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Has anyone done anything good with the newer Plasticville false-front buildings? I turned Emil's Dry Goods (the white false front) into a company store by putting a Smalltown USA/Rix loading door on the left hand side. Even without the door, this kit makes a great company store and best of all, it's very inexpensive compared to some of the craftsman kits. You can put it right up front on your layout and not be overly concerned about getting it damaged.
Plasticville structures have been around since 1947. Many of their building are what a lot of folks would consider dogs. They do make good kitbashing fodder, and several of their buildings, like the red schoolhouse, coaling tower and a couple of the stations, make great models, with some detailing and judious use of paint.
I haven't seen any of the buildings that you're talking about, Plasticville isn't very popular around here, but I bet they do look good.
It was a Silver Series Kit.
Here are two more of the series...company store anyone?
First time I've seen them but they look like some pretty good basic flats. Some of the older Plasticville items can be made into decent looking buildings with some work. This is the Plasticville "Cathedral" with some reworking and painting.
WVMM - Are these the same type of construction as the earlier kits. Kind of a tab assembly? I've always been curious about them.
Jim- I like your Cathedral, my son talked me out of buying a used one yesterday! I did buy several Plasticville buildings with the concept of doing a smalltown as I dreamed mine looked like as a kid. That's for the next layout, so I can relive my childhood when I retire.
The tabs on these new kits are very few, just enough to keep the walls aligned, not all the way down the side like with the older, more tinplate stuff.
John Nehrich did an article on using Plasticville stuff to model 50s era buildings in an old issue of MR.
I guess I wouldn't really consider them as 'Plasticville' buildings then. I know Bachmann has built some other really nice buildings, I guess these are kind of the middle ground. I wonder what the last tab style structure they released was? I'm thinking the Men's Store/Hobby Shop/ Drive-in Bank releases. All the same basic building with different signs and details. They even had interiors. Shame they are not in their currnet catalog.
I turned the same store building into model train store named after the late friend who started me off railfanning 50 plus years ago. Some of these cheapo plastic kits make some really nice structures with a few added parts and careful painting. I scale down some photo backgrounds of building interiors with Photoshop to put behind the windows for interior detail. I also miss IHC's repackaged POLA building kits since they were great kitbash fodder. I have some of these structures right along with the latest laser cut and Campbell craftsman kits and no apologies are needed. I have been working over some of these old kits for our low budget model RR club here and they look pretty good.
First time I've seen them but they look like some pretty good basic flats. Some of the older Plasticville items can be made into decent looking buildings with some work. This is the Plasticville "Cathedral" with some reworking and painting.
Jim,
How long are them people going to wait for the bride?
I noticed they are standing in the same spot on Oct 2007 when you posted it in the "Showing Off" forum. I don't think she is going to show.
It's Alabama, they have to wait until she comes of age.
It's Alabama, they have to wait until she comes of age.
Would that be 12?
Ron
Now, you guys are terrible. It's 16, BTW. You don't have a concept of Southern time, that's all. The bride is "fixin' to" show up. That's a real loose period of time, anywhere from a few minutes until the rest of your natural lifetime.
BK, how did you remember when I posted that picture originally? I'd forgotten I ever put it up here.
I wish I could say that I have been lurking on this site for that long and have a photographic memory, but that definetly is not it. The other night I hit the wrong button on the "Showing Off" forum and went to the last page. I saw the weekly photo fun and decided to look. Just happen to think that photo looked familiar and sure enough.
Looking through those "old" posts I see alot of new photos that are in similar places. I guess everyone has their favorite railfanning spot on their layout
WAIT a minute!!! Maybe that could be new thread. "Show us your favorite model railfanning spot" I am sure everyone would enjoy that.
Reminds me of MR a few issues back they had an O scale layout some guy worked on for fifty years. Of course with great shots of this man's (recently deceased) lifetime work.The next issue a reader sent in a photo from like a 1959 issue that showed the same spot on the layout as one from the newer article. A viaduct marked it as the same location, but everything else had changed over the years. That is except two women walking still in the same spot, forty years on. (I believe I was in line behind them one day.)
My question was what the heck kind of glue did he use on those figures? Mine seem to get knocked off all the time.
This was made using a Plasticville motel:
I used two kits to make a two story motel. Added a stairway and railing, used some Plastruct "stucco" styrene to make a flat roof for the first floor and office, and a repainted the whole thing. Detailed it, lighted it, and now she's a good representation of your typical motel.
Great work and detailing, Matt. It has the typical "Motel 6" kind of look. The signs and all the little details really make the scene.
Matt - When I was a kid someone gave me a second one of those motels and I did the same thing, stacked them. I've been wanting to do the same thing again. I just downloaded your pic for inspiration. Nice job!
Matt, where did you get the lighted AAA sign? I first thought maybe its from Miller Engineering (the animated sign makers) but they dont have anything like that on thier website.
I forgot to ask. Is that motel in production by someone else?
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