Adding Locomotive Crew - Advice needed.

[port perran]

I see a fair few photographs on the forum featuring steam locomotives with either driver or fireman or both.
Adding crew greatly enhances a photograph to my eyes but whenever I've attempted it myself it never really works out.

So, does anyone have any tips for adding little figures to the footplate?

Are people using blu tak or tackwax or something more permanent and how do you manage to get the figures to fit, especially if room is limited eg Dapol panniers ?

Cheers
Martin

[PLD]

Generally superglue gel to attach.
quite common for the crew to be legless to fit...

[chrism]

Generally superglue gel to attach.
quite common for the crew to be legless to fit...

I'm fairly confident that the railway companies had rules about inebriated footplate crews.



On a more serious note, I'm in the superglue camp too - I prefer my stuff not to fall apart.
To date, however, I've only staffed my tender locos (well, most of them) and haven't yet looked into butchering some plastic people for tank locos.

[Southerngooner]

I use superglue, and cut the crew about if necessary to fit. The Farish Jinty has a top torso crew only, sat on the pcb unit, as an example. I also use some of the non-driving figures in the more enclosed cabs such as the Dapol Britannia, where you can just about make out that someone is in there!

Dave

[honestjudge]

I use Deluxe glue&glaze. A small blob on the feet holds well and dries reasonably fast. And crucially can be pulled off with no damage if it goes horribly wrong.

[lil chris]

Yes same here I use a quick drying superglue gel, like Dave I have half a crew in my Jinty's fixed over the top of the decoder.

[Coyote]

What are the best loco crew for the steam era? Is there any good alternatives to the Graham Farish painted plastic figures?

[crewearpley40]

Theres modelu3d.co.uk and pdmarshmodels.com A146 plus
  https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-crew-and-guard . I use farish products one my 1 steam loco

[chrism]

  https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-crew-and-guard .

One might have a spot of bother fitting those into an n-gauge loco cab 

[crewearpley40]

  https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-crew-and-guard .

was just a thought. I use tweezers once I've dabbed the base with superglue

One might have a spot of bother fitting those into an n-gauge loco cab 

[chrism]

  https://peco-uk.com/products/loco-crew-and-guard .

One might have a spot of bother fitting those into an n-gauge loco cab 

was just a thought. I use tweezers once I've dabbed the base with superglue

Yes, but how many loco crew are 10-12' tall?

[crewearpley40]

Not many. As I cut legs off too

[honestjudge]

What are the best loco crew for the steam era? Is there any good alternatives to the Graham Farish painted plastic figures?

As mentioned , modelu3d are nice but expensive at £4.50 per unpainted figure, also Hardys hobbies do similar at £2.50 each, although Hardys have stopped doing figures with shovels in N due go their machines having trouble with the fine detail.
I now think the Farish sets of 5-6 pre painted figures are actually better value than the resin ones.

[Tank]

I think they look a bit big-headed to me!

[Newportnobby]

For anyone like me who is/was ignorant of which side drive locos were, that wonderful chap John  @Train Waiting made a list for me which I hope helps some others.
PDF attached