Hi all
Have been looking for western figures on the net in HO scale
with no success.
Particularly for a Mexican having a snooze with the big hat over his face
and a passed out drunk these must be wild west style figures.
That is the proposed entire population of Helengon except maybe a sheriff,
provided it is a static pose figure.
Helengon is to be a one horse town that even the horse would have left
if it wasn't tied to the hitching rail.
I have not been able to find any western buildings other than the Woodland scenics ones anybody know of any.
also are wooden skewers OK for the timber roof beams on a HO adobe house.
Any one ever made wooden tomb stones?? if so what did you use
regards John
You need to peruse the Walthers catalog. I think you'll find most everything you need there. It is on the web, but it's a bit of a pain because you kind of need to know what you want to look it up. I'm pretty sure Preiser makes several varieties of Wild West figures. A trip to your LHS is in order.
Hi ebtnut
Small problem with LHS it's 610km away
I thought Walthers might do something no luck on there web site.
Thanks to the web I now know how to build a real adobe house
but nothing on making a model of said house am thinking foam core board
wooden skewers and balsa wood for the structure and wall filler to get the adobe effect.
But am worried it might end up either to smooth or to rough.
regards John
www.wildwestmodels.com has a whole line of western kits in HO and O scales. Banta modelworks.com also has some western looking buildings. If you go to valleymodeltrains.com you will find a number of kits that may fit the bill.
Look in the model train magazines and you will find many other sources.
Playmobile makes plastic cactus -- may be a bit large for HO.
-JRT
Have a look at Musket Miniatures' site. Something in their catalogue may catch your eye.
http://www.musketminiatures.com/ (http://www.musketminiatures.com/)
Sid
You may have to do some "plastic surgery" on your figures to get what you want. I have a figure of a bum in the reclining pose you want.Just take a short pc. of styrene rod & a circle of paper for the brim & make a hat. Many figures can be transformed into cowboys in the same way & you will have distinctive figures. Dover publishers had & maybe still has a book of cutout western buildings in HO scale. They are printed on very thick card stock. Also there are many structures with the western style false fronts that could easily be converted to what you are looking for...That's the FUN of the hobby. Jerry
Quote from: buzz on August 18, 2009, 05:22:03 AM
... are wooden skewers OK for the timber roof beams on a HO adobe house.
Any one ever made wooden tomb stones?? if so what did you use
regards John
Skewers are just fine for wood beam in H0 scale. Such beams were often little more than tree trunks with the branches knocked off. If you use bamboo skewers, the surface is a little rougher and when dry brushed look like aged beams or tree trunks with the bark still on them.
I have made wooden tomb stones. Surprisingly, I made them out of wood. In 0 scale, the end of a Popsicle stick is about the right width and is already rounded. For H0 scale, a wooden coffee stick is thinner and narrower but still has curved ends. It is easy to make them narrower still with a sharp knife and a bit of sandpaper. A little grey stain or iron acetate aging solution soon has them looking old for planting in the grass. The occasional brand new grave marker at the head of a fresh mound of dirt shows a new burial.
In H0 all it takes is a few dots and dashes with a pencil to suggest writing on the marker. In 0 scale, it is possible to print out fronts for grave markers on paper, then glue the paper to one side of an aged Popsicle stick, and finally trim the edges. They look like the marker has been painted white on one side, then lettered. It gives you a chance to express your wit. There are many witty epitaphs on line. Just Google witty epitaphs. Ones like this are a perfect fit on a tall maker:
Jedediah
Goodwin
Auctioneer
Born 1828
Going!
Going!!
Gone!!!
1876
or this:
here lies John Henery Rich Man, Banker, died anyway 1881 The printing will be very small, so it helps if your grave yard is close to the edge of the table.
Piece of trivia - wooden grave markers were often rounded on top to help shed the rain and make them last longer. They rarely had pointed tops. Perhaps because grieving relatives throwing themselves on top of pointed grave markers tended to be messy.
Jim
In Jefferson Barracks, Confederate tombstones are pointed so the "damn Yankees" can't sit on them.
Hi all
Well I now have the shell of an adobe House the skewers look good as the roof timbers.
Did they lime wash or colour the out side of them in any way ??
Could not find anything on house size so its a looks right semi scale house
found plenty of dire warnings about rain on real adobe house sites.
Just how did they drain the water off the roofs with the low wall above the roof
No luck finding suitable figures but did find some tent huts that could be usefull.
regards John
Buzz - I think I can help you with your adobe structures. I would imagine you are trying to recreate an Old West look and not the modern adobes found in many parts of New Mexico. The roof timbers, on older adobe buildings, are usually colored gray or very dark brown (it has to do with the type of wood that was used). You might be successful in searching Google Images for pictures of pueblos (such as the Sandia Pueblo).
The parts of the Southwest that had adobe construction as the norm are very dry. Given that, rain eroding walls and flat roofs were not a problem. This is not to say there wasn't constant maintenance required. Adobe needs to be repaired from time to time due to the erosion from occasional [seasonal] hard rain and sandstorms (the Alamo was reduced to a fraction of its original size before being restored). There are usually 'slots' or terracotta pipes that allow accumulated rainfall to flow from the roofs. Originally adobe roofs were covered with waddle (clay on woven branches). More modern adobe structures have a covering of small pebbles to cushion the falling rain's effects...only pitched roofs had terracotta tiles - and they were rare due to the increased amount of wood timbers required.
We stay part time in New Mexico and are always amazed by the scenery (much more mountainous than Arizona), the people, and the adobe style of architecture. Do remember that the terrain, and climate, changes as you travel from north to south in New Mexico ('has to do with the dramatic change in elevation). All in all New Mexico is truly the "Land of Enchantment". Good luck with your southwestern modeling
Ray
Check EBay.
Bachmann made a series of Old West Buidings years ago that are often found on EBay. I didn't see any on there now.
While on Ebay, look for Muir Models structures from years ago. I got the whole Bonanza collection (house, barn, sheds, etc.) modeled after the TV show.
Currently there are three HO structures - winery, bordello, and buttonworks on there.
Hi Ray
thanks for info.
So if it does have a tiled roof its going to be some one of note in the town,
on account of the extra work and cost in construction.
Will see what I can find in the way of pictures on the net now I have some idea what I am looking for.
Time to go and cut out another house and find the little jail cell drawing
and cut one of those out as well.
I think two houses should be enough to represent a one horse town that even the horse wants to leave??.
What would be good businesses for the town saloon and ???
regards John
Buzz - an essential 19th century business, in any U.S. town, was the blacksmith. Another related business is the livery stable - although this was usually only found in more sizeable 'burgs. There would have been a general store or trading post. Saloons were not as prevalent as TV would have us believe; but I think I would have one for the 'effect'. Rather than a saloon, you might consider a cantina (more of a restaurant with a bar included). There also might have been an assayer's office (to buy and sell silver...gold was fairly rare in New Mexico) and perhaps a Catholic mission (although your description of your town suggests it is too small for such a structure). You can add structures as you see fit in the future such as: a tobacconist, gun smith, boot repair, wagon dealer, dry goods store, feed store, etc. There were lots of 'niche' businesses in the rural 19th century - so the list could be a long one.
Happy Trails partner,
Ray
Hi ray
Thanks for the reminder about a place of worship the one thing every model railway should have the correct version of to suit the location.
A cantina sounds more like the right thing for the town, rather than a saloon.
Do they have names like one would expect on a saloon or UK pub
say for instance The Loaded Cactus?? [I rather like the sound of that name]
regards John
Ray,
Thanks for the list. I have squirreled it away for later reference for an 0n30 layout.
BUZZ,
Here is a photo of a window in an early northern Canadian church. It was a Presbyterian church from Oct 1911 until Jan 1926. Development in our north at that time was not a whole lot different than in the US wild west 20 or 30 years before. I plan to use this in an 1880's period layout.
(http://members.shaw.ca/sask.rail/church-window.jpg)
The windows are just regular double hung wooden windows with some shaped pieces of wood in the upper corners to give them a Gothic look. The otherwise unremarkable building has three such windows on each side and two on the ends. They immediately identify it as a church, even though the plain gable roof has no bell tower, nor spire, not even a cross.
More photos are available.
Jim
If you read stories about the building of the UP going west, the first things erected in towns were saloons which allowed gambling and bordellos. Most of the structures were moved on flatcars although some of the "buildings" were glorified tents.
The railroad fed the employees and they slept in company dormitory cars. I read one account where the men were moved around at night while asleep so that they were free during the day for labor the minute they were up and fed breakfast.
As for the sleeping figure with a sombrero I would think that a company might think twice about offering such a figure because it is a stereotype.
A stereotype, yes. But a good one or a bad one? Having been brought up on Kipling, including his "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun," I see a siesta in the hottest part of the day and a large hat to provide the shade for that siesta as sane and logical adaptations to the climate.
Two men look at a scene. One man sees ten guys working hard while the eleventh is goofing off, having a nap. The other man sees one person with the sense to conserve his strength in the hottest part of the day so that he can work harder and longer when it cools off a bit, while the other ten idiots are busting their humps in the heat. Which man is prejudiced? They both are. Which one is right? Neither is. What is really going on here is that one of the workers passed out from heat stroke when the crew ran out of water. Ten other workers shaded the victim with a borrowed sombrero and went back to work, while the twelfth member of the crew (who we don't see) ran two miles up the line to fetch a pail of water.
A sitting figure, or even a standing one with his legs cut off, can quickly acquire a sombrero if you use a washer and a bit of putty. As the sombrero is central to the scene, you can make it a really big one and let the viewers make their own interpretations.
(http://members.shaw.ca/RockRidgeRailway/photos/figures.jpg)
The photos show some figures with hats added and in one case a dress to send the young lady back to the 19th century. The hats are all styrene washers and Squadron Green Putty. In each photo, the centre figure is an original, unmodified one. Oh the scandal of women wearing pants in old times and backwards countries.
Jim
Hi Jim
Sorry for delay in reply work (Real trains) got in the way of hobby's
if you have more pictures they would be appreciated.
Ray
Any idea how far apart the roof supports are I spaced them at about 4'4"
and it seems a bit close??
regards John
Hi Woody
Stereotype it might be but a sensable one.
it comes from a Spanish custom.
Given the very arid and hot dry climate the layout will have it, makes perfect sense to knock off for lunch at 12:00 have an after lunch nap and start again around about 15:00 when it starts to cool down.
Science has proved it's a smart thing to do but its not part of most western cultures.
Any way the whole layout is going to look like a wild west movie
so siesta has to be part of it just like the gunfight has to be part of it.
regards John
Reminds me of the old Noel Coward song --"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun".
Eric UK
Oh boy...I don't read a thread in a while and all sorts of interesting things transpire. Like Jim, I have had to 'redecorate' figures to bring them back to the 19th century. There actually is very little offered, in the model figure world, that fits the late 1800s in upstate New York (outside of Musket Miniatures). Jim, I really like the 'fit and finish' of those figures.
John, you are absolutely correct in reasoning out the siesta was largely due to climatic factors (try working in Arizona when the temperature reaches 110+F). The siesta had nothing to do with laziness (from my observations our Central American brothers are some of the hardest working folks I have ever seen). With air-conditioning, modern Mexicans are dispensing with the traditional siesta; and are working schedules similar to Amerigo's (BTW: the work day, in much of Mexico, was lengthend to make up for the siesta break).
As for your question regarding the spacing of the adobe roof poles: I would say your spacing is very close to the prototype. Wood is in short supply throughout much of the Southwest - so it would be used sparingly. More modern structures have the fake roof poles somewhat closer (probably in the neighborhood of 3'). Unfortunately we will not be journeying out to New Mexico until May 2010 - so I can't measure them personally. Perhaps there is a poster that lives in that area and can do some 'field research'? Failing that, you could find a picture of a pueblo building and extrapolate the measurement from it (assuming you can estimate the height of the structure).
Eric - Here in the Heart of Dixie, we have modified that quote to read: "Only old hounds and Yankees go out in the midday sun." Keep working on your accent and y'all will fit in fine."
Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Ray
My apologies to Noel Coward and my thanks to Eric for that correction. You can find the text at:
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiMADDOGS.html (http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiMADDOGS.html)
Jim
Hi Guys
I have two adobe houses on the go one is a wild west structure for the model railway.
The other is the house at Wadi El Iset ( for war games)
I have come across a problem and I don't quite know what to do about it.
As I have never encountered this kind of problem before.
the base structure is foam core board with wood filler to fill any awkward gaps and round the corners.
The problem is getting the right texture on the sides.
When I think the texture is about right well you cannot see it with the naked eye and it goes real flat and I mean real flat when painted.
When the texture is made a little bit coarser so it shows through the paint
it is way to coarse.
Any thoughts.
The other problem is the houses at Wadi El Iset should have privacy screens rather than glass windows, I thought gyprock tape would do it.
( not sure what you call it in the US but its used on type of plaster board wall sheet)
Wrong the house at Wadi El Iset looks like its got a nine pane window
instead of a privacy screen any thoughts on this one.
Both structures are semi scale HO
regards John
PS the beauty of these structures construction is that several trials have been able to be rubbed down and try again.
John Anderson uses some of his scenery powder to mix a batch of stucco for his adobe type walls. A large adobe depot pictured here:
http://www.rrscenery.com/ashfork2.html (http://www.rrscenery.com/ashfork2.html)
Mike
Hi Mike
Sorry for delay in reply work getting in the way again.
Don't have easy access to the product mentioned.
Do you think hobby sand as put out by Games Workshop mixed in with the paint might work I have some of that sand left over from a war games project
It would at least get some texture on the model well maybe.
regards John