's being coverts from the virgin coaches anyway i believe).. 

I have a bunch of both types of figures but have had to opt for the HO figures !!!

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Because the external dimensions of the models are scale, the interior is naturally underscale because the over-thickness moulding is accomodated on the inside. That's one the factors that makes HO figures a better fit inside vehicles like coaches. It's worth mixing HO figures in with OO to get more size range anyway, many OO adult representations look as though the entire population is 1.75m or taller...

[Butler Henderson]

Appropriate HO figures can, for example, be passed off as teenagers and I am not aware of a full sized scale person anyone - everyone seems to be different yet on a model railway miniature people often seem to weird clones all the same height, width and depth, maybe a Tardis with a puzzled Dr Who should be added. Obviously modern image modellers need a fair number of people of exceptionally big depth, probably with a McDonalds carton in hand

[The Johnster]

Appropriate HO figures can, for example, be passed off as teenagers and I am not aware of a full sized scale person anyone - everyone seems to be different yet on a model railway miniature people often seem to weird clones all the same height, width and depth, maybe a Tardis with a puzzled Dr Who should be added. Obviously modern image modellers need a fair number of people of exceptionally big depth, probably with a McDonalds carton in hand

 

Americans, you mean...  

 

People were smaller in the old days, and H0 figures are particularly acceptable on pre-way layouts when fewer people, especially the poorer classes, developed fully due to dietary and environmental considerations, this being more noticeable in deprived working class areas 'oop north'.

[Il Grifone]

I find H0 figures tend to appear rather small in the head. Human bodies vary considerably in size, but heads less so. A child (or other young animal) has a relatively large head in comparison with its body (we are wired by nature to find this 'cute' * and feel protective towards it!). Grouping similar scaled figures together minimises the effect and inside a coach it's much less apparent anyway.

 

* Not perhaps the best word, but it's the one that comes to mind. (Puppies, kittens....)

 

The Chinese provide large quantities of figures suitable for coach interiors at low cost. The detail is poor (they are certainly not 'Preiser!') and they need painting, but suit the purpose. Standing figures are easily modified to seated with the aid of cutters.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Il Grifone

[wamwig]

For myself the quality of current OO figures, from the like of Modelu, Dart Castings and others, means I have a great variety of 'British' figures available for my chosen period (40s/50s/60s), I do though also use HO figures, although these are mainly inside vehicles and buildings where their slighter stature is less noticeable. 

[steviesparx]

 

People were smaller in the old days, and H0 figures are particularly acceptable on pre-way layouts when fewer people, especially the poorer classes, developed fully due to dietary and environmental considerations, this being more noticeable in deprived working class areas 'oop north'.

 

So, Lowry's 'matchstick men' were actually closer to reality than suggested....?

Edited August 6, 2017 by steviesparx

[The Johnster]

I read about a useful tip for modelling pre-war HO figures with Rickets by judicious application of a soldering iron... 

 

Pale complexioned children with sunken eyes doubled over with coughing from consumption also gives the right Dickensian feel...

 

Joking aside, the good old days were actually pretty grim in some areas, and general public health was much more of a problem in the days before the NHS.

[Il Grifone]

I read about a useful tip for modelling pre-war HO figures with Rickets by judicious application of a soldering iron... 

 

Hot water is less drastic with polystyrene figures. This method was suggested for Slater's 'Huminiatures' back in the fifties. It worked too; I modified some of mine. The wretched 'golfer' was a particularly suitable candidate. (I don't recall ever seeing anyone carrying a set of clubs by train despite the popularity of this figure.)

[Fat Controller]

So, Lowry's 'matchstick men' were actually closer to reality than suggested....?

Very much so, though they were possibly taller than in reality. During WW1, there were so many recruits  shorter than the regulation height that special batallions, nicknamed 'Bantams', were formed  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantam_%28military%29 .

[Edwardian]

Rarely can you believe the nominal scale of a figure!  At the risk of sounding a possibly negative note, I have found that there are some nominally 4mm scale figures that would be overly tall even by the standards of modern average heights, so it you are looking at these, HO figures are going to look more attractive.

 

Andrew Stadden's superb figures are scrupulously scaled in 1/76.  Where manufacturers do this, I suspect that there are far fewer circumstances in which HO figures need be preferred.  I used Stadden's HO figures to create perspective in background scenes, but would use his 4mm scale loco-crews and seated passengers for trains.

 

Dart Castings/Monty's scale pretty well in my experience, so I would not hesitate to use them, and I have found the seated passengers worked fine in steam-age bogie coaches.

 

Modelu ought to be true to scale, as scans of real people.  Has anyone experience of Scale Link figures? They do, for instance, seated vehicle drivers and passengers.

[Il Grifone]

A lot of supposedly 00 figures are actually 1:72 or 25mm. Not a great difference, but it does give a rather high proportion of figures 6' 3" tall.

Edited August 7, 2017 by Il Grifone

[pete_mcfarlane]

The wretched 'golfer' was a particularly suitable candidate. (I don't recall ever seeing anyone carrying a set of clubs by train despite the popularity of this figure.)

You could always model the Rye and Camber or The Dyke branch, both of which served golf courses. I think the golf clubhouse on the Dyke even had a bell which was remotely sounded by the signalman when the train departed from the terminus, so that the golfers could drink up and get to the platform in time. 

[Andy W]

The Belfast & County Down Railway had a train officially known as The Golfers Express, which lasted up to postwar nationalisation in NI. I think you can assume a few golfers used it.

[brianusa]

Passengers are a bit of a problem as they don't do anything!  They stand on their little pedestals all day, not moving while trains whiz by them, not getting on even if a train stops.  Their size, especially if they are seated in a carriage is immaterial as they can hardly be seen anyway.  As there is no actual scale size person as long as they appear to be in the realms of reason either OO or HO will suffice.  So they stand there motionless but at least they fill platform space and prevent empty carriages where in reality, that's the only place they should be, sitting down!

 

Brian.

[Butler Henderson]

I find H0 figures tend to appear rather small in the head. Human bodies vary considerably in size, but heads less so. A child (or other young animal) has a relatively large head in comparison with its body (we are wired by nature to find this 'cute' * and feel protective towards it!). Grouping similar scaled figures together minimises the effect and inside a coach it's much less apparent anyway.

If mixing OO and HO figures I choose the HO ones that can pass off as a teenager (in 4mm terms) - walking round a retail park yesterday head size differences were noticeable between adults and their children.

[Edwardian]

If mixing OO and HO figures I choose the HO ones that can pass off as a teenager (in 4mm terms) - walking round a retail park yesterday head size differences were noticeable between adults and their children.

 

How could you tell - under the hoodies?!?

[40034_Nick]

some great comments here guys.. Thanks... 

[Il Grifone]

If mixing OO and HO figures I choose the HO ones that can pass off as a teenager (in 4mm terms) - walking round a retail park yesterday head size differences were noticeable between adults and their children.

 

There is of course some difference, but it is considerably less than the difference in body size. The skull grows less than the rest of the skeleton.

 

Specials serving golf links are of course going to have the mythical golfer figure in quantity, but they will not be all the same - not helped by said figure being in a somewhat rigid pose. Apart from this they will be few and far between. As I said, I don't recall ever having seen one in the vicinity of a train.

 

The lack of mobility in figures can be mitigated by posing them in groups where movement would be minimal. I always thought the least realistic figures in the ancient Airfix (now Dapol) pack were the running man (nothing to do with the film!) and the scooter rider, because being portrayed as if in movement highlights that they are static. On my last layout I got around the similar problem with road vehicles by queuing them at a level crossing. The frequent train service from a double track oval ensured they had a long wait.

Something like the Exeter by-pass on a summer Saturday in the fifties would do as well....

Edited August 9, 2017 by Il Grifone

[Edwardian]

There is of course some difference, but it is considerably less than the difference in body size. The skull grows less than the rest of the skeleton.

 

Specials serving golf links are of course going to have the mythical golfer figure in quantity, but they will not be all the same - not helped by said figure being in a somewhat rigid pose. Apart from this they will be few and far between. As I said, I don't recall ever having seen one in the vicinity of a train.

 

The lack of mobility in figures can be mitigated by posing them in groups where movement would be minimal. I always thought the least realistic figures in the ancient Airfix (now Dapol) pack were the running man (nothing to do with the film!) and the scooter rider, because being portrayed as if in movement highlights that they are static. On my last layout I got around the similar problem with road vehicles by queuing them at a level crossing. The frequent train train service from a double track oval ensured they had a long wait.

Something like the Exeter by-pass on a summer Saturday in the fifties would do as well....

 

Ah, Rice's First Law Of Motion: Never portray frozen motion!

 

Interestingly, it concerned the Rev. Awdry too; rather like your level crossing solution, on Ffarquhar he arranged, IIRC, a flock of sheep in the road to explain the stationary traffic! 

 

As long as your traffic jam doesn't trap a 'bus on a bridge over the line, you'll be fine!

[RonnieS]

Because the external dimensions of the models are scale, the interior is naturally underscale because the over-thickness moulding is accomodated on the inside. That's one the factors that makes HO figures a better fit inside vehicles like coaches. It's worth mixing HO figures in with OO to get more size range anyway, many OO adult representations look as though the entire population is 1.75m or taller...

 

I did wonder about these? 50 pcs 1:100 Model scale ALL Seated People sitting figures Passengers Painted When you consider inside a  moving coach figures need only to be representational?

[crompton 33]

I did wonder about these? 50 pcs 1:100 Model scale ALL Seated People sitting figures Passengers Painted When you consider inside a  moving coach figures need only to be representational?

used them in model buses and coaches.  They look OK but they need a bit of painting as they all have black hair.  In the buses you can only get one per seat. Got 100 of them from china last year .

[Il Grifone]

I did wonder about these? 50 pcs 1:100 Model scale ALL Seated People sitting figures Passengers Painted When you consider inside a  moving coach figures need only to be representational?

 

By coincidence a packet of these arrived today from China. Apart from the awful painting and crude moulding*, they are decidedly 1 :100. The couple I measured were about 17/18mm tall. They should be OK in coaches though. The bloke looking at his mobile phone will need a bit of modification.

 

*Mine were a bit cheaper, but still the same figures.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50pcs-HO-Scale-ALL-Seated-Painted-People-Figures-1-100-Model-Sitting-Passengers/181739049673?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Edited January 24, 2019 by Il Grifone

[BernardTPM]

The lack of mobility in figures can be mitigated by posing them in groups where movement would be minimal. I always thought the least realistic figures in the ancient Airfix (now Dapol) pack were the running man (nothing to do with the film!) and the scooter rider, because being portrayed as if in movement highlights that they are static.

The set with the running man and scooter was the Airfix 'Civilians'. These have never been produced by Dapol (they do the 1950s origin 'Station Accessories' and modified copies of the circa 1980 ''Railway Workmen' and 'Platform Figures').

[Il Grifone]

The set with the running man and scooter was the Airfix 'Civilians'. These have never been produced by Dapol (they do the 1950s origin 'Station Accessories' and modified copies of the circa 1980 ''Railway Workmen' and 'Platform Figures').

 

Sorry, it's just  my habit of putting Airfix/Dapol. Unfortunately you are right and this useful set is only available on the second hand/collectors market.