Has anyone built an HO scale football field or stadium? I have looked everywhere on-line but all I have found is replica pro and college stadiums, not in HO scale.
Thanks
I haven't seen one, but did some quick calcs and it could easily be 5' x 7' You'd need over 4' just for the field length--that would be striking. I vote for Soldier Field. A blimp with a working sign would make a good detail item too. A domed stadium might be easier however.
Richard
Mavdoc41Has anyone built an HO scale football field or stadium? I have looked everywhere on-line but all I have found is replica pro and college stadiums, not in HO scale.
A pro or college stadium built anywhere near to-scale in HO would be huge, so most home layouts wouldn't have space for it. Even a modestly-sized college football stadium is about 500 feet on a side, which would be about 6 feet by 6 feet in HO.
I did place a compressed college stadium on a custom layout design for the Amarillo Railroad Museum that helped hide a turn of a helix. This ended up about 6 feet square, but that's for a layout that is 50' X 75' overall.
What is more achievable on a typical-sized layout would be to model just one outside wall of a stadium against the backdrop as a flat. Even then, to be believable it needs to be pretty large.
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I was going to model a full size outdoor Hockey rink like the one I played on as a kid. It was located right along the PGE mainline. Once I saw how much real estate it took up I settled on a frozen pond. Much smaller but I still have just as many fond memories. In the morning we'd go out and practice our slap shots using the frozen Moose dropping's left overnight.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
This isn't, as far as I know, a football stadium, but a to-scale model, in O scale, of Ebbets Field. If you're on dial-up, don't torture yourself, as there are tons of photos.
The same outfit will be doing a couple of other stadia once this one is completed.
Wayne
watch?v= BzcXdoOaM4
Stadium in 1:87, 12 500 fan figures, 2000 LED lights.
Price? 20 000 EUR, approx. 24 000 $.
It is part of Hamburg gigantic layout complex, Miniatur Wunderland.
Thommo, that's a very impressive shot! Your stats made the other main point, too - this is a large, costly piece of intricate modeling that won't contribute a single carload of freight!
Racetracks, sports stadia, port facilities and airdromes are a LOT bigger than people seem to realize. That's why I cringe when I see someone ask about including them in a home-size layout.
On the other hand, I've built the playing field for one of my favorite spectator sports on my layout. The sport is Sumo, and the ring is about the size of a postage stamp. Since this is in a sparsely-populated rural area, the spectators would fit under a credit card...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - indigenous sports included)
cuyama SNIP What is more achievable on a typical-sized layout would be to model just one outside wall of a stadium against the backdrop as a flat. Even then, to be believable it needs to be pretty large.
SNIP
That's pretty much what I did when I was commissioned by a friend of my sister's to build a model of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI as a birthday present for her husband (my brother-in-law is the prez of the Green bay fan club in Cincinnati so that's how this project came up.)
I used mostly stuff from Plastruct to build it. Thank goodness Lambeau Field's stands are enclosed with metal sheeting, that saved a whole lot of steel framing that would've driven me nuts. Basically, I modeled a corner of the stadium looking at it from the outside that would go up against a backdrop. IIRC, it was about 3' long, maybe 18" high to the top of the light arrays? Lots of green paint and it was done.
I knew not to make it too big, as I didn't get a clear read on what space he might have available on the layout. Yeah, one of these can take up a lot of space. But it could also look great on your mantle over the fireplace in the TV room, too.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Posts I have seen on athletic fields have usually recommended a small portion of the field, rather than the whole. You could have the end zone and goal posts with a few yards of the field with one team either trying to score or get out from the shadow of the goal posts. A HS field might have stands on the home side all the way to the end zone, visitors, stand on your own feet. A partial scene at the edge of the layout can give the illusion of the full field, without taking up all the space.
Way back when, trains used to take people to the game, sadly now most folks don't use them, even if they are there.
Good luck,
Richard,
Interesting point about trains taking people to games.I've got no idea how close Lambeau Field is to the nearest tracks, as I've never been there, but it does raise the possibility that a model stadium might generate some traffic, too.
Here at the University of Illinois, this has happened a few times in relatively recent years, where people have come to the game from Chicago via either charter or private trains. The old Illinois Central (now CN) main to New Orleans borders the west side of campus in Champaign. There is a spur on the other side of the tracks from the campus power plant that is used when this occurs. Most of the time, the little use this track gets otherwise is for setting out MOW machinery working in the area.
When I was working for Dunham Studios on the Cincinatti In Motion layout for the Cincinatti Union Terminal, one of the artisans (not me) built an S (1/64) scale model of Crosley Field, it's 11 feet wide. Scroll down a bit here: http://www.dunhamstudios.com/Cinci.htm This layout took us more than two years to build. If you're ever in the area, go take a look.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Jay,
Thanks for the tip. I missed getting there to visit what I think is a club layout that is elsewhere in the terminal complex when I was there during the Nat'l Narrow Gauge Conv back in the 90s? I have visited the terminal before, I guess before that fantastic layout was installed in the main part of the terminal. Looks well worth another visit.
I am trying to visualize an HO scale size football stadium with 80,000 HO scale fans sitting in the stands.
Not only the sheer size of it all, but the cost involved. Yikes.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain I am trying to visualize an HO scale size football stadium with 80,000 HO scale fans sitting in the stands. Not only the sheer size of it all, but the cost involved. Yikes.
Ya but you could save a lot of money by painting your own figures. If you could do say a dozen a day, it would only take 18 years....
I've thought about doing what someone suggested, having the back of the stadium / stands along the backdrop. At my high school, a railroad line ran (and still runs) between the high school building and the football field, so for about a block the line runs parallel to the backs of the stands. Oddly enough, the other high school in town also built their stadium parallel to the tracks, but a few hundred feet east with a line of trees between.
You could also show the edge of a field as noted. That same line through my hometown ran by a large Little League complex with four fields. You could have the outfield of one of the fields having it's fence run along the tracks, maybe showing enough grass to have one or two outfielders in position. The St.Paul Saints field (Municipal, now Midway Stadium) has a busy set of raillines running along the left to center field fence. There are no (or very few) seats out there so that wouldn't be hard to do.
Hi!
No, I haven't, but it seems to me that would be a huge piece of valuable HO real estate!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
wjstix richhotrain I am trying to visualize an HO scale size football stadium with 80,000 HO scale fans sitting in the stands. Not only the sheer size of it all, but the cost involved. Yikes. Ya but you could save a lot of money by painting your own figures. If you could do say a dozen a day, it would only take 18 years.... I've thought about doing what someone suggested, having the back of the stadium / stands along the backdrop. SNIP
I've thought about doing what someone suggested, having the back of the stadium / stands along the backdrop.
Yep, that's exactly the conclusion I came to when trying to conceptualize the project after being commissioned to "build Lambeau."
OK, it's not going to be game day, because all those tiny people aren't in the budget.
Just building all those rows of seats! Oh my....
Yep, I'm definitely building the OUTSIDE of the stadium.
As I've already mentioned, I was even more relieved to see all that sheet metal covering the space under the stands when i dug up pics for design purposes. Pick your stadium and its presentation carefully or you've got one heck of a project on your hands.
mlehman wjstix richhotrain I am trying to visualize an HO scale size football stadium with 80,000 HO scale fans sitting in the stands. Not only the sheer size of it all, but the cost involved. Yikes. Ya but you could save a lot of money by painting your own figures. If you could do say a dozen a day, it would only take 18 years.... I've thought about doing what someone suggested, having the back of the stadium / stands along the backdrop. SNIP Yep, that's exactly the conclusion I came to when trying to conceptualize the project after being commissioned to "build Lambeau." OK, it's not going to be game day, because all those tiny people aren't in the budget. Just building all those rows of seats! Oh my.... Yep, I'm definitely building the OUTSIDE of the stadium. As I've already mentioned, I was even more relieved to see all that sheet metal covering the space under the stands when i dug up pics for design purposes. Pick your stadium and its presentation carefully or you've got one heck of a project on your hands.
You also need to consider modeling the concessions. That's a lot of work to set up, in HO scale, hot dogs with all the trimmings, nachos with cheese, soft drinks, etc.
richhotrain You also need to consider modeling the concessions. That's a lot of work to set up, in HO scale, hot dogs with all the trimmings, nachos with cheese, soft drinks, etc. Rich
From what I understand with the Packers, it's the parking lot tailgating action where things really get wild, so would probably be far more interesting to model. Pretend it's 7am on the day of a night game, and you can probably get by with just a small contingent of drunken cheeseheads whooping it up...
Near game time, it'll be virtually unmodelable in most people's lifetime. Or at least my lifetime, I've sworn off building any more stadiums.
[with appropriate apologies to any drunken or non-drunken cheeseheads in the audience, but hey, we're talking prototype here I've never been there, but have heard the stories and seen some pics, so just going by what I have evidence for ]
Here is a nice shot under Safeco Field in Seattle, if you look around you can see both Safeco and quest field. also not to far way you will see the Yard for the Sounder comuter train, the yard for the port of Seattle and for the Link light rail. And yes the trains are that close to the stadium you can hear them during games. So Rail fan and either Baseball or Football
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=rxyw4n4t564n&lvl=17&dir=180&sty=x~lat~47.592479~lon~-122.330598~alt~-13.27~z~30~h~177.1~p~12.9~pid~5082&app=5082&FORM=LMLTCC
[with appropriate apologies to any drunken or non-drunken cheeseheads in the audience, but hey, we're talking prototype here I've never been there, but have heard the stories and seen some pics, so just going by what I have evidence for
Mlehman,
From a cheesehead who has been there many times, no offense taken. Ya call 'em like ya see 'em.
Scott
While I do live in the drunken cheesehead area, I tend to stay away from the ridiculous traffic.
Here's a local plastic supplier that has built a stadium:
http://jmdplastics.yolasite.com/about-us.php
They also sell seated people for about $0.60 each, a lot cheaper if you do a literal handful at a show:
http://jmdplastics.yolasite.com/hand-painted-ho-and-n-scale-people.php
Now that is pretty cool. I never knew there was a Motorcycle and Model Railroad Museum in Wisconsin to go along with the Mustard Museum and who knows how many Cheese Museums!
Gotta stop by there next time we're up north.
Hi, so I'm sure I'll get crucified for this suggestion given this is a more serious site for model trains but here goes...
We have a seasonal display HO scale, Green Bay Packers themed set, about 4' x 8' table. It came with the front of the stadium but I wanted to put in a field to make it look more realistic. Also couldn't find anything that would work, true scale is way too big, so I got a mat for " finger football" game, placed on the board, covered with snow and bleachers etc. It looks great, all I really wanted was the field and it worked perfectly.
Good luck with your set.
Jlong