[:I] My five-year-old daughter knows how much I love my train layout; so, for Christmas, she bought me some trees and some figures–only the figures are HO scale, and my layout is N-scale. Now I’m having fun brainstorming for ideas to incorporate my “giants” into my layout. Seems like I will soon need to expand my layout by adding a nice public park with lots of big statues!! HA,HA!!
Paint them olive green and place pidgeons on them. Put a square peice of plastic painted brass or bronze on the pedstal. Perhaps a passenger depot bench painted green will do it. and… on to other things that make a park.
If you cannot find room for a park, then a parade float will do nicely. A small band, some people on the sidelines and perhaps a theme.
Good Luck!
Good idea, HighIron, but how about this question. What if a family member knew of your new found love for model railroading and bought you N scale figures instead of the HO scale that you are working with. My brother bought me a few sets of figures, most were HO, but one set was N scale. Is there anything i can do with them??? THanks
Forced perspective? This is where you use smaller-scale models to make them look further away than they actually are. The N-scale figures could be used as hikers on a scenic section, or mountaineers on a handy rockface. This may need a little experimentation to make it look right, but I’ve seen it used to great effect before now. Hope this is of some help!
"Jack and the Beanstalk " perhaps??
Ian
Oh, a very effective technique, when used as you describe.
However, he’s got the opposite problem- he models in N Scale, while the figures are in HO. [:D]
For an idea of how to use, apart from the park, maybe an “Our Founder” in front of the office of your largest industry?
Brian “Annoying Details” Pickering
EJEman,
You could make a small section on one edge of the layout that uses the larger people as a family waiting to enter the “ride” at the amusement park. It would incorporate them into the scene but be out of the way such that you would not notice (I was going to say ignore, but your daughter might get offended) after you got used to running the layout.
Mark C.
EJEman,
Even better, use the giants as “attractions” in the side show of the amusement park. If they’re made of plastic, you could even apply a little heat selectively to make them look more grotesque. But I like the statues idea too.
mojo4280,
Add a theatre to your layout showing “Tiny Town” with all the midgets there to celebrate the gala premier. Or how about “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” if your layout is from a more modern era.
Bill V.
My suggestion: build an super-detailed HO passenger station interior with large windows or a detailed station platform. Mount it on a piece of wood that can be clamped to the edge of your layout in various places. It would offer a unique photo platform, setting interesting scenes in the foreground that would be almost impossible to do in N Scale while showcasing some of the layout “in the distance.”
I’m not much of a photographer but this picture shows what I mean. This is an O Scale conductor, standing on the platform of the Lionelville Station from my Dad’s 1950s layout checking out the construction progress of my new N Scale Muddy Creek Sawmill:
Obviously not N Scale, but obviously not something I want to part with. Someday, when the layout is presentable, I’ll get my brother who is a professional photographer, to do a series of photos using the few O scale items I still have as foreground. Your HO figures could serve a similar purpose and be a pleasure to have hanging around the layout.
Wayne (the curmudgeon)