Hope Line Figures
Distributed by:
SLM
PO Box 28047
Baltimore MD 21239
Price: $11 unpainted; $14 primed, ready to paint
Website: www.slmonline.com
Cast-resin figures suitable for either 1:22.5 or 1:20.3 scale; sizes vary based on specific figure
Pros: Excellent detail; natural poses
Cons: None
“James” is a seated cowboy-looking figure who comes with a crate that he can sit on while he spins yarns of life on the trail. “Mack” is an equally weathered character who looks as if he’s got his own volume of tales to tell, though with his backpack and walking stick, he’s probably had a harder life than James.
James is stated to be approximately 6′ in 1:22.5 scale and 5’5″ in 1:20.3. He’s sitting down, so a precise height is hard to gauge. He looks proportional to rolling stock in either scale. Mack measures 338″ to the top of his hat, which scales out to 6’4″ in 1:22.5 and 5’9″ in 1:20.3. Take off a few inches for the hat to get his true height in either scale.
Both figures are well detailed, with lots of folds in the clothing to make any figure painter wish they had even smaller brushes. Both come in natural poses that imply little, if any, motion. I prefer that in figures, since they’re “frozen” in time on our railroads anyway. The static figure of the guy running down the street always leaves me looking for the super villain who fired the freeze ray. Both of these guys would look quite natural idly hanging around any building on the railroad.
The figures come in two versions: raw cast resin, and pre-primed for painting. The manufacturer recommends priming the unprimed figures prior to painting. Having painted unprimed resin figures in the past (and watched the paint scratch off at the slightest opportunity) I heartily endorse that recommendation. Any spray primer should be sufficient. Painting with craft paints shouldn’t pose too much difficulty, except when making sure you get paint into all the folds in the clothes.
I don’t know how many well-traveled hobos and cowboys one needs on a railroad but these two figures are certainly worthy of filling that role in various scenes.
