Being a careful person (ok mean my wife says) I am always looking for the cheaper option when possible after all a pound saved is a pound for a new engine

To provide some figures for the layout I decided to try some cheap eBay ones from China and I thought others might be interested in the results

A pack of 100 painted cost about £4 Inc. postage.  They are supposed to be modern day passengers for the most part.  There is a mix of men/women/children with some seated figures.  There seem to be about 15 different types.   About 10-15% were damaged and unusable.

The photo shows a typical collection, lots of sprue, some holes in the mouldings and the painting is terrible, but there is some promise



After some cleaning up and repainting they look like this and I am certainly not a great painter especially for tiny figures like these



I then bought some more unpainted for £3 Inc. postage!

Nothing like the best from Farish or Noch but a tiny fraction of the price and fine for inside a building or in the distance

I have some of those figures and it was only when I photographed them I noticed they all seemed to be Chinese 

However after seeing the excellent job you have done with your figures I realise they can be westernised 

Keep up with being frugal and you will soon become an honorary Scotsman     

cheers John.

For interiors it's often enough just to spray them dark grey or black as you only see the shape through the window anyway

Thanks Scotsoft we Welsh can be canny to

The figures do have an oriental feel some are tall and thin which appear often in Chinese art also the sprue looks like a topknot

You have done an excellent job with the figures 

I'm in awe of your ability to paint something that small

Ahhhhhh  sooooo , well done glasshopper 

Agree that on first impression that these "cheapo's" tend to look oriental; The sprue on their heads makes them look like they've all got "top knots". However I have found once this small piece is removed and  a dab of paint to hide the "bald" spot they do become more presentable.

If it's not against the Forum rules, would it be possible to post up a link please?
I have had a look for them, but just cant seem to locate them....
Many thanks
CT 

Quote from: carlmt on October 08, 2013, 11:04:46 PM
If it's not against the Forum rules, would it be possible to post up a link please?
I have had a look for them, but just cant seem to locate them....
Many thanks
CT 

Here are a few links where you can get these figures, you makes your choice and pays your money 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lot-Set-100-Mixed-Sitting-People-Figure-Paint-RR-Train-Model-1-150-Scale-N-Gauge-/171138641425?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item27d8a86e11

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-x-1-150-Scale-Painted-Model-Train-People-Figures-N-/320661687383?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item4aa8ed0c57

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lot-of-1-150-Painted-Passenger-People-Figures-Train-Model-N-Scale-Mix-Pose-Age-/370915056566?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item565c429bb6

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100pcs-N-Scale-1-150-Mix-Painted-Model-Train-Park-Street-Passenger-People-New-/350878039333?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item51b1f5fd25

cheers John.

I've bought from many of the suppliers on John's posts and can recommend them . They do take a little longer to arrive but the quality of customer service is extremely high. As rhysapthomas states, the painting can be terrible but some are easily good enough to place inside buildings etc.

Beware of buying figures from some UK suppliers - check the pictures carefully and compare with the pictures of the Chinese figures as , in some cases, they bear a very close resemblance to the Chinese figures but at a much higher costs . I recall buying some at a show that I thought were a bargain at the time

I would agree with the above people are importing them into the UK and then reselling them in small batches.  I have never had a problem buying direct for the far east takes a few weeks but so far they have always arrived

Spotted these 500 off for £6.99 and they seem a different pattern to the other ones I bought before

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/500-Unpainted-White-1-150-Scale-Model-People-N-Figures-/300443628448?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item45f3d5f3a0

Quote from: rhysapthomas on October 09, 2013, 09:24:29 AM
Spotted these 500 off for £6.99 and they seem a different pattern to the other ones I bought before

That is a lot of painting if you go for that listing 

I use the cheap ones for populating coaches, if I want people for an outside situation where they would be more scrutinised then I would buy more expensive figures like Prieser or Noch.

cheers John.

I would have to agree on both counts.  For figures that can be seen close up or were specific types like train crew are required the quality manufacturers have got to be the way to go

I saw these in Fred Aldous in Manchester

http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/1-150-painted-figures-25pk.html

http://www.fredaldous.co.uk/1-150-unpainted-figures-25pk.html

I don't know if they are the same or not