YIKES ! ! The original circus photo should run you in around $8 or $10,000 , not bad for a crowd of people, these figures are obscenely overpriced. surely there must be an alternative. not really that much, but close.
Thanks CTValleyRR - yeah, I wish I had a better camera. Unfortunately taking pictures in the dark isn't one of its strenghts!
Good question about the project purpose...honestly when I saw the real show last March, I was fascinated and sort of wanted to take a piece home with me. This is the final product, and eventually it will find its way as the "theater" on my park's layout someday. The video was more-or-less my interpretation of the show...if nothing else, a way to present the pictures.
Matty --
That looks really cool! It's a shame the quality of the pictures isn't better so we can really admire your handiwork.
Just curious, though. Maybe I missed it, but did you ever say what the purpose of this project was? Just to produce a You-Tube video? If so, that's a lot of work to put into a 9 minute video!
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.
A few months have passed, and I finally completed my project - just thought I would share a few pictures of the final result! I ended up finding bulk figures on eBay, but only after trying to make molds and build my own out of clay with no luck! Oh well - I learned a lot in the process!
Pictures below:
And a video too for those interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wPyrsBXmnM
I haven't read all the replies above so if I am repeating the words of somebody else here then please accept my apologies
Perhaps, ad depending on how and where on your layout your big crowds are located, you could look to John Allen's use of mirrors to give the impression of a large crowd. He pulled this idea of very convincingly on several parts of his layout even turning two cars into a carpark full of cars.
Perhaps you could do something like this - save you heaps of time and money too.
Bruce
I just read the reply listing an eBay store offering a combo of sitting and standing figures when the light bulb when off reminding me of another thread. On that one the subject was having people in vehicles and the suggestion was to cut the figures off at the waist and put them on the seat as you wouldn't see their legs any way. Sooooo you could place the sitting figures where their legs would be seen and the modified standing figures where they won't be seen.
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
I have bought a lot of items from these two e-bay stores and found them to have good prices and reliable service.
e-bay store - WEHONEST1200 pcs Painted FiguresHO scale 1:8724 different Poses (12 standing + 12 seated)Hand Paintedhttp://stores.ebay.com/id=149381402&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SSTe-bay store - everydaygoodzhttp://stores.ebay.com/id=603595097&ssPageName=STRK:MEFSX:SST
everydaygoodz does not have as many seated figures but both stores have excellent bulk prices on figures.
Thanks all for the input.
I did a search and found some back issues that maybe I'll order.
Jeff that is very interesting. Unfortunately for me, it needs to be a side-profile...but I'm thinking about experimenting with some molds like you and others suggested. I checked with Preiser's seemingly endless possibilities, and found a clown or two that look accurate, but the rest I think I'll try making somehow on my own first...if it's a complete disaster I'll look again, but as you mentioned, I probably could get away with a lot and still create a realistic effect. Thanks.
Somebody once said it something like this: "Take apiece of clay and carve away anything that doesn't look like a bear (in this case a person).
You could take a few figures apart and resin cast their individual arms,legs and torsos,then cast those parts en mass and assemble themfor what you need. BILL
Mattypark I wish I knew how to model my own figures though...perhaps that's a niche market for someone to create an easy-to-use tool-kit
I wish I knew how to model my own figures though...perhaps that's a niche market for someone to create an easy-to-use tool-kit
I have seen several articles about this in back issues of both MR and RMC. I don't have a handy reference to tell you which ones specifically, but you could always look here:
Model Train Magazine Index
http://index.mrmag.com/
Thanks again all for your help!
If I'm thinking of the same eBay seller from Hong Kong, I have used their standing figures before. Will have to check that out!
I suppose I could use printed images, but I'm not sure how realistic of an effect it would give...I'll call that Plan B though! It's going to basically be a shadow box with the side cut out to look into and see the theater.
Do they have to be 3D ?
If not, you could "cheat" with printings from your computer - or mix them ?
There are probably lots of "crowd"-pictures to download from the Net.
There is a seller on ebay (or maybe more than one) that sells various scale, including 1:87 and 1:100 painted figures in 100, 500, 1000+ quantities for cheap. Don't recall offhand the exact price but I've got around 3000 painted figures that way and it didn't break the bank. The one caveat is the figures are dressed in asian-style clothing and all of them have black hair. A quick repaint would solve both issues i think and would do well for building a crowd. Myself, I am planning to use them to populate passenger trains and downtown building interiors, and anywhere I need people that won't be viewed directly.
I was on eBay last night and there was a listing for 60 1/87 scale sitting figures. thought of you but the auction was ending in minutes. You might do a search from time to time. Who knows you might luck out.
MattyparkThank you all for your help! That's a great idea MisterBeasley. Unfortunately though, the viewing perspective needs to be from the side, but for another project will have to try that. I suppose there is no easy way around it but just biting the bullet and painting them. I estimate I would need about 500 figures or so to give it the right effect. The Preiser figures are very nice and detailed - it's just they cost a fortune! I won't need them for a while yet and will just shop around.
Thank you all for your help!
That's a great idea MisterBeasley. Unfortunately though, the viewing perspective needs to be from the side, but for another project will have to try that.
I suppose there is no easy way around it but just biting the bullet and painting them. I estimate I would need about 500 figures or so to give it the right effect.
The Preiser figures are very nice and detailed - it's just they cost a fortune! I won't need them for a while yet and will just shop around.
..... Bob
Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here. (Captain Kirk)
I reject your reality and substitute my own. (Adam Savage)
Resistance is not futile--it is voltage divided by current.
Mattypark Thank you all for your help! I suppose there is no easy way around it but just biting the bullet and painting them. I estimate I would need about 500 figures or so to give it the right effect. The Preiser figures are very nice and detailed - it's just they cost a fortune! I won't need them for a while yet and will just shop around.
Keep in mind in a crowd scene, many of the figures would need only a fairly basic paint job. Use a small brush and take your time, it works best I find if you paint several at one time - paint the flesh color on say 5 figures and let it dry etc.
120 Seated Figures Undec (You can probably find this for a lot less online or on Ebay.)
It does look like current list price is around 25 c. per undec figure, but that's still a lot cheaper than painted figures, which now can run over $2 per figure. The Model Power undec/seated figure set work out at list for around 18c. per figure, and again you could probably find a better deal on them if you shop around. I've used Model Power figures and they're not bad, but they're not as good as Preiser.
If the figures will be veiwed from the side,it may possible to use a strategically placed mirror to double the size of your crowd. BILL
In a mvoie or video game when they need to recreate a *** amount of people they have a few models then recreate the same models over and over saving them a bunch of work. With that in mind I was thinking of how you could do something similair. The best way is to have your stage so you only get a good view of part of it, which would have all miniatures, the rest could have a cardstock background with a crowd printed on it. If that is not feasable or doesn't loook right I guess you'll have to bite the bullet and buy and paint all those guys.
Preiser is generally recognized as making the best model figures. If you shop around thru Walthers, online, and on Ebay you can usually find their unpainted sets for a decent price. Their undedcorated seated passengers set would probably be a good start for your needs. IIRC I worked out once that painted Preiser HO figures tend to be about one dollar per figure, the unpainted ones are about 5 cents per person.
The ones Micro-Mark has in their catalogue are the Model Power figures. They're not bad especially for a crowd scene, but are perhaps a little oversized and a little coarse compared to the Preiser figures. The Model Power figures come in a flesh-tone plastic so you only have to paint the clothes. Preiser figures come in white plastic, which does allow you to use different shades of skin tone. Plus of course makes it easier to have people like men wearing suits with white shirts...or figures with white face makeup!!
Preiser does make a few clown figures and also makes military and historical figures that you may be able to adapt to your needs with a little filing and sanding.
Depending on your viewing angle, you might get away with a lot of figures which are only visible from the front. You can take advantage of this by buying one set of figures and then making a mold from them. A one-sided casting (using resin) is much easier than a full three-dimensional mold.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Another source is Micro-Mark (www.micromark.com). They sell unpainted sets of figures in HO and O scale. The O-scale sets come with 36 figures, the HO with 72. And one of their HO sets includes nothing but seated figures. I hope you have a lot of time on your hands!
I have figured out what is wrong with my brain! On the left side nothing works right, and on the right side there is nothing left!
Walthers catalog and/or website is your friend. They have in the past carried unpainted sets of seating figures by Preiser. A fair amount of work to paint, but a whole lot cheaper than buying the prepainted ones. A friend of mine has a circus tent on his HO scale modules, and has used these figures to populate the grandstands. He has over 900 seating figures in the tent.
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
Hello all, I am working on a theatre model project and was wondering if anybody has any tips on figures...I see they can be rather expensive!
1) Since I am modeling a theater I will need many people - does anybody know of a manufacturer that sells (cheap) bulk sitting figures, or is there any way to create your own?
For example: any suggestions on the best way to recreate a scene like this:(Photo Miniatur-Wunderland)
2) Also I am recreating Cirque Du Soleil's "O" Theatre at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Has anybody ever come across any miniature figures that resemble clowns, pirates, or colonial figures?
Here is an example of the figures I am looking for: (Photo from Cirque Du Soliel)
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or tips!