The more I think about what I am going to model, the more the “reality” of it takes shape. I’m going to be modeling a small interchange yard adjacent to an urban canyon of industry.
Two viaducts cross in the area and under the edge of one of the viaducts is a main street with older shops and businesses. Under the pylons are parking lots for commuters and workers in the factories. The pylons of the viaducts provide a canvas for the local graffiti artists.
Since I’m making this scene for both day and night operation, I just look at that street and know that’s where the street walkers will be.
I just thought it was amusing in a sick sort of way.
SpaceMouse, Good idea, it may or may not be sick in a way, but on the other hand, it is reality. Maybe it will make the scene more realistic, and if it doesn’t you can always remove them from the layout. Looking forward to some pics. Mike
Chip…As realistic as that is…Few seem to model it…Amusing yes. But sick? Hardly. It’s life. I’m surprised more people don’t include some of the riff-raff on their layouts.
Now, being under a viaduct…Do you have to really look for it - as in a hidden scene? Or is it easily seen by viewers? Hidden scenes are always interesting, since it makes you really look at the layout.
And after looking at Preiser #590-79106; yeah…That would work well for you. May be able to make a few more out of #590-79075 as well, but that isn’t what it is supposed to be.
Had the idea some time ago of adding a “Cheyanne Social Club” (old Henry Fonda flic) to a Wild West scene - even bought the Prieser “Adam & Eve” set in HO. They are not 1 piece figs!! Arms, legs, & even heads are seperate!! Putting them together could be a lifetime job!! Maybe some day. No - there’s nothing sick or wrong with your idea - these “ladies” were around in biblical days - and they’re eventioned in the Good Book![angel]
You could put some refrigerator boxes or washer/dryer boxes under the viaduct for “houses” and have some people who live in them roasting weenies over a fire. That would be a nice hidden scene.
Interesting. Sometimes we get so hung up with locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, track work, structures, vehicles for our highways and byways that we forget pedestrians. Glad to see someone in the planning stage thinking about pedestrians. [:-^]
Not as sick as you might think, Mouse. If you’re trying to recreate an area in a realistic way, or are trying to add realism to a freelanced scene, you have to model what’s typical for any given area. And unfortunately, railroads don’t usually run through the ritzy areas of towns.
On my own layout I’m modeling the NKP mainline between Peoria and Bloomington, Illinois, a distance of 45 miles or so (condensed into six scale miles of track). In that area I have to model three notorious bordellos and a shantytown slum. One of the bordellos was right across the street from the Alton’s headquarters, and was a famous businessman’s hideaway. One of the others was even more famous, as it was where Richard Pryor’s mother worked for a time (as a bouncer, I think), and where he started learning about street wisdom (that bordello was mentioned in at least one of his recorded standup routines).
If you model any major urban area, whether real or imagined, you’re going to have to model some of the more depressing aspects of human civilization, unless you want things to be grossly unralistic and unnatural. You don’t necessarily have to model junkies shooting up, but graffitti, dirt, filth, trash, and general depression need to be represented.
Interesting that in the HO figure section they have a dozen or so “naughty” & nudists figures, and right in the middle a set of priests & nuns! A hidden meaning there?[:I]
Is it prototypically correct? By that I mean, the people who usually are at nudist colonies are most likely the kind of people who you wouldn’t WANT to see in the buff!
