Merchants Row Series


brubakes

brubakes

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What are your thoughts on the Merchants Row series of structors from Walthers?

I'm thinking about getting I, II, and III as the 1st for my new layout. I'm a newbie so I hope they arn't too difficult to build and detail.
 
They are not difficult to build but not easy. There are a lot of different angles to get right and the directions aren't the best. The real challenge is painting. Each one of the kits is one big structure with different store fronts. You have to be really good at painting to get all the details right and make it look like they are different store fronts. This is a pictue of my Merchants Row 1 kit:

MerchantsRow2Medium.jpg


I would guess I spent three hours building the kit and at least 10 hours painting and detailing it. They turn out to be nice structures but it will be a challenge if you have no experience painting and detailing structure kits. I would check out the Woodland Scenics line of built-up commercial structures. They are more money than the Merchants Row kits but the workmanship and detail is superb and you just set them in place. All depends on what you want most - the challenge of building and detailing a complex kit or just getting some nice looking buildings for they layout.
 
The other thing to think about is that 80% of model railroads at least have one of the Merchant's row series...doesn't say much for originality.

I think you'd get a more interesting build out of some of walther's Gold line buildings, like their General Store, Post Road Pet Supply, and Wally's Warehouse.
 
I like them we have 2 of the merchant rows and they look really good and are very nice models. I would reccamend them.
 
They look like really nice structures to me, but I've built most of my downtown out of DPM kits since I like the idividuality of them.
 
The Full name is Design Preservation Models. They come in plastic bags, usually with the whole wall molded in one piece (windows doors ect) But with careful painting (and patience) you can get a decent building out of them

Downtown.png
 
Gee Ihave that Merchant's Row sitting in the box for a year and haven't attempted to start it . Now I don't know if I want to or not ?
 
Here's my merchants row, not quite finished yet though.
MerchantsRow.png
 
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Glen, the Merchants Row series are DPM kits sold under the Walthers name. They are very typical DPM kits in that they are supposed to be easy to assemble but they are a bear to decorate. Walthers did a better job of getting most of the parts straight but there's still a little cutting and fitting.

Miles, the upside of these very common kits is that you can paint and decorate them so they really don't all look like the same coookie cutter buildings. If you look at my buldings and then Bad's, there's a lot of variation that hides the similarities. With signs and awnings, you can really make them stand out.

Thanks for the compliment, Rex. Paul, it's not hard to build for someone with as much experience as you. If you want to make them look good, you need about 10 different colors of paint and some really fine brushes. That's really the challenging part but it's also the fun part if you like intricate painting.
 
Jim, are you sure? My understanding was that The Walthers Kits are re-done Magnuson kits from the seventies and eighties, DPM are their own. I can see certain simularities but the DPM walls are about twice as thick as the typical Walthers kits.
 
CNR Glen, you are indeed correct. They are Magnuson kits and I can prove this with my 1992 walther's catalogue. Walther's also carried at one time or another most Magnuson vehicle kits, and sold them under the walther's name. It looks like the remainder of the Magnuson kits were inherited by SS ltd. The vehicle kits are not really offered at all anymore. Some of their buildings are not currently produced under the Walthers or SS ltd. name.

Jim, good point. How a person tackles this building certianly adds to it's originality. It's not that I don't like it, it's just that It really doesn't "do" anything for me personally. It's certianly in the top five most used kits on layout today.

That list would include the following in this order:
1. Atlas Depot
2. Lifelike General Store
3.Walther's Merchant's Row 2
4.Atlas Lumber Yard
5.Walther's New River Mining Co.
 
Jim I like yout interpitation of the Row and also Bads . I guess I will probably go for it but it is on a back burner have a few other things ahead of it. Will post it when I get around to building it. As always I enjoy everyone's modeling !!
 
Yup, I don't know how I messed up on that one. The Merchants Row series was made by Magnuson. I think they were really the inspiration for DPM's models including having so much molded on detail.

Miles, I've got the older version of the depot as well as all three Merchant's Row kits. I think the Atlas depot is a prime candidate for some creative painting and kitbashing so it doesn't look like the standard Atlas depot. Also, depots were probably the most cookie cutter buildings on railroads in real life. I know that both the SP and Santa Fe built standard depots depending on the size of the town and traffic handled. There have been many times the ony way I could tell the difference in a photo is to look for the signboard. I don't know why no one has come out with easy to build plastic kits of these very common buildings.
 
Jim,

I know! I agree completely. The Atlas station is such a weird structure too, with it's strange roof pitch, dormers, and shake shingles, small footprint, and rather homely appearance that I've never really respected as a depot. Where in the world did it come from? I highly believe it's full of excellent fodder for kitbashing though! It's an excellent canidate for that. Unfortunately, 95% of the ones I've seen are unpainted, poorly constructed, or just plain ruined by novices.

AMB Laserkit has been awefully good about releasing SP and ATSF type stations with the detail deserved as far as standard designs are concerned. The SP type #23 and my favorite the type #22 depots are made by them, and ATSF standard depots of all sizes are manufactured by them. The problem is that they're not all that affordable unfortunately.

I heartily believe that we could use an affordable kit, perhaps one that comes with extra details to turn into a wide range of prototypes, like prototype specific detailing for locomotives. Instead of, say light packages for diesels as a prototype option, you could get prototype specific doors, windows, and architectural detail to go with your kit.

For example, a simple clapboard depot could be, with additional details, a C&O station with additional decoration under the eaves, and exterior wainscotting. That same depot could be an SP depot with different signboards and architectural detail.
 
That list would include the following in this order:
1. Atlas Depot
2. Lifelike General Store
3.Walther's Merchant's Row 2
4.Atlas Lumber Yard
5.Walther's New River Mining Co.
Click to expand...

I think I'd have to add the Atlas signal tower to that list I know of at least 3 modelers in my club that have one (including me) as well as our club layout!
 
Here my Merchants 3. I'd caution you on their instruction on this kit. They have some doors the got inside the interior of the building & there not that clear on where they go. When I emailed them about the instructions they said "Well theres not much I can do about the instructions." but they did offer to send my any broken parts for free. It's a nice kit but the instructions lack suck.
 
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