One-fourth inch on your layout is one foot; so a 2-inch high person is 8 feet tall. Your people should be more like 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches high (5 to 6 feet tall) to be in the correct 1/48 scale. However, since many toy trains are smaller than scale size, you might want to go with slightly shorter people, better to match the trains.
Bob Nelson
If you are just building a toy train, layout, don't worry to much about the scale. Lionel didn't. Just compare the sizes of the Lionel Gateman to the horses in the horse coral and you will see what I mean. Just get what you like and you will be fine.
Earl
What is a good site to buy People by the bunch? There are so many. Ebay is a good source, just use Bob or Earl's advice or look for the words, "O-Scale." Look over these and see if you can find something in your price range.
You can save money if you paint figures yourself.
If not, I would want at least one high quality figure from Preiser.
The rest could be from Bachmann.
Arista makes nice O-scale figures.
Good hunting.
P.S. On3 and On30 scale figures are O-Scale.
..........Wayne..........
I bought a ton of the seated and standing figures when they were cheap on eBay, now they've really run up the price! I use them in passenger cars, the cab of locomotives, etc.
Best advice I could give is don't rush. Take your time, get your trains running, look around a lot at photos on the train sites and get a feel for what you want YOUR railroad to be. You might get some people now and find they don't suit your future needs, because after some time you may develop a different plan for what you are seeking. Vehicles are a pretty safe bet for anytime. 1/43 sized vehicles are plentiful. 1/48 tougher and more expensive - generally.
Take your time. Just scouring the internet for photos is going to show you a lot you might not have seen yet.
www.Ogaugehobbyist.com
O scale is pretty easy to figure sizes in, fortunately; as Bob says, 1/4 inch on the model = 1 foot on the real thing. This is expressed as 1:48 (1/48th actual size). Most die cast cars marketed as "O" are actually 1:43--which is a little bigger, but close enough for our purposes. For trees, etc., just do whatever looks good. Most of us do not have many "scale" trees, since they would be quite large and block the view of the trains. (A modest 40 foot tree is 10 inches tall in "O").
You said that it takes a lot of green to do anything in this hobby. It is true that the hobby can be pretty expensive, but it is much less daunting if you do things gradually. Focus on getting a table and some track and a train or two working. You can enjoy those while you add details like cars and trees and people at a pace that fits your budget. Building the layout is part of the fun: don't rush through it too quickly. Also, taking it slowly will give you more time to think, which means you should be happier with the end result.
Just my
While this hobby can be expensive, if you buy carefully, you can buy stuff sometime pretty cheap. I have bought a lot of stuff at some swap meets, and I think I got good prices.
The only dumb questions are the ones that don't get asked. Like others said before, take your time and have fun!
Donny: So far, a lot of good advice. O27 is smaller than O....Plasticville is not scale....Toy trains don't necessarily have to be scale......Price and quality of people varies......Remember, it is your layout and your small world. If it looks good to you, it is right. Again, take your time and enjoy the process.
Thanks, looking ok for now, just have it setup under tree and once tree comes out, ill take picture so that i know how i want it once i start layout on board. Painting Poeple is NUTS, forget that, i love to paint but wow, talk about a pain in the brush, wow. anyone ever buy people off ebay? this tiny train world is unreal if one makes what he sees in his head. knowing it can be done with patients in awesome.
thanks
Donny
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