Why do N scale figures suck so, so bad?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I was browsing through Klein's selection today and the market is just so, so bad.

The ones that exist either look like crap or like they were lifted from a Normal Rockwell Saturday Evening Post print.

Where are the engine crews in t shirts and jeans?

Where are the normal people who aren't wearing cowboy hats?

How about some "people sitting on benches" that AREN'T wearing cowboy hats?

Is this REALLY that hard??

[jpwisc]

Modern train crews and normal people would be nice. I have no need for nuns or skinny dippers on my layout.

[Dave V]

I was browsing through Klein's selection today and the market is just so, so bad.

The ones that exist either look like crap or like they were lifted from a Normal Rockwell Saturday Evening Post print.

Where are the engine crews in t shirts and jeans?

Where are the normal people who aren't wearing cowboy hats?

How about some "people sitting on benches" that AREN'T wearing cowboy hats?

Is this REALLY that hard??

If you're finding people with cowboy hats, let me know...  I'm having to covert fedoras to cowboy hats in N scale for my 1905 Colorado Midland.  And you can't find women with floor-length skirts either.

But if I wanted to open a monestary I'd have all the Gregorian monks I want...   

[C855B]

I have a bunch of thoughts about figures on layouts and the available sets, but the overriding issue is the difficulty with detailing. If N scale people were detailed and painted in an artistic manner and had any degree of accuracy - a by-hand process - they would be unaffordable. It's like Trainworx' trucks - absolutely gorgeous and jaw-dropping, but the extreme detail is not cheap.

While not a fan of figures on an operating layout (statues versus moving trains), I'm usually impressed by photos of O scale scenes featuring figures. HO, less so, and N... well... that's what we're complaining about here.

[Maletrain]

I seem to be able to find a pretty large variety of N scale figures, especially from Woodland Scenics and Preiser, which seem to be the best quality, although not great quality.  MTS and N Scale Supply list only some of what is (or maybe was) available, so going to manufacters' websites helps find the full product lines.  But, there seems to be an emphasis on conspicuously different people, rather than the mass of not-really-noticeable people that we have around us all the time.  Probably a marketing/profitability thing. 

There are some cheap, Asian-looking people sold en mass, but those are conspicuous on our American layouts by the colors used for their clothes and hair (and their sloppy paint jobs).  I have bought an "undecorated" pack of those, and someday intend to try my hand at painting them to suit my 1950s American motif.  My hope is that they will be suitable for sitting passenges on station platforms, but my modeling skills may relegate them to passenger car interiors.  But, actually, those are hard to fit into those interiors without major amputations, de to the poses provided, and I intend to use Z scale figures in my N scale passenger cars.

[Philip H]

I've been painting my own for years - mostly to get people of color who are mighty common in Louisiana. It's tedious work, but you can get what you are after is you grab a Preiser unpainted pack and choose carefully.

[garethashenden]

If you're finding people with cowboy hats, let me know...  I'm having to covert fedoras to cowboy hats in N scale for my 1905 Colorado Midland.  And you can't find women with floor-length skirts either.

But if I wanted to open a monestary I'd have all the Gregorian monks I want...   

Have you seen these? https://www.acstadden.co.uk/shop-1

[coosvalley]

Agreed. I have been modifying, and painting them to better suit the scene. I use needle files and sandpaper to remove their hats. But that is just to give my locos some engineers. (I have a rule, if the loco does not have M.U., it gets an engineer.) Doing that for a whole layout seems tedious, though.

[nkalanaga]

Part of the problem is that most of the figures aren't made for the American market, or based on American clothing styles.  And I doubt that the American N scale market would buy enough to support an American figure maker.

[peteski]

Part of the problem is that most of the figures aren't made for the American market, or based on American clothing styles.  And I doubt that the American N scale market would buy enough to support an American figure maker.

Woodland Scenics figure sets depict Americans, but they are rather crude.

Also, just as a reminder, DKS has an excellent website cataloging N scale figures: http://davidksmith.com/n-scale-figures/index.htm

EDIT: OOPS: Looks like DKS' website is down - bummer!

[sirenwerks]

Hit up HOLDEN8702 on Shapeways. He makes mostly military figures but I have chatted him up about normal figures and he's interested. If he knew a market existed he might be prompted to pull the trigger.

[dcutting]

I've been speaking to Andrew Stadden and he might be interested in helping me put a line together. His pewter skills are wonderful; I would probably end up making resin copies.

[Dave V]

Have you seen these? https://www.acstadden.co.uk/shop-1

I had not!  Very cool!  The scale seems wonky though...  Why 1/152?  I know it won't make a real difference, but still...

[Mark5]

I had not!  Very cool!  The scale seems wonky though...  Why 1/152?  I know it won't make a real difference, but still...

2mm scale weirdness.

[Dave V]

Woodland Scenics figure sets depict Americans, but they are rather crude.

Also, just as a reminder, DKS has an excellent website cataloging N scale figures: http://davidksmith.com/n-scale-figures/index.htm

EDIT: OOPS: Looks like DKS' website is down - bummer!

It's up for me.