Hi,
Happy Holidays to everone. I had a question. Have any of you ever modeled actual street signs at intersections or on your streets. I.E. Second street, Main street, etc. What about addresses on the bldgs? I'm constructing my town on my layout and I was thinking about adding signs at each intersection but not sure what to use or how big a sign for HO would be.
If you guys have modeled can you please post pics or links just so I can get some ideas or see examples?
Thanks,
I may actually have some street sign posts, but the area for the signs is much too large for HO scale, and even then the signs would not be readable. So, while I do have names for my streets, they exist mostly in my head.
This one, though, has an address that people recognize.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I used to have street signs on my previous layout, but they were just typed up labels (in the smallest size) on white cardstock, stuck on wire 'poles'.My new modules will follow the 'new' standard White On Green layout from the MUTCD: Street Name Signs. Capital letters are 6" high, lower case 4.5" high (~0.069" & ~0.052" actual size respectively). This should be clearly viewable close-up in HO scale, particularly when printing at 600dpi or better.Obviously if you are modeling periods earlier than the turn of this century, your signs' format, typeface, and mounting hardware will vary.Store front address displays are all over the map, from large clear 3-D numerals to (very common) no visible numbers at all - they must be somewhere, but I don't see them - maybe small metalized stickers stuck on the bottom of the door. IIRC many small warehouses and distributors have small numbers by the main office door, if they don't have a sign by the road with their name and address. Probably as many other sites have altogther different marking layouts...
Regg05,
Construction of my HO town has begun, though it's mostly in the mock-up stage, except for the DTD kit my son built for the layout. IMO the street number on his model adds to the realism and I'll be taking that into consideration as the building of my town structures progresses.
I had street signs at town intersections on my previous layout and intend to do so again. Back then I used a generic street signs from Creative Screen Process, don't know if they're still in business. Also don't know about the scale fidelity of those signs as they measure out at a scale 3.5 ft.x 9 in., but IMO they looked good atop scale sized posts and were readable. I'm guessing that scale street signs could be made with a computer and a printer.
Happy Holidays to you, regards, Peter
Blair Line offers a variety of street and traffic signs. Unless, of course, you want specific names. One nice thing about theirs is that they are printed on very thin styrene which makes them more durable than paper.
Now, if you want them double sided, then they may start to look a little thick since you'd have to glue two back to back.
Jim
Hi Regg05
Many road and hiway signs are avalable ready to use kit or paper you supply the polls there where some cheap and nasty light poles with street names made at one time.
I have not seen any street names around for a while they can be made to be readable just about in HO
I can't remember where I saw them but I have seen adds for etched brass ones
where you tell them the names you want and they make them as a fix to building
post or twin post sign.
I have only ever bothered about street numbers if it came with the kit I was building.
Mind you I only really go mad with detail at the front of a layout reducing it as I go further away from the front
On an average sized layout you can go mad all the way back but most of us don't have that kind of time and settle for creating the illusion we have gone mad with detail all the way through.
regards John
Because of what and where I model, street signs and addresses aren't displayed. If you are looking for an address you go to the police box and the O-Marisan on duty will help you find it on the neighborhood map.
This being ancient Japan, streets aren't necessarily straight, and seldom meet at perfect right angles. Number one might be between number seventeen and number twenty-four, while number two is around the corner and twenty meters up the street on the left - directly across from number sixty-three. Properties were numbered in the chronological order that the first buildings on them were built, centuries ago, hence the need to see them on a map.
From a practical modeling point of view, this means I don't have to put up street signs or building numbers. Businesses have signs indicating who they are and what they do. Residences have the names of the residents on vertical boards next to the main door - in Kanji, read from the top down.
You dont read Kanji? Back to the police box...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Yea addresses may be out of the question for my homes and buildings unless I put them on curbside mailboxes and they would probably would be too tiny to even see up close if I'm keeping in scale. However the street signs I definitely want since my layout has corners and line up pretty good thus far.
Regg
I like street signs and other signs which help show the setting of my layout. I make many of my own signs. I also use signs from Blairline. The freeway entrance sign I made.
I also made the low clearance sign and the bus stop sign. The 5th street sign didn’t turn out as good as I wanted it too. With more practice I will get better at making them.
In this picture I used a Bachmann sign and covered it with my own printed photoshop image of the street names, Highland Ave. and Palm Ave, other street names include, Pacific Ave, Redlands Blvd, Orange Street, Mount Vernon, E street, G street, and 5th which is Route 66.
I also make my own signs for my businesses. I use names which sound like they are from the area.