Scenery
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People
Resin Christmas Village Figures for The Railroad
Nov 10, 2004
By Wil Davis |
Author
Bio
Many of us have found a great source of figures to supplement those marketed by the normal Large Scale Suppliers of figures and accessories.
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Many of us have found a great source of figures to supplement those marketed by the normal Large Scale Suppliers of figures and accessories. These are the "resin" Christmas Village figures marketed at Christmas by a number of discount, craft and other stores. I have acquired some resin figures each year at Christmas to supplement my normal "G" scale figure assortment.
These are some Victorian Christmas Village figures that are a little small for 1/24th, but may work well in 1/32nd scale scenes.
Some of these figures are more suitable for railroad scenes than others with some being limited to seasonal use. Others will require some minor modifications to make them more acceptable. The sizes of these figures vary widely and do not appear to be made to any particular scale. This is similar to the large-scale figures marketed as "G" scale by train suppliers. I have found that even figures from the same manufacturer vary in scale, but that's a topic for another time. The point is that even though there is variation in the scale of these resin Christmas Village figures, it is no better of worse than what we see already in figures sold for the railroad. I try to work the placement of these figures so that the figures in a group are relatively the same proportion. Also you can work with some slight variation in size as long as they look right. Humans come in all sizes and shapes so there is the opportunity to utilize figures of varying sizes so long as the proportions are not inconsistent. One problem is head size. Most adult humans have heads that are close in size; this needs to be taken in to account when you make your figure selection. A short figure with a small head will not look good next to one with a properly proportioned head even if the heights appear to be compatible.
The Scale Card
Some time ago I purchased a couple of the Scale Cards that give the dimensions of figures in the various scales of 1/29th, 1/24th, etc. If you have not seen these, they are clear plastic with the information engraved on them and are about the size of a credit card. I carry the one for 1/24th as it is a good compromise for my purposes.
Many of my trains are 1/29th although some are 1/20.3 or 1/22.5, but my buildings are generally built to 1/24th as it's simple to calculate dimensions, and many of the available doors and windows are 1/24th. Likewise vehicles are commonly available in 1/24th or 1/25th scale. Therefore, I find 1/24th a reasonable compromise for figures unless they will be placed in an engine cab or next to some other structure that would look odd.
An example of a Town Square figure. The snow mound is provided for stability in traditional Christmas displays but needs to be sanded off for our use.
I have used my Scale Card to find a number of useable figures at after Christmas sales at places such as Lowe's, Michael's, and Wal-Mart. Lowe's carries a line called Town Square that features Coca-Cola products. It seems that even within this line, the figures vary in scale. However, I have found that a number of them are very close to 1/24th scale with some ranging up to 1/20th scale. Although these are not a super bargain at around $6.00-$7.00, they can be found on sale after Christmas for about $3.00 each. I like the variety they add as they are limited production so you don't see them everywhere. One drawback is that they are all holding Coke bottles, which you may want to remove and you will have to deal with the snow mound that all of these figures are standing on. I have had good success at sanding them carefully on a stationary belt sander. I use the sander to remove the bulk of the snow and as I get close to the feet, I stop sanding and finish up with a sharp hobby knife and a pair of small, flush cutting, wire cutters.) The positive aspect of these figures is that some are people in various poses that you can use at times other than Christmas.
You don't need a Scale Card if you have a dollar bill or a credit card. A dollar bill is 6 1/8" x 2 5/8" and most of us have at least one. If you fold it in half, that is just over 3 inches or six feet in half-inch scale. If you want to be closer to 1/29th scale use the width as that comes out to just a little over six scale feet in 1/29th scale. If you don't have any cash you can use a credit card.
These are a couple of Town Square shoppers that are close to the 1/24th Scale Card, but would be closer to 1/20.3.
A standard credit card is about 3 3/8s inches long.
That comes to about 6 ft.
4 inches in 1/22.5 scale or about 5 ft.
8 inches in 1/20.3 scale.
I often use this trick to get a quick idea of the relative size of a figure.
Some kids from the Wal-Mart collection.
This year I found some useable figures at Wal-Mart. They are part of the Village Collectibles line and although many are too small for most purposes, the ones of Children are very close. They are also quite reasonable, as a set of three kids is only $3.00. The drawback is the fact that they are all participating in winter sports and have on winter clothes, so their use is limited to winter layout use or Christmas displays.
A Lemax Christmas scene where the figures are just about right for 1/24th scale.
The other choice is Lemax. They are sold at a number of places including those mentioned above. Their figures seem to vary widely in scale also, but I have found several large pieces with figures that will work nicely in the nominal 1/24th scale realm. Some or these are pictured with the Scale Card for comparison. They suffer the same problem as the Wal-Mart figures in that they are all dressed for and engaged in wintertime activities. I enjoy searching out these figures to add variety to my scenes. I found out recently on LSOL that you are not limited to purchasing these at Christmas time as there is a collector site for the Town Square figures that deals in previous issues as well as current production figures. These can be purchased from the site at anytime, but be prepared to pay collectors prices! The other drawback is that you can't easily measure the size. The thing to keep in mind is that you are not limited to the figures that are commonly sold in train stores or those produced specifically for the hobby by train suppliers. You just need to broaden your horizons to seek out and find those unusual figures that can be used to add unique character to your layout scenes. Top of Page
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