shadowbeast

O scale is an official figure and not a floating point or an ish. UK-1/43 (coarse) Europe-1/45 US- 1/48 (legend has it that an American engineer misread a 5 as an 8 on a European plan...) 1/48 is actually too BIG, not small. The engineering of wargame minis makes it not fit, the figures are actually diminutive, says I who once compared Preiser O figures to space marines. It's those @$#%@%*@%$^%!$^%&***& bases! Plus the engineering of the figure means it will not fit into the tiny confines of a train. An O train will have to be purpose designed to adventure inside. I picked On30 because it looks big enough. On30 compared to OO and N. On16.5, or British On30 (which it isn't because puffing up the scale further changes the gauge of the track) may be an effective solution, it is a little bigger. http://www.slimrails.co.uk/indexlocospage.html http://www.slimrails.co.uk/index016.5kitspage.html Redoubt also makes a train: http://www.redoubtenterprises.com/shop/?page=shop/browse&category_id=78038019d56796c710b005244d64b824&ps_session=32960e518f0be8eacfd9b278de5bc5da http://homepage.mac.com/brentdietrich/companyB_models_Trains.html as does Company B. JTFM makes a WW2 kriegslokomotive. The most commonly mentioned train set is the Fastlane Golden Creek set, which looks dreadful: http://www.thortrains.net/kidstoys/battery1.html I could be customised but the best I can see you getting out of it is: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8gYiw19ugfw/TXhK6-tNgOI/AAAAAAAAAHE/7RNKTR5MO8s/s1600/my_fx_213.jpg They had better looking sets. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3342341 http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3537239 http://img1.classistatic.com/cps/kj/110415/196r3/5580a7a_19.jpeg The trouble with using toy trains is 1: lack of consistency, 2: obscurity, 3: they are designed for children and therefore designed completely at random with the only direction being to make them into a friendly childhood character. This often has the effect of making them look nothing like a train running on guides that look nothing like railway line. Christmas trains look like an option but until you have one you have no idea of how big it is. And 1/35 is titanic.

I just use the ones from Back 2Base-ix, the same as on my maritime figures for Warmachine. You have to take care not to use the ones which are too scrappy, I think there are neat ones and rotten ones. Iron Halo, Micro Art and others should have plank bases. Green Stuff should be no trouble at all, just scribe the lines and brush with a wire brush to make grain. Dot with pin for nail holes. Regarding wood, my experience with making rollingstock with real wood decking is that you stain them before any other chemical; I used some GW and P3 inks. To stain after gluing will give light spots where the colouring is not accepted, due to the glue being soaked into the wood. Ozsteam gives a quite detailed recipe for staining...

I really wanted the Forge World Xenos Dissection table, but it seems to be OOP. (Don't bother going on about how overpriced it would have been. I know. Nothing less, however, would have gone with the wall pieces I have.)

I don't have so many hundreds of minis, so all mine fit into one tray in the bottom of the same KR aluminium case I use for Warmachine.

http://www.outbackmodels.com/Wagons/wagons.html You'll have to get your own horses, might I suggest Eureka? I'm using a steam wagon. It's not only because I just want a steam wagon- it's the only way I can think to get the whole thing on a 50mm base (why is it on a 50mm base anyway...?)

I could not reccommend upscaling any less. Decently textured card scenery is designed at a certain resolution and making it bigger makes the pixels bigger. A bitmapped image is only to be printed at its native size or smaller, or the lines will be too thick and too pixellated to see where to cut and fold. A vector graphic, which will look more like the Whitewash City buildings, could be scaled up and down at will.

I am aware of the Mantua-Panart-Sergal model, yes it does look the right scale but I don't know if it has an interior, and the price puts it so far out of the question I didn't mention it before. Perhaps the Matchitecture boat is big enough? Also there is the idea of the Reviresco boat, but as Revirescos 28mm minis are made to what they see as precisely 28mm scale (1/64) it's a bit too small. There are other card models online but they are also small; whether they can be resized depends on whether they are drawn as bitmapped or vectored images. If vectored, they do not have very good textures, but can be used as plans... I probably won't use paddlewheels as this is a fantasy version of 1901 and I know for a fact they had screw drives for watercraft (less vulnerable to the occasional cannonball.) Therefore the flying machine idea intrigues me too; by then cars were invented and there were only two years to go until the first plane hopped into the air. I bought four boilers from Rustyrail to power some small boats. The little things are going to look a right mess....

Common scales in boats are not common, apart from rail scales. The dollhouse scales, 1/12, 1/24 and 1/48 are most commonly used for radio guidance. I've been thinking of this for a while now but I'm going to have to say scratch too.

$8 or so, got me a pack of Back2Base-ix planked deck bases at the same place I got my Collette boxed set. I figured that would be most appropriate as the girls wouldn't hang out non-planked places so much, the clues on the back of the box as to Collettes business suggests things like warehouses, showboats, trains, theaters, saloons, and other places where you can imagine wood decks. Otherwise you could glue coloured fuzzy stuff down for carpet?

http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10020.jpg http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10021.jpg http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10019.jpg I did this with dark green paint on the bottom, clear blue (Tamiya x-23) on top, ripply layers of white glue, hot glue for the splashes, and white paint highlights. Also see if you can find October 2010 Model Rail. It has an article on all levels of water simulation.

http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10714.jpg http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10713.jpg Lady Justice with O accessories and various trains.

Edited to show the tagged version of the imgs. http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10714.jpg&newest=1 http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10715.jpg&newest=1

I finally did it- I compared the sizes of trains and a Malifaux figure. http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10713.jpg http://s85.photobucket.com/albums/k56/thoughtengine/?action=view&current=SDC10712.jpg links altered.

still no store? This is like waiting for the old Aramac to Barcaldine...

I've seen imgs of the Terracliups items but I think the regular WWG products look better.

Hey it might work- one or more of your crew might be model engineers... O scale might seem too big at first but remember you're trying to make terrain that accommodates those thrice-cursed lipped bases.

"shortly" to them means the rest of the quarter, apparently. Doesn't bode well for anyone attempting to order. Outback Model Company do some buildings but they are quality railway craftsman kits and terribly expensive. They have some good wagons and accessories though.

1/48 in the US and Australia, though may be different in Tasmania, 1/43 in the UK and 1/45 on the continent, though I have only seen card kits of locos in that scale. Those small buildings look mighty tempting.

Old Glory might be small but if you change some details you will be able to use it as a smaller boat: http://www.oldglory25s.com/index.php?cat_id=24&catname='25mm Ships' http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=209878 Why no pictures, I wonder... http://blackcatbases.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=430_540_541&products_id=2300 http://theminiaturespage.com/news/200789/ I really think I should try scratching some though.

I was thinking of a normal late 19thc/ turn of the century steam vehicle, not something that odd. Just for some equipment laying around a farm, mine, shop etc. Doesn't have to be historically accurate but must appear capable of work and those don't have a power transfer flywheel. I have the last two vehicles. The spider is so big I haven't managed to base it yet.

I am looking for economical solutions to getting a steam tractor/traction engine/road locomotive, steam wagon, etc. Ironclad: http://www.ironcladminiatures.co.uk/shop/article_steam09/Steam-9.html?shop_param=cid%3D10%26aid%3Dsteam09%26 not too interesting. May be a bit much considering every tractor to be so armoured; where's the drive flywheel to power equipment? Corgi: Lledo: http://www.corgi.co.uk/shop/276/burrell-showmans-engine--frost-dg125013/?from_categories=days-gone I don't know if it's big enough. Vintage Glory of Steam: http://www.corgi.co.uk/shop/road-transport/vintage-glory-of-steam/ Big enough but the prices have followed suit- then failed to stop. Duncan Models: http://www.scalelink.co.uk/acatalog/Duncan_Models__O__scale___________RETAIL_ONLY_.html Same problem. Wiseman: http://www.locopainter.com/store/product.php?id=369 I think we see a pattern forming here. Langley seem to have discontinued their tractor, and only have a steam wagon: http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_O_Vehicles_horse_drawn__combines_tractors_plant__83.html scroll down a bit. Are there any economical solutions? Does anyone know of any good value for money wheels, so I can scratch some vehicles?

Plan D I have ordered a Model Power HO tank engine and am going to convert it to a Cryx industrial tramway loco, taking off the body and scratching one that will work for On30. For rollingstock I have ordered 3 Bachmann underframes and pairs of archbar bogies from Ozsteam, and shall be scratching some scrap wagon bodies on top. What am I going to do for a guard van though, I wonder... If I can raise enough interest in Malifaux I shall do something bigger, perhaps using a larger Model Power loco, or perhaps just buy an On30 one- but not now. The tramway train is more immediately useful for Warmachine, so the rest can wait till I can be bothered or until I get some Malifaux sessions going.

What would crush a Sabol case that wouldn't crush this? It looks like a similar design philosophy to my Sabol motor pool. (a clothy bag with trays inside) Are the trays harder? I like the pick and plucks because I have so many GW minis and they are horrendous for trying to fit even the simplest infantry figures into regular spaces. Currently my Malifaux collection hangs out in the bottom of my KR case under my Warmachine stuff (well most of it- why did Terminus' wings have to be so big...) All that said I will still be looking at the Battlefoam as I have many, many more minis left to organise.

Some parts to scratch/convert with, if you're going On30. Weird thing about the Shay: http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66_71_130 that's all they have for the 2-truck shay in On30 but: http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66_68_92 that's all the shay parts they have in HO.... "It makes me to be suspicious..." -Hercule Poirot The Company B locos are each still cheaper than one of those Shay underframes. They are rough scaled to 1/56 but run on S gauge track, so if you just buy a loco and some S gauge bogies you could scratch the rest...