As I’m reaching the end of the line with buying and building my slot car fleet, one of the things I’ve been spending a lot more time on lately is the figures that populate my diorama. I had a discussion recently with another HO slot car enthusiast in the Great White North of BC, Canada, who, like me, enjoys surrounding his track with a diorama. He was lamenting both the lack of availability of 1:64 scale figures, and their very high cost. I’ve encountered this very problem, and I’ve figured out various ways to deal with it when populating my own layout. So, for those of us working in what I call “HOSO” scale, what options do we have to fill our layouts and dioramas with humanity rather than just building eerily empty, Twilight Zone-esque ghost towns? Here are some of the ways I’ve added peeps to my 1:64 scale world!
Race Medal
If you are made of money and don’t mind waiting 6-8 weeks for international shipping, you can buy all kinds of cool figures made by Race Medal. In spite of their origins, I will admit these figures are very cool; they are not only highly detailed but also come in some pretty amazing scenarios, including those that could certainly be considered “R-rated,” which is great for those of us kids that are actually adults. They are also available in a variety of different colors, which helps make the same pose re-usable without too much visual repetition.
But, Race Medal figures are shockingly expensive; you’re lucky to get a set of 3-5 figures for $25, and some of the more unusual ones are only sold individually, sometimes for as much as $25 per figure, with many costing $10-$15, and then there’s international shipping from China on top of that. That’s a lot of money for one figure, especially when your diorama requires hundreds of them!
Lastly, be careful when buying Race Medal figures online; there are a lot of vendors selling them, but although some are legit, a lot of them appear to be very sketchy and I’m not sure I’d trust my money with most of them. Look carefully at seller ratings-including actually reading the ratings, looking for bot-produced bad grammar-before making your purchase, and from whomever you buy them, prepare for a long wait before you have your wares in hand!
American Diorama
A slightly less expensive option are the die-cast metal figures made by American Diorama. I am unsure of the origins of this company-I know its an imprint of a larger firm, but I am unclear on which one, and anyway these toy company brands change ownership so often now it’s impossible to keep track of-but these figures are relatively easy to find from US vendors, and thus can be ordered without the high international shipping charges and long shipping times. They come in nicely themed sets, usually with little accessories appropriate to the theme.
Having 1:64 figures made of metal is nice; they come nicely finished and are just the right size for use with the average Matchbox, Hot Wheels and Johnny Lightning die-cast cars. The drawback? A lack of variety: there are only a handful of different figures available, and after you’ve bought 5 or 6 copies of each set-which, at this point, I have, you’ve kind of exhausted the possibilities. And even though they are cheaper than the Race Medal option, a set of 3-5 figures will still set you back $15-$20. This, again, becomes an expensive prospect when you need hundreds of them.
Greenlight
Greenlight used to make a set of 1:64-ish figures sold under the moniker of “GL Muscle.” I bought several of these sets in different colors and found them to be a mixed bag, with some of the figures being nicely sized while a couple of others were completely off, looking like they’d be more at home next to a 1:43 scale car than a 1:64.
I believe this set is now out of production; at least I haven’t seen it for sale since early in 2020. However, Greenlight does include an occasional figure with some of their diorama-type automotive releases. These are usually variations on the figures shown in the “GL Muscle” set, but sometimes you can find something more unique; two of my early acquisitions were the “Supernatural brothers”, sold in a set with a model of the black ’68 Chevy Impala sport sedan used in the TV series. These can be a decent find, but they are made in such limited quantities, and the variety is so meagre, that they can’t be a solution for those of us building large dioramas that need a lot of population.
3D Printed
So, my follow slot-car enthusiast and modeler was right about the cost: unlike figures in HO and O scale, which can be had everywhere, figures that fit into that “HOSO” scale I work in are very expensive to buy. Happily, though, the selection is getting better, thanks to the miracle of 3D printing! And best of all, many of the 3D-printed pieces I’m seeing just coming onto the market through various online vendors are made right here in the USA!
I have found 3 vendors on ebay and Etsy that make and sell various 1:64 3D printed figures, some of which are specifically designed for car enthusiasts for use on dioramas like mine, so they feature racing drivers and mechanics in many different poses and outfits. However, be aware that there are two significant issues that come with using these.
The first is you have to be willing to devote a lot of time to finishing them, because they come unpainted. That’s where a set of acrylic paint like this one comes in!
Made by a company I had heretofore never heard of called “Reaper Miniatures,” I bought this set on Amazon about 6 months ago and am extremely happy with it. It’s rare nowadays that one buys a product of such high quality, but I can’t say enough good things about this set. It was expensive, to be sure-$35 with postage included, and unfortunately lacks the color orange, forcing me to mix red and yellow together to get it-but the paint is superlative: the hues are bright and vibrant and the colors are thick and cover very well, even over dark colored surfaces. And best of all, you can wash it off with warm water if you decide you want to start over.
Now, I personally really enjoy painting my figures. I find this procedure very therapeutic, in a way I imagine many people find knitting and macramé and other such pursuits. Sitting at my workbench with the light and a large magnifying glass, I use tiny hobby brushes to paint skin tones, shirts, pants, hair or hats, and shoes on every one, trying to add as much variety as the set of colors I have will allow. The skin tone can be lightened or darkened easily by adding a little more white or brown paint to the flesh tone, depending on your preference (I like to add a good amount of variety to reflect the real world). This is very time consuming, however, considering that you have to wait for one color to dry before applying the next, and then you have to wait again to do the inevitable touch ups. It is likely that not everyone who’s interested in building a diorama will have the time to devote to this, or the desire. If this describes you, it is unlikely the 3D printed figures will work for you.
The second drawback to the 3D printed figures is that they are very fragile; I have had some that seem more durable than others depending on their origins or the material they are made out of, but for the most part they are very easy to break; dropping one on a hard floor, or, more likely, hitting one who is a bystander at your track with a crashing slot car-is likely to result in a decapitation or other amputation which will turn your figure into a dis-figure. Some amount of this is unavoidable, in the same way that an occasional injury of a spectator at a real car race is unavoidable, so be aware that some of your labor in painting these individually may wind up in the trash bin if disaster strikes.
Cheap Bulk Plastic
This brings me to the last option, one I’ve found only recently and whose ongoing supply may be in doubt since I again am unsure of their origins. Sold in bulk sets of 100 on Amazon for a song, these cheaply made figures are commonly found in HO 1:87 and O 1:48 scale, but recently they have also appeared in a scale described as “1:75.” I’m not sure who’s working in 1:75, but it sounds to me like “HOSO”; that blending area between HO, S and O that us 1:64 guys have to work in!
The quality of these figures leaves much to be desired, which is to be expected for their low price, but the good news is that they are perfect for your “supporting cast:” the large crowds of peeps you need to fill grandstand seats and common areas around your track. I’ve also painted many of these by hand, adding skin-tone paints in various shades to their faces and hands, and while they lack discernible facial features, it still makes them good looking enough for “bit players.”
The way I cast my roles, I use the high quality figures for the “close-ups:” those areas that are nearest to the track and in the areas of most visual interest, such as my racer’s paddock and inspection station, and then for the “common areas” and grandstands I use the cheaper bulk-rate figures, many of which I add some paint too, but some of which I just leave “as is” where any real detail beyond a silhouette with arms and legs is unneeded. This is a great compromise between the money of Race Medal and American Diorama, the time of the 3D printed figures, and the bulk-rate plastic. At Drag City, as in real life, it takes all kinds of people to make the world go ‘round!