Who's driving?

While I don't have any within easy reach this late, I think it would be pretty hard to

get drivers into closed cars by Brooklin, Rextoy, and some others.  I would bet that

there are people making and installing such figures, though.

I'm sure your correct, would be nice to know how. Right now all that can be done is to try to separate the body from the frame which usually creates a disaster!

Arttista makes a number of driver figures (no legs, hands on steering wheel). A top-down convertible on the road needs one, but a figure in a closed car is hard to see, and not worth the trouble or expense, IMO.

I stuffed Beep people in several cars on my layout.

I did shave them thinner on the seat area to get them under the steering wheels.

They were fine until kids decided to move them, that caused some damage to the cars.

Unless you model the near future and its one of these cars!

Hmmm...  The scanner on top of the Google car looks awfully familiar:

Rusty

The only vehicles on my layout without drivers will be parked ones.

It's very hard to see, but both of these have drivers.

But even then, they'll be pulled over on the side of a road or waiting at a stop sign. Anything on my layout that won't ever be moving must be in a static pose or situation. No figures will be walking or running, all the 'people' will be standing or sitting. No cars stopped in the middle of the road. Besides, my roads won't be very long anyway as my layout takes place way up in the deep hills of East Tennessee during WW2 and there wouldn't be many cars around anyway in that time and place.

I agree that seeing into a die cast car or truck is hard to do and not worth the time. Open cars, trucks and construction equipment on my layout have people. Some of them more then one person.

Who is on first, not driving. lol 

It never ceases to amaze me. It's called, using your imagination. Honestly, from as far back as I can remember its been done that way. This past decade has seen so many changes . 

I agree that it may not be worth the trouble, but I strive for realism, What are"beep"people? Sounds like something I would like to try.Thanks (love the Google car!)

Driverless cars on my layout are standing out to me more and more. I have a bunch of Yat Ming '50's convertibles I picked up at Wally World years ago. The lack of drivers is beginning to bug me, as well as a lack of people in general.

I used to get sets of unpainted seated people at a nearby hobby shop. They had extra heads and the arms were not attached so they could be posed. My supply is running low (used them in On30 projects years ago) and I can't seem to find them anymore. Not even sure who made them. Seems like the word "circus" was in the name on the label.

Beep People are the people from RMT, they are decent plastic people, a bit small so they fit tight places, and well priced.

They come in sets of standing or seated, twenty or so to a pack.

I agree - car looks silly without a driver if it supposed to be moving.  

I put a driver in all the 'Streets conversion when that I can - they are moving so of course they need a driver, and in all diecast models unless they are representing "parked cars" on the layout.

In all cases but the Divco truck (my driver drive than one standing, as really was the case with them) I used a normal 1:48 figure (Model Power) cut off at the waist and glued to the seat: you can't tell they have no legs. On convertibles I use smaller seated figures as for passenger cars.  It takes almost no time and makes a big difference. 

You are absolutely right that once you think about it then it starts to bug you.  Another thing is that I usually don't notice the lack of driver in person, but I sure do in pictures.  Same with many of my scenes that you pretty good to me until I see the pictures and then all the little things really stand out.

Art

The famous modeler John Allen (of Gorre & Daphetid RR fame) routinely took photos of model work as a tool to tell what looked right. He once pointed out a large out-of-scale screw on another guy's locomotive that nobody noticed in person but was obvious in a pic.

I've seen several layouts that look great in person but seem kind of 'bleh' in photos. And yes, details like driverless cars are easy to miss in person.

I found a bunch of Circus Craft seated figures and these go into my cars as I rebuild them. Legs have to be cut sometimes....but no driverless cars for me.