People

People

people working on the loading dock

There are hundreds of people and animal along the route of the Lone Wolf and Santa Fe Railroad. They include railroad employees and passengers, employees of local businesses and the local residents. There are government officials, and employees including law enforcement personnel. There are several animals from house cats to wild cats scattered all around the layout.

truckdriver

Census
Population: 774 (actual figures on layout as of 5/28/2020)
Females: 253 Males: 521

While there might seem to be a large difference in number of male and females it is because most women have jobs which they are inside of a building and not visible so there is no model for them. Also because the makers of these miniature figures don't make a large number of females doing work.

People at church

Art and Entertainment:
    The people who live and work at the businesses on the layout need some culture to keep them happy and productive.
Movie Theater: There is a custom made movie theater which is now showing Bigfoot the Movie. It is an older building with only one screen. It has a balcony and a projection room on the second floor while the main seating is down stairs past the restrooms and snack bar. And like Trinka says, "I'll see you in the popcorn line!"

Music: There are six musical groups on the layout and one house which has musical instruments, and a home entertainment system.
Parading down E street is the San Gorgonio High School Marching Band. It's 44 members play a variety of instruments from flute to trombone and of course it wouldn't be a marching band without the drum major and drum corps.

Southern California's own, No Doubt, is playing at a large outdoor venue built in a natural amphitheater in the foothills north of town. The large P.A. easily out blasts the mainline freights going up the pass which commonly block traffic to the venue because there is still an old, out of date, grade crossings which the county won't replace. Gwen Staffani is from Preiser's punk rocker set. The guitarist is from an old set which was listed as string and horn band. The rest of No Doubt is custom painted figures from Preiser's Jazz Band.

    The Stray Cats are rocking the house at the Route 66 Car Cruise downtown. Singer and guitarist Brian Seltzer is from Preiser's Jazz Band. So is the drummer. The bass player is a Preiser punk who stole a string bass from the string and horn band.

    A classical ensemble is playing at a reception. Members include a violinist from the string and horn band, a bass player from the jazz band along with the horns, trumpet, clarinet and saxophone. The band leader plays piano and sings duets along with the beautiful female singer.

"Um pa pa, um pa pa, um pa pa pa." A polka band is playing The Beer Barrel Polka at an Oktoberfest being held in the foothills. The French horn and tuba players as well as the guy playing the squeezebox are from the sting and horn band.

A jazz duet mess around outside the back stage door. The string bass player and the clarinet player are from Preiser's Jazz band.

There is also a store which sells musical instruments and a open to the public warehouse full of pianos and organs.

    When looking at the census it appears that there are a lot more men than women. That is because men are more likely to have jobs which require them to be outside and therefor they are more visible than the women who work mostly in doors in building which don't have interior details. Truck drivers, construction workers and other trades throw off the ratio.

    Most of the figures are made by Preiser. Some of them are factory painted but the majority were hand painted by myself and my son. Like the instructions say in good broken English, "painting small figures these is not so very difficult, yet it is not for every person" OK it is hard but with practice you get better. With a lot of experience you can paint figures as good or better than the factory. My first attempts were not too good, partly because of the paint and partly due to inexperience. Now I can do a pretty good job.

Painting Figures
    The most economical way to create a large population of figures is to buy the large sets of unpainted figures and paint them yourself.
    When painting figures the first thing to do is to have the right paint. With mixed results I've tried Testors, and a few brands I don't remember. I've tried the oil based paints and some poster paints and I've even tried paint pins and markers. Currently I am using acrylic paint by Tamiya with very good results.
    Picking the colors is the next step. Use mostly flat colors. Most colors which are not flat will look too shiny to be clothes or flesh. They might work for plastic raincoats or shinny leather jackets or skirts. Try to copy the color patterns that the factory uses but vary it a little but notice the boundaries of each color and us that as a guide to paint by numbers. Looking at an all white figure, it's hard to tell where the lines are. If you have a picture from a catalog to guide you it can be a great help. Don't you think that the factory workers are following a picture with paint by numbers? If you don't know what colors to use for clothes, ask your woman for help. Every woman secretly wants to be a fashion designer. Get her involved and she'll have a way to share your hobby with you.
    For as much of the painting process as possible, leave the people on the spur. It's easier to hold them. Hold them in a small vise or a third hand if yours are shaky. If you have steady hands, hold your arm or elbow on the table to help keep it steady. Do the same with your paintbrush hand. Use a variety of very small size paintbrushes. Short hair lengths are good. Have one with only a couple of hairs for fine details.
    Lets paint! Start with the flesh! White people get flat flesh color painted onto their face, neck and top of their head if they are bald. If they are bald, leave them on the spur and paint as much as you can. You will paint the top of their heads last if that's where they attach to the spur. Also paint the people's hands and any other area of exposed flesh. For blacks and other darker skinned people I use flat earth color because it simulated dark flesh without hiding the details which can happen when using dark colors. Black people are not really black, just like white people aren't really white. Mexicans and Asians are a mix of the two colors, however many of the Mexicans are lighter skinned and are just painted flat flesh.
    Paint the clothes the same way you get dressed, from the inside, out. Shirts are usually first. Use one color at a time and paint all of the people on the spur at the same time. Anyone who gets a white shirt get it first, socks too if visible. Switch colors to the next lightest color yellow or what ever it is and paint some more shirts. Gradually work down to darker colors.
    Paint pants next and then jackets and shoes using the same one color at a time method. Paint the small details last like neck ties, purses and handheld details.
    By now all of the painting should have loosened up the figures and some may have even fallen off of the spur. When they are dry, carefully cut them off of the spur with a razor knife. Now, finally you can paint their hair and there bald spot. Hair color is a weird thing. There is no paint which is labeled blonde but there is a black number one for type o negative fans. Red heads don't have red hair unless it's dyed that way, punk rock style Gray hair can also be white or silver. For more information on hair color ask, who else but your wife, she'll know all about it.