Where are all the passengers?

[DKS]

Who said anything about "blobs"?  "Crude representations of figures" does not limit the possibilities to "blobs".

"Blobs" is my synonym for "crude representations of figures."

In any case, you're missing the woods for the trees.  Manufacturers are well within the capability to produce cheap passenger cars with acceptable representation of figures included by default, whether molded in or otherwise.  Why is it still left to the consumer to make up this gap?  With all the demands for improved detail I read on this forum, why are passengers overlooked so easily?

I don't see how I'm missing any woods, or trees, or anything. I would posit if there really was a demand for figures included in passenger cars having interiors, then they would be a standard feature. Why are you so adamant that manufacturers meet your demand--particularly as you seem to be the only one in favor of it so far? At any rate, the "demands for improved detail" here likely do not include "crude representations" of anything.

But... you did mention silhouettes as an option to simulate passengers. Bachmann "shorties" have black silhouettes pad-printed on the windows. So, there you go; prayers answered.

10 years ago:  "If you want knuckle couplers, then just spend a few bucks for some micro trains couplers and convert them yourself.  What's the big deal?"

This makes no sense; in fact, it's almost funny. Then again, maybe I'm missing some woods or trees or something.

[Chris333]

What about something like these:
http://www.zscalemonster.com/stonebridge/7100/

[Puddington]

I get emails at Rapido about passengers in cars and here's what I tell people

1. They would add significant material and assembly costs - we're talking game breaking costs in some cases.
2. The level of detail that customers would expect would range from "blob' to "why doesn't she have pink lipstick instead of red"....
3. When cars are moving, passengers are hard to see, expecially with window blinds (remember, I add the them to mine)... when cars are standing still in a yard, why do they have passengers in them....?

It's a no win; thus it's really best to leave it to the modeller... in my opinion.

[Teditor]

I agree completely, leave it to the modeller, I have been fitting a lot of passengers to lighted Kato cars lately, I use cheap bulk buy Chinese made figures, the way Kato (and possibly others) are made, only the top part of the torso can be used.

An oft asked question - "Someone make a single window HW coach - please", Rapido?

Ted (Teditor) Freeman
From the land down under.

[DKS]

What about something like these:
http://www.zscalemonster.com/stonebridge/7100/

One of Karin's worst sellers... practically couldn't even give 'em away.

[mcjaco]

I started putting figures into the Amtrak Builder Lounge.  I think I used nine total.  It looked to crowded if I added more.  I'd say that number in any car is good.  Just enough to give the impression there's people riding. 

The only way I'd do it though is with Preiser or Woodland Scenic people.  I tried some knock off "blobs" and even with tinted windows in the Superliners you could tell.

[eja]

Part of the issue is the size of the figures that are available.  They are all too wide (perhaps a statement on obesity in the US ?) There is no way to fit two passengers in the side by side seats. Likewise they will not fit is facing seats. even with the legs cut off.

Personally, I wave always liked the silhouette decals .  They look fine to me using the 3 foot rule. Up close - not so much. 

eja

[pnolan48]

I'm very much with the empty passenger car folks. I'd much rather populate my cars with my own choice of figures, than scrape off some manufacturer's guess as to passenger populations. The interiors are injection moldings. I can just imagine instructing a die maker on machining, say, twenty different human lifeforms, who will forever sit in the same seats in every car ever made.

I've got a few thousand of the Chinese figures that will do quite nicely in my cars with the one-foot-thick windows. BTW, apart from populating places you can't really see, I find about one in five of the cheap Chinese figures are usable--most are too small for my American landscape. And most have to be repainted unless you want a Miami Beach 1960s look. And that's cruel to Miami Beach.

The old Bachmann shorties used profiles of passengers printed on the windows. They actually photographed quite well.

[sizemore]

Unpainted passengers automatically qualifies your train as the "Nudist Special Express".

The S.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Hmm. One other thing to keep in mind is that, in many cases, interiors are actually not super accurate dimensional representations, so  putting "people" in there is actually problematic.

[pnolan48]

Hmm. One other thing to keep in mind is that, in many cases, interiors are actually not super accurate dimensional representations, so  putting "people" in there is actually problematic.

I noticed that too. The seats are on the blob level themselves. So, populate the blobs with more blobs?

[DKS]

[Kisatchie]

Eww... that's creepy...

[dualgauge]

I have started putting people in some lighted cars. Z scale figures fit about the best. Figures are not the best looking but still give the look of passengers. By adding figures can add as few or many as you want.
Dan

[mmagliaro]

Simple figures would be fine.  They don't have to be Preiser quality.  Heck, those blister packs of figures
that Bachmann sells would be fine.  That isn't the problem.

While it might be a little distracting to have all-empty cars, it's even more distracting to have a bunch of plain white
plastic people.  So now every time I buy a car, I have to paint the figures.  It would be worse, at least to
me, to have white people than no people.

Now, suppose I would rather just buy some WS or Preiser or other nice-looking pre-painted figures,
chop the bottoms of the legs off, bend 'em up, and glue them in there?  I can't, because I have these unpainted
white people in the way.

The way I see it, there are two camps of people: the ones who want ready-to-go cars with people in them,
and the ones who want to decorate their interiors with their own people.  Neither group would be made happy
by populating them with unpainted figures.