HO scale buildings and figures in an O scale layout?

Not on an O layout.  I have added some N structures (and even a loop of track) in the rear mountain area on one of my previous HO layouts and the result was great.

Sure. Works great as a kind of forced perspective. I have even considered putting a little HO train way in the back, peaking out between two mountains.

One hint: This kind of effect works best if there is a discontinuity between the foreground and the background, such a slight rise that interrupts the continuous view and makes it easier to accept the change in scale. This also works well when trying to continue a road on a backdrop. Never looks right if they are directly connected.

Here are a few examples from my old layout of HO buildings in the background behind O scale buildings: (click on photo to expand)

Jim

It will work if you  Take it slow and work it out.  Even N scale can work.  I helps if you have a vision break between scales, but put them in place and look at them a few days before you secure them permanently.

I'm thinking about a very fine misting of pale gray over the buildings (and everything else) the further back they are placed, but haven't tried it yet.

@Forty Rod posted:

I'm thinking about a very fine misting of pale gray over the buildings (and everything else) the further back they are placed, but haven't tried it yet.

That is an excellent idea. The effect is called "aerial perspective" -- referring to the fact that the air isn't perfectly clear and so things look less distinct when they are farther away. It is one of the "cues to depth" that you will find listed in a perceptual psychology textbook.

Jim's above photos show he has used HO buildings masterfully on his layout IMO.

I have done it because about 10 years ago a LHS in my area had a few very nice HO buildings for cheap. Since I have a long and narrow layout with limited room for structures, I placed these HO buildings in my little town:

Arnold

Great stuff guys!

Arnold, I think yours works well in the center of the layout because you have some physical barriers between the O gauge track and the HO buildings.  Also, you were careful not to put any HO people in front of the buildings, because that mismatch in scale would really really catch the eye.

It's funny that people are talking about "misting" the buildings on a hill in the rear.  I was going to do the same thing.  But, the color of that mist has to be almost perfect, like the color of a light fog.  I think any yellow tone at all would kill it.  I was also thinking about the different spray mists that people use when they make Christmas wreaths or Christmas scenes.  It is some type of very light silver, which looks almost pewter when it dries.

And, you would have to mist everything on the backdrop hill, not just the houses.  First thing that came to mind was to drape really fine cheese cloth over it, mist the cheese cloth and leave it there permanently.

Mannyrock

These photo backdrop buildings were misted with gray primer from spray cans. The trick is to go very lightly. I also vary the amount of misting from the midrange buildings to those farthest away.

Jim

@Avanti posted:

That is an excellent idea. The effect is called "arial perspective" -- referring to the fact that the air isn't perfectly clear and so things look less distinct when they are farther away. It is one of the "cues to depth" that you will find listed in a perceptual psychology textbook.

That's good to know.  Not only will I know what to call what I'm doing but I can see winning a lot of bets with the info.  Thanks.  

@Forty Rod posted:

That's good to know.  Not only will I know what to call what I'm doing but I can see winning a lot of bets with the info.  Thanks.  

...except that I misspelt it in my original post. It is actually "aerial perspective."  I wouldn't want to be responsible for you losing a bet on a technicality. 

[fixed in original post]

Another thing to keep in mind is that some HO scale details work great on O scale structures. Some examples -

IMEX Small Tanks for platforms - works for small grease or oil tanks

Faller Feed Silos works as a dust collector or their Industrial Silos

I use RIX roof top vents for grain elevators. Their elevated tank also works well as a roof top water tank

I use all these Walthers HO scale details in my structure builds

Surge bin for grain elevators

dust collectors which one sees every where on O scale buildings

Dust cyclone for building sides or roof top

My current favorite -their new industrial storage tanks for sides of buildings

Lots of great ideas here.  Thanks.

I do such techniques often. The road narrows from 5 inches to 2. The tan car is 1/64, and it’s only 8 inches behind the foreground car. The houses on the ridge are 2 inches wide. JohnA 

Forced perspective is a great thing. Once in awhile I use it for photo shoots. Here are couple of PRR O Scale Cabins in the foreground. And just inches behind them in a yard setting are HO scale models, but appear to be at a reasonable distance away in a real world perspective.

Thanks for sharing these scenes.

The amount of scenery space I will have at the back of my layout will be pretty narrow.  Perhaps only 12 inches wide or so, and 9 feet long.    I think I'm gonna build a steep, green, wooded rise to a flat area on top.  The local little train store has lots of used, fully assembled and painted HO buildings for sale, at dirt cheap.  I am going to cut them in half, using only the front halves of the structures, and mount them against a flat upright  rear panel that has a continuous 2D photo of a green hill horizon with blue sky and clouds on it, and put this on the high flat area running along the back of the layout.  This will give my narrow scenery a true 3-D face, without taking up all of my depth space with the sides and backs of the buildings.  I may even just use the front thirds of the buildings.  I will only use one story buildings, so that the buildings don't "loom large" over the layout.

This is probably two months down the road for me, and I will experiment first by just trying to build a two foot section of this backdrop to see how it looks.  I'll be sure to post some photos to let you see how it works out.

In the meantime, maybe John A can share with us how he built that steep wooded rise behind the three billboards, with the little houses on top,  because this is exactly what I want to do, except with buildings.  I also wonder what the depth in inches is, starting from the bottom of the hill to the backs of the houses.  Are those houses N scale?  Maybe I should use those types of buildings instead of HO scale?

Thanks again,

Mannyrock

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the "Master Builder" himself, John Allen, employ forced perspective on his legendary Gorre & Daphetid HO scale empire?  I also believe he may have even pioneered the idea?

Question: Has anybody ever considered constructing the GD Line in O, S, or another scale?  Was it not the NMRA who had custom decorated GD Line box cars produced by several manuafcturers?  Also, I believe there were cardboard sides printed up which may have been included inside the NMRA Bulletin as well?  I never joined the NMRA but seem to recall these offerings.

Any OGR model railroaders who have any GD Line equipment in any scale, please display same here, or better yet, one of you seasoned OGR subscribers might consider starting a new post.  Since I don't possess any GD Line items, this leaves me out.

Mannyrock-the “steep wooded rise” is styrofoam covered with lichen. About 6 inches from bottom of hill to backs of houses. The houses are photos I took of some model houses i have, sized to about 2 inches. There is hidden track inside the styrofoam/ lichen ridge. The ridge is about 1 foot deep, 1 1/2 feet high, and 12 feet long. JohnA 

@Avanti posted:

...except that I misspelt it in my original post. It is actually "aerial perspective."  I wouldn't want to be responsible for you losing a bet on a technicality. 

[fixed in original post]

.... and you misspelled misspelt  

@Richie C. posted:

.... and you misspelled misspelt  

?????

How do you spell it?  

Interesting ideas!  I saw some HO kits that I thought would be great in O scale but was disappointed that they were not.  I might have a new perspective on this!

Thanks John,

Er, . . I know what real lichen is.  But, what did you glue onto your scene? Fake lichen?  Where did you get it?
Thx,

Mannyrock  

Sorry to be contrarian.  As a rule I am not a fan. 

In pictures they can sometime be quite stunning.  In person they are harder to pull off.  First you may be saying that structure is hundreds of yards away, but your eye-mind combo is going "its only 4 feet away".  Then you run into the problem that if there is anything nearby that is O scale, it reminds the brain that the object is undersized.  For example that isolated HO or N cabin on top of the mountain becomes more convincing if there isn't an O scale tunnel portal nearby.  The final problem is that objects don't step down in size in real life.  They transition.  

That said I have seen situations where it is done well.  Jim illustrates one.  Those HO scale background buildings become more realistic because they are physically larger structures than the O scale buildings in the foreground.  I think if you had a 24-30" deep yard, a row of HO buildings beyond them would come across fairly realistic, especially if the yard was separated from the buildings by a road.  So I do think it can be done.  It just has to be done with great care if you want it to be convincing.

Mannyrock- I got my lichen from Scenic Express , in large bags. Get various shades of green. It is the lichen that grows on the ground, that is treated so that it lasts. Use white glue or scenery glue to hold in place. JohnA 

@Bill N posted:

Then you run into the problem that if there is anything nearby that is O scale, it reminds the brain that the object is undersized.  For example that isolated HO or N cabin on top of the mountain becomes more convincing if there isn't an O scale tunnel portal nearby.  The final problem is that objects don't step down in size in real life.  They transition.  

Yes.  That is kind of what I meant when I said (above) that you want a discontinuity between the foreground and background. A little rise, a bit of forest, a row of buildings -- anything that makes the distance between the foreground and background indeterminate -- reduces the need for continuous transitions, allowing one to have an "0" region and an "HO" region.  Agree that it takes some finesse, but it isn't rocket science.