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OO Figures

4996 Views 16 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  mikelhh
I have noted correspondence at MRE Mag where it is claimed the author is having a hard time finding OO figures that are not either walking, running, climbing stairs, waving hands or flags, levering objects and wants figures that are simply standing and chatting. Also a lack of female figures and children is noted.

This definitely was not an issue in the 1950's and 1960's as Hornby Dublo, Triang, Merit and Airfix all produced figures that were simply standing with 50% of them being women and children. Peco have taken on most of the Merit range although the figures appear to be the action type and it does appear that all the Hornby figures are action type.

It does seem to be that simple standing figures have been entirely overlooked by the current generation of figure manufacturers.

Any suggestions other than look on ebay for old Hornby Dublo, Triang, Merit and Airfix figures!

Issues with HO figures is that they are significantly smaller than OO figures and don't look "British" and as a result they are not everybodys cup of tea.

Happy modelling
Gary
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yes HO figures are smaller but people are all different sizes. if you use a mix then it shouldnt be a problem.

Presier do sprues of people just standing and sitting. you can paint them yourself to look "brittish"

they may not be "evryones cup of tea" but the soloutions are there.

I actually prefer to just use HO figures even though my layout is OO/HO mix. i find that i can cram more into a smaller space withought it looking overcrowded. this helps give a slightly forced perception. and makes a station look slightly larger than it really is.

Also eastern european people are (how can i put this) more pleasing to the eye than the westeners. a friend and i have a joke that the only fat people in eastern europe are tourists!!

many of the earlier ones you mention are actually sligtly overscale which dosent help matters, especially if you want to mix them but if you still want them then i have found that there is no better way of getting them than crawling through the dust in those pick and mix boxes in model shops. -you never know what else you might find.

Peter
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I've started stocking up on Aidan Cambell figures they need painting to finish off, loads of character to these figures and they look superb when they're finished, also Dapol, Langely and PD Marsh do some useful figures, imo the HO figures do look too small especially when up against proper OO figures, I've had some Bachmann Preiser figures up against their HO figures and the difference is big, the HO ones look like umpa lumpa's
.

Heres a comparison between a Bachmann OO figure and a Noch HO
.



Aidan Campbell

Langley

PD Marsh
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the aiden campbell ones are nice but i find the poses a little odd. (and i dont particularly want a ghost on my layout!!) but they are very well cast. the langley victorians are particularly nice.

Peter
OO figures would be 14% taller than HO figures purely on scale and given that the average Brit is taller than the average European that difference could be 15-20% in reality. The Dutch are the tallest nation in Europe so if HO figures are modelled on the Dutch you could probably get away with using them as OO however they would look very lean.

Its not so obvious with buildings as European buildings generally are bigger anyway than British so the HO/OO thing is not so much of an issue if you wish to use HO buildings on an OO layout.

With figures my own personal view is that the difference in size is obvious and typical HO figures on a layout make OO locomotives and rolling stock look gigantic!

However there are some nice HO figures so the direction to go with this makes it a very difficult decision.

There are those who want to use OO figures only though and simply won't budge on this and I respect their reasons for this.

Happy modelling
Gary

PS That Bachmann OO figure looks like its been modelled on somebody at Bachmann! I had forgotten that Bachmann are now offering figures.
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if the figure is isolated i bet you cant see the difference.

only if you had the 2 side by side could you tell the difference.

Uk buildings are exactly the same size as their continental counterparts!
Although the Dutch are the tallest there are at least 6 major nations with heights within 6cm of their average. all of which are major modelling contries and they dont include the USA.

The only times when the scale difference is really noticible is when you run brittish HO stock with Brittish OO stock. then it does look daft.

Peter
The Aiden Campbell figures are I feel in the 'War Game' style, and crude overcharacterisations. OK if you want a platform full of 'Village Idiots' I suppose.

For decently proportioned figures with more subtle style I would recommend tne Monty's Miniatures range available from Dart Castings - www.dartcastings.co.uk.

If looking for plastic figures the ex-Airfix sets produced currently by Dapol still take some beating.
See for yr self:

If you are not too fussy you can get away with it. But if you stick to the rules yes there is a weebee difference.



But for quality wise Preiser is, and will be, my first choice

Baykal
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it would seem teh issue isn't so much one of 'height', but 'volume?'
The topic entries certainly are of interest to me, as Aidan Campbell white metal figures are in most cases casted poorly. Faces, hands and feet are very rough through not having a clear metal molding finish. White metal figures are certainly superior to their counter part made from plastic molding, and again as face reproduction in plastic is poor. I have painted hundreds of both WM and plastic figures - finding that Dart Castings though now in new ownership, made the best molded figures.
Certainly photo shown of figures certainly are interesting, would appreciate to learn as to name of supplier, together with material casts, WM or plastic
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I think they all look perfectly acceptable together.

Ebaycal thanks for the picture. it demonstrates it perfectly

Peter
Just to add that about 80% of the Noch HO figures we sell are to 00/4mm modellers.

Another good seller is the Prieser unpainted ranges - plenty of "idle, not doing anything" people in those sets.

Again, it's down to the limited market (global wise) of OO/4mm for the manufacturer.
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QUOTE (37197 @ 16 May 2007, 08:56) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I've started stocking up on Aidan Cambell figures they need painting to finish off, loads of character to these figures and they look superb when they're finished, also Dapol, Langely and PD Marsh do some useful figures, imo the HO figures do look too small especially when up against proper OO figures, I've had some Bachmann Preiser figures up against their HO figures and the difference is big, the HO ones look like umpa lumpa's
.

Heres a comparison between a Bachmann OO figure and a Noch HO
.


Aidan Campbell

Langley

PD Marsh

Thank you for putting up the link to Aidan Cambell figures as I had never heard of them.
Especially wanted different types/poses of loco crew from the run of the mill ones and I see he has a great list available.

I like the Preiser figures and find their sitting figures fit better when sitting people in 00 scale coaches.The "bums" on the 00 scale sitting figures are just too big to fit even with much liposuction!!

I was able to aquire several sets of Monty white metal figures which have good poses.
Biggest problem...finding the time to concenrtate and paint them!!
Maybe tomorrow............
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what sort of paint do you lot generally use for painting figures?

plus, any special techniques?
QUOTE (alastairq @ 16 May 2007, 18:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>what sort of paint do you lot generally use for painting figures?

plus, any special techniques?

I like Tamiya acrylic paints [which dry quickly] but it is a matter of ones own choice.Any acrylic paints would do.There are many makers.
I never did like the old Humbrol oil based paints which took ages to dry.I am not up to date with Humbrol modern paints.They probably have acrylics nowadays.
They say it it a good idea to paint the whole figure flat black and overpaint colours from there.There have been some very good figure painting articles in the past magazines.
Maybe somebody out there has details of them on hand.
Try Googling for it,one never knows what you can up with.
QUOTE (alastairq @ 16 May 2007, 18:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>what sort of paint do you lot generally use for painting figures?

plus, any special techniques?
Try this from a Google search "HO scale figure painting".

How to paint figures
Thanks for the comparison photos - I think they look fine together.
I've seen and heard about the flat black underpainting. Can't say I'm a fan. Seems a bit like the old "when in doubt, use black" approach. A black underpainting for shadows in hollows is hardly appropriate for a white shirt or a pink dress, for example. Nor is it appropriate for most flesh tones. A better approach would be a darker version of the intended top coat. But I can't see myself going to all that trouble except perhaps for the occasional close-up photo.
Mike
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