As I look around, I notice a man cutting the grass. There is someone else hanging up laundry. Over at the station are folks waiting for the train. I see some children outside playing and people standing in line at McDonald’s for their food.
All this is just a model for the train layout to give the people looking a sense of realism.
You can go online and buy bags of HO scale people sitting or standing for about US $15 for 50 to 100 pieces. You can get them painted or plain for $18. I found a site that sold 100 of the larger O scale people.
You can buy children flying kites; there are work-people digging; there are folks at a picnic table eating. It seems like you can get just about anything you can imagine.
Now after you get the people, what do you do with them?
First, look at your passenger cars: Are the cars empty or full? I open my cars and place figures by the window.
Ready for this, I only fill one side. That way, I have the choice of the train looking empty as if it’s just starting or ending its run. Turn it around and the windows are full.
Some passenger cars come equipped with black silhouette in the windows. I leave a few like that for night runs, but I prefer to have real models looking out the windows.
On your freight trains or even automobiles, is there a person behind the controls? On my layout, there is. Imagine a car at a stoplight with no driver – the sense of realism is ruined. I add people everywhere – even in the office buildings. While most of the building features tinted windows, I change a few to clear so you can see someone inside.
On a siding, I have a box car with the door open and a worker dangling his feet as he enjoys lunch. In one back yard, I have a hot tub. In another, there is a BBQ in progress. All these model people help the imagination run wild.
What will you add to your layout?
Until next time, hope you are adding model people around your tracks.
