HE Express modifications

[Roy]

BBTW I started looking for 1/50 scale people. I can find sets of seated passengers but they are all adults. I don't see any small children.

These are for architectural models? You may have to resort to O scale model railroad figures - even if they have to be re-dressed in appropriate school uniforms. None of the Walmart Harry Potter figures are the right size?

[chuck]

Since the cars aren't "scale", 1/43 and even 1/48 are a little large. S is too small. The issue is that the proportional size of children isn't the same as adults. Kid's heads are much larger than the rest of their bodies. I can find figures the correct height but they look off because their heads are too small.

Some of the Walmart figures are OK for platform use, especially the adults and the younger children (year one or two). By the time you get to Deathly Hallows, the figures are larger than some of the adults.

BTW, the figures are nicely done and worth the price. They are intended as collectibles, not scale models per se. Each one is to scale, it's just that they are all different scales

My daughter and I toured the sets at the WB studios in England. It is surprising to see a) level of details on the set pieces, b) the size of stuff is all over the map. While Hagrid was played by Robbie Coltrane (face/voice) in most scenes it is an incredible (and creepy) animatronic head on a a very tall actor wearing a Hagrid suit with the "puppet" head on top of him. Closeups and speaking scenes are of Coltrane (he is 6'1" but the character is supposed to be closer to 10' tall).

The main castle model is 1/24 scale. It's also two stories tall and over 50' in diameter including the docks, rookery and the "landscape". Even if we shrunk it down to 1/48 scale, the castle's foot print wouldn't fit inside of my two story 1800 square foot house.

video tour of the model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvgngWlr1ro

[chuck]

A couple of shots testing the interior. I still have some gluing to do and the door walls need to be fabricated. Sorry about the lack of focus on the shot through the window, the camera was baling at this and I pushed it without the tripod, a little shaky but it still looks pretty good.





I have the netting (plastic windows screen material) for the overhead bins and probably the "frame". Still thinking about the brackets.

[Roy]

Looking good!

[rogruth]

Chuck,
Probably nothing useful but what about S or HO scale figures?
I recall reading an article about the use of HO figures in passenger cars because they were easier to fit in.

[chuck]

I may go with S if I can find some seated characters. I do have some 1/50 scale Preiser seated passengers and I'll see how they fit/look. There are some 1/75 scale figures as well. I'll keep looking around.

[Roy]

I see that Walthers has figurines for the Lionel Dementors coach. Is this a standard compartment coach?

[chuck]

Sort of. The car has the images of Dementors in the windows and three lamps and a flicker circuit. That's the car I painted the light bulbs with red, green and blue clear paints to simulate wand flashes. Thanks, I'll check it out.

I went through my box of little people and Preiser 1/50 would work except none of the seated people look anything like the kids from Hogwarts. I did find a half dozen seated figures that are the right size except they are all female, they are not the most detailed figures I've come across and most importantly I have no idea where they came from to get more. I have Woodland Scenics, Preiser, Model Power, Bachman, LifeLike and who knows what that I've accumulated over the past 40 years.

[chuck]

That's just the coach with the silhouettes. At first I thought they put red led's in the car but then I realized they were referring to the maroon paint on the carriage sides.

[Roy]

Sorry, for the bum steer.

[chuck]

Not a problem. I appreciate any info I can get.

It's just so weird to have a handful of useable figures and have no idea where they came from . They are in zip lock bags, I just never labeled them! Most I can figure out but these were used in a diorama for a park scene and went into a bag with park benches, park street lamps, some fire hydrants, a letter box, and some trash bins. I don't think any of the pieces have anything in common other than they were used in a park scene.

One real shocker in doing research for this is the insane lack of 1/64 figures for "S" gauge. I though "O" was tough, "S" is crazy.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

One real shocker in doing research for this is the insane lack of 1/64 figures for "S" gauge. I though "O" was tough, "S" is crazy.

Pretty sure that Arttista has a line of S figures...

Also Fun & Games does: http://www.scalefigures.com/S/Sscale.htm

[chuck]

Thanks. I have some of those for train crew. Not a lot of passengers and almost no one is sitting other than the Engineer/fireman.

I THOUGHT circus people were the right scale but I didn't see many at a reasonable price.

A lot of the true "S" scale stuff appears to be gaming related? Vikings, Roman Soldiers, Prussian soldiers?

There are 3D printed stuff from Shapeways but it tends to be modern (plus there is the issue of figuring out how to paint them).

HotWheels collectors are always on the lookout for figures but most are standing. ERTL has some "farm people" to go along with the die cast farm equipment.

[robert.]

try these. If they don't lie about the size. https://www.ebay.com/itm/P4806B-50-All- ... rk:33:pf:0

[chuck]

Thanks, that's the real issue with all of these, the scale. It's really disturbing when the listing says 1/48 and then the text is HO/OO or 1/43. Including a common object of known size seems to be completely alien to all of these vendors, e.g. a ruler or a coin like a quarter.

The HE express upgrade is on hold so I can get some stuff ready for Christmas. Our son will be visiting and I'm putting the projects in their boxes for the time being. I did do some additional work prepping the interior of the roof, removing some of the original bracing/stiffeners for the white windows. I like the way the car is coming along and I now have dimensions for the rest of pieces other than the "bathroom" compartments which is pretty straight forward, aka I can repeat the process much more quickly). I will have to modify the ribbon lighting by cutting the LED's off the original strips and then solder them to doll house copper foil "lighting" runs (twin ribbons of parallel copper foil in a film coated envelope that is self adhesive). Normally this is installed behind the wall paper and the "sockets" are vampire taps into the file. I'll just jumper in the led's (and their resistors) to match up with the compartments, one LED per compartment and then three for the corridor. That will keep the run to nine and match up with the output of the driver circuit I'll install in one of the bathrooms.

I appreciate all of the feedback/suggestions.