Modellings tips and answers - Modelling with figures - Videos

Please note our shop in Sandown will be closed on bank holidays, but otherwise open as usual. That means you can do some Christmas shopping till the 23rd of December and if you run out of anything top up from the 27th onwards. Don't forget, we love chocolate in all shapes and forms, so feel free to bring some when you visit us. If you cannot visit us, you can also post the chocolate to us!

We will dispatch mail orders every day apart from bank holidays but please note that, as is customary this time of the year, Royal Mail is slightly behind with deliveries so delivery dates are not guaranteed. So please select "UPS" as delivery method if your order is time sensitive.

Finally, because of bank holidays and other celebrations, there is a chance this is the last newsletter of the year. Don't be too sad: we shall be back in 2024 and we have something for you to think about till next time:

If I give you food, I feed you. If I give you a drink, I (what?) you.

Well, don't waste too much time as there no such verb in the English language while they do exist in other languages (for instance in French, it is "désaltérer").

Because we are getting quite close to Hogmanay, we felt it was appropriate to have a Scottish singer sing our railway song of the week. So, enjoy Sheena Easton's "9 to 5 (morning train)". As a bit of trivia, the bracketed text was added to the title to avoid confusion with the song of the same name by Dolly Parton. 

Now, if you really want to impress people with some not-so-useful knowledge, tell them the French version on this song was sung by Sylvie Vartan and the French title "L'amour, c'est comme une cigarette" translates as "Love is like a cigarette". Don't we miss the 80s?

This week in history

On Monday 20th December 1875, the Ryde and Newport Railway (R&NR) opened a new branch line on the Isle of Wight.  The initial service included 7 journeys each day in both directions.  The R&NR operated in close partnership with the Isle of Wight Railway (IoWR) and the Cowes and Newport Railway (C&NR), although financial constraints hindered the development of further rail infrastructure.  Merger with other Island operators occurred in 1887 by Act of Parliament which resulted in the formation of the Isle of Wight Central Railway (IoWCR) although finances still remained extremely tight.  The IoWCR continued to operate until the grouping of National Rail networks as a result of the Railways Act 1921.  This formed Southern Railways (SR) which finally helped gain access to much needed finances to develop the railway infrastructure on the Island.

When building a layout, populating the layout with figures generally tends to be one of the final elements to integrate prior to completion. This makes a lot of sense as figures are perhaps the most flexible of scene elements to position, as they can be placed in locations where they can best integrate with the landscape and any appropriate layout buildings or infrastructure. Figures can also be supplied in a wide variety of ways, from lone individuals to multipacks and everything in between. Some modellers may look to purchase specific figure or cameo sets that will best support a layout theme such as farm workers or railway and station staff. For this week’s newsletter we will take a closer look at some of the options available to N gauge modellers when it comes to integrating figures into their layouts.

For those looking to buy en masse, a multipack approach will make a lot of sense. Although a more expensive outlay than individual sets, multipacks can be a practical and cost-effective solution for modellers who require a large number of figures to populate a layout. The American company Woodland Scenics has a wide range of figure sets available for N gauge modellers, including a number of multipacks. Their assorted figures economy pack contains over 100 figures including domestic animals that can be used to populate a wide variety of everyday scenes. For those looking for more specifically themed figures, the assorted workers economy pack will be useful for populating a wide variety of working environments. Similarly, their assorted farm economy pack contains a wide variety of farm animals and farm workers which will be ideal for modellers looking to populate a variety of agricultural and rural scenes.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding scenarios to develop are rural environments. The sheer variety of environments can lead to a diverse range of activities, requiring careful planning and an eye for detail. Rural environments often lend themselves very well to specific activities. In this case the modeller developing a rural theme may aim for very specific figure or cameo sets to establish their layout themes. The campers set by Woodland Scenics is a good example of a simple yet highly effective cameo set that helps develop an overall layout theme. Likewise, the farm workers set by Merten is a good example of rural trades that may result in the placement of figures as individuals or in small groups, yet still directly interfacing with the environment. The at the riding school set by Preiser is an interesting cameo by itself and will certainly add visual appeal to a rural scene.

One of the most interesting of environments to simulate and incorporate into a layout is water. Whether it be a stream, river, lake or the sea, water can be a challenge to any modeller to incorporate into a layout. Adding figures onto or indeed into a water-based environment can add another level of complexity and for many modellers this can be a very satisfying challenge to accept. For those who wish to accept the task, both the children at the pool set by Preiser and the Bathers set by Noch offer possibilities for inclusion of figures directly in the water. For those looking for a slightly simpler solution, the fly fishermen set by Woodland Scenics allows modellers the chance to integrate a figure set with a water environment but without the necessity of having to get either into or onto the water.

Regardless of the overall theme, most layouts will inevitably include specific working environments. Many scene elements will complement the overall rail infrastructure whereas others may be directly dependent on it. A good example of the latter is the station personnel set by Noch. This compact set contains 9 uniformed figures representing railway staff and will be a good option for populating a variety of Station scenarios. For modellers looking to recreate a goods or shunting yard, the 6-piece railway shunters set, also by Noch will really help bring this aspect of the layout to life. The 11-piece masonry workers set could be used in any number of industrial scenarios and is an ideal example of a cameo set that will add significant visual interest whilst complementing the overall layout theme.

One of the great advantages of using figure sets is that there are literally endless permutations as to how they can be integrated into a layout. The nature and movement of most human beings when viewed by an independent observer is generally fairly random at an individual level, yet intriguingly more predictable when viewed as a whole. This means it is difficult to get placement wrong. It’s just through trial-and-error certain configurations may work better than others. The flexibility of figure sets is such that if a certain configuration isn’t working then in most case the figures can simply be relocated as required. When suitably placed, figure sets are one of the most effective means to really help a layout to visually come to life.

Modelling tips

We keep on adding modelling tips to our website. Here are the latest ones:

Or re-visit these slightly older ones:

You can read all the articles sorted by categories or from the most recent published one on our website.

Unboxing videos

You want to know what is inside the boxes of modelling products? We open them for you! Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified before everyone else or simply click on this example. Please note that videos are at the bottom of each page.

Find all the latest events and exhibitions for the model railway world, on the UK Model Shop Events directory. Hopefully, 2024 will give us plenty of opportunities to attend events all over the country.

Do you need to order?

Send us an email or give us a call to check availability or to reserve anything, whatever scale you model in. As usual, if we do not have in stock what you are looking for, we will order it for you and you will get it fast (usually within a week if the manufacturer has it in stock). We place weekly orders with most suppliers.

Remember, you can park for free for one hour on the High Street. So no excuse not to come and visit us!

Upstairs Downstairs is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am till 4.30pm. Obviously, our website is open 24h a day and we can post to most locations, including Europe, USA and Australia.

Upstairs Downstairs
3 Pier Street
Sandown, PO36 8JR
Isle of Wight
Tel: 01983 406 616
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