I have four loading docks that need figures and equipment…forklifts and the like, cartons filled with something or other, plus cowboys herding cows (NOT breaking in a horse or running around with guns in their hands stalking whatever it is that the are stalking). WS is kind of pricey and I am trying to avoid them. Any suggestions about other vendor?. I model in HO.
what era? might work to just get “regular people” type characters, and repaint 'em.
These dock workers with pallet jacks and pallet stackers are Preiser. They are top of the line and may be out of your budget. They might also be to modern for you if you are also looking for cowboys. The pallets are made by Ertl.
As for cowboys riding horses you are kind of out of luck. I have been searching for cowboys like that for a long time. Almost all of the figures of horseback riders are made in Europe so they have English saddles and European clothing instead of western wear.
Search engine: Preiser
They have all kinds of people figures, both painted and unpainted
I have made boxes out of cubes of balsa wood, painted a beige color to simulate paste board (corrugated cardboard). You can take a fine roller ball pen and mark them up for openings, labels, etc. as well. WS and other firms also sell the older wooden crate type boxes, depending on the era you’re modeling. More modern packaging is usually in corrugated cardboard rather than wooden crates, except for maybe for packaging heavy equipment parts.
The era is 1950’s early 60’s in the desert SW, as far as the cowboys are concerned.
This forklift is made by Kibri.
Check out eBay “HO unpainted figures”. When I find a few I like I make molds and cast my own figures. I cut up my castings and reconfigure them the way I want them then make new molds.
You could check out Shapeways for HO/1:87 figures and do the same with them.
I have over 400 figures on my HO layout, almost all are my hand painted castings.
I found a whitemetal forklift kit on eBay and it turned out pretty good too.
GHQ makes a very nice forklift. It is a metal kit, and comes with a driver figure. It can be built with or without the protective structure which is etched metal
http://www.ghqmodels.com/store/61007.html
Walthers usually has this in stock
https://www.walthers.com/v80e-forklift-kit-includes-operator-figure
Wow, great looking scenes. I am in the process of building a bunch of freight houses for LCL operations, so those pallets and containers would be perfect. Thanks for posting those pics.
Rich
Sometimes, less is more. You don’t need to fill every loading dock. Using high quality figures on one or two while the others just have boxes or crates won’t break the bank but visitors will be drawn to the busy dock.
I like to open some of those large doors and make a shallow “shadow box” inside, sometimes even with lights. These small, limited scenes hide the details, so you can get away with cheaper figures and accessories.
This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought. Preiser appears to offer a better product than WS and at a competitive price. In fact, I think Preiser is a little cheaper. As for MrB’s less is more advice. I think he is correct.
Alloy Forms made a great forklift model years (decades) ago, but they still turn up from time to time.
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-Kevin
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Thank you and you’re welcome!
I used some old Revell HO scale figures for loading dock or other railroad-related photos, although I don’t have much in the way of equipment for them to use…
The same bunch (or their twin brothers) work for the railroad, too…
Wayne
Wayne, what more equipment do they need? They look like they have plenty of muscle. Isn’t that enough? Back in the day, before motorized fork lifts, that’s how the workers handled shipments at the big freight houses. So, your pics are very prototypical.
Rich
Take Care![:D]
Frank
bearman,
I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I can 3d print an ho scale well car body for $5, and the complete car with all details AND 2 containers for around $10. How does this relate? One commercial well car costs $30 to $40, and one with two containers costs around $80. That is some huge savings. All you have to do is print and paint. The website I found a free well car file on was called thingiverse.com, but it also has a fair share of ho figures and vehicles. Just go to the website and type in ho scale and scroll down until you find ho scale vehicles/people that fit what you want. The bad news is, I can get those prices because I have a connection. 3d printing retailer prices are through the roof. However, there are some public libraries that have 3d printers that are free use for the public, with some limitations on size and amount of prints per month. You will have to do a bit of searching, but 3d printing is definitely cheaper than prieser or woodland scenics.
Walthers Scenemaster has a set of warehouse workers and accessories, 949-6064, https://www.walthers.com/warehouse-workers-and-accessories.
Woodland Scenics has workers with forklift & scenic accents, 785-1911, https://www.walthers.com/scenic-accents-r-workers-w-forklift
Faller has pallet jacks, 272-180915, https://www.walthers.com/pallet-jacks-yellow-pkg-2
Tichy has assorted crates, 293-8174, https://www.walthers.com/assorted-wood-crates-plastic-kit-pkg-8
And the following youtube video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJTwUnB4dCk, shows how to cast your own crates.
I have the WOODLAND SCENIC set with the forklift and it is really nice. They also make a set of crates’boxes’barrel’s that you have to paint for a great price. Quality figures are high’ their hand painted and such’ but they do make the scene. I always asked for the sets at xmas time and the wife comes though if I am a good boy.