Figures - can you have To many ??

I like your question, DOC/Thom.

Clearly , with what you have shown us, you are having a good ol' time of it, allowing yourself plenty of joy and whimsy, and IMHO that is the way the hobby should be for each of us. Sometimes we are whimsical. Sometimes we try for "realism," as much as we can  accomplish it.

I would suggest a further consideration in reply to your premise. The figures work with the trains, the landscape/cityscape/village-scape, etc. to narrate what it is we want to say or memorialize. A time. A place. People who have been in our lives. Events. Favorite vehicles, to name just a few.

I would, also, suggest that the number of figures, or the lack of them, tell its own story. A feature devoid of human figures says something specific. Figures in conversation speak together about that conversation. Isolated figures speak in their own way. The details we have around them add to the viewer's understanding of that conversation, or the lack of one.

So, I say, go ahead and do what is in your heart and imagination to do about how many figures is exactly right for any particular vignette. You'll be right because it is a place of your self-expression, and that can't be wrong, not in a hobby as free-spirited as ours.

FrankM

 FrankM     What an eloquent and thoughtful summation of what our hobby should be. Thank you.   Fendermain

Hey Thom , Great topic and you have a great layout . Thanks for sharing.  

Great topic.

I don't have many yet but the little people do bring the layout to life.

I would say cautiously.......the more the better.....

DOC: Are you bragging or complaining?  LOL!

Neither- I Like a lot of figures I think they add to the display. I repainted 8 more over the last 2 days. I will be looking for more at York. 

I must say DOC, while I'm impressed by most of your collection, I'm appalled by the caricatures of black people. Are they antiques? What is the story behind them?

NO offence intended! I should have added an "LOL" after my attempt at humor! I also have a large selection of original and repro Barclay's, Lionel large scale and Lionel repro pre-war figures, LGB, and Aristocraft large scale figures to name a few.  ☺

Looks great!  You can never have too many details on a layout!