Hello… Okay I am starting my first every structure kit, an HO scale Walthers Washington Salvage Yard, and hit a small snag. My dog got one half of the base and chewed it up! Now after some yelling and gnashing of teeth I’ve relaxed. We don’t have a hobby store here in the local Fredericksburg area so I don’t have any access to any sheet styrene to try and home brew one, not that I have that type of skills anyway. Of course I went ahead and added the brick office building to the other half of the base so not using it not really an option. I know it wouldn’t be cost effective for Walthers to sell individual pieces nor do I plan on buying another kit for the piece so what do I do now? Tom
You might try e-mailing Walthers and explaining your situation. They are generally pretty good at replacing individual parts of kits assuming it is one of the newer ones. The replacement policy is a warranty thing and covers parts received damaged in a kit. “Dog chewed it” probably isn’t a warranty item, but I’d explain that “the dog ate my homework” in the e-mail. You might get a sympathetic soul who also has a dog, or at least has a sense of humor. Oh, and at least offer to pay for the part if they can give you a price. Attempting to be fair generally evokes a positive response.
Good luck. Let us know how you make out.
I agree with Maxman, Most companies will send a replacement part for lost or damaged parts. It’s good business for them to keep a customer happy. Depending on the cost of replacement You may get it free or pay a small price for it. good luck, I hope Your next kit goes better.
[:-^]
Kf4mat, I think I used that story many years ago in school when I didn’t have my homework done…[(-D][swg] HONEST MY DOG ATE IT…
But seriously, a piece of foam core or gatorboard will do the trick . You can do it in many ways, for example
cut one piece about an inch or so bigger in all directions than the footprint of the kit. Cut another piece that is the inside measurements of the building, Glue the second piece roughly centered onto the first piece and place the building on it. this way you end up with a walk around the building, a floor, a steadying platform so the building won’t slide around. But, If you don’t want that at all or not on one side ( for a dock) then just trim it flush with the building but you still have a foundation. If you make the bottom board larger or off set the building to one side you end up with a paved parking lot or loading ramp area all you have to do is paint and weather it. With that particular kit the bottom piece of foam core could be used for the whole salvage yard… Keep an open mind and be inventive.
Once you start looking at it this way you will find other variations you might want to explore. But nothing is lost you can rehabilitate it back into a fine model. Even if your dog had ruined one of the sides, remember on most layouts you only see 2 or three sides of any given structure. Lots of us use something “BLANK” on the side you are not going to see ( that is if you know the orientation of the structure on your layout ) if that is the case, and keep the good piece for kitbashing on another model. STREATCH AND RECYCLE is the name of the game.
I love foam core and it is available at Micheals, Hobby Lobby, and most Stationary or Business Supply stores.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Johnboy out…
If all else fails,
I vote for foam core boards also. Easy to get and work well for building bases.
Tom, I’m a winter Texan from Wisconsin wintering here in Fredericksburg and I know that your local Wally-Mart has foam core. I don’t remember what department that I saw it but I know they have it. Good luck with you first kit.
The “Harven”
As noted in another recent thread here on Trains.com, the WKW customer service dept. is excellent. You can probably get a replacement part. If it’s not free, it will at least (in my experience) be for no more than a reasonable charge.
Thanks all for the suggestions! As a let’s see what happens I found Walthers customer service e-mail address and sent them a note. However I like the foam core idea, an idea I would have never came up with on my own, I may just go buy one today and see what I can come up with. It’s taken me forever to get to where I am with this kit, not very far LOL, but I figure if it’s worth building then it’s worth the effort to try and make it look as good as I can. If I can figure out how to do so I’ll post a picture sometime, though still not sure if it will be a scrap yard or make it something else. Thanks for the info, Tom
If you are going to go this route I suggest that you look for Gatorboard or Gatorfoam, not foam core. You can see what the properties of the Gatorfoam are at the Micromark website. See their items 83263 or 83863. This material is described as having “a 1/32” thick wood-fiber veneer … that is laminated with waterproof adhesive to both sides of a polystyrene foam core". I think that the run of the mill foam core stuff just has some sort of paper veneer that doesn’t hold up as well to moisture. This could be important if you are using the material as a base for something that might end up have scenic materal applied using wet methods.
“hogger” had the best suggestion; use the foam board for a platform with additional space for detailing; save the base for later (or just use part that shows).
I expect Office Depot is more expensive that Wal-Mart, but they have multiple colors.
I picked up a bunch of sheets at a local Michaels Art Supply on sale 2 @ $1.50 each for 20x30 inch. Given these are marketed to school kids for art projects etc. I don’t think using waterbased paint would hurt, but why not spray paint with dark grey or black in the areas not under the building first, thus sealing the “paper”?
I just got a note from Walthers customer service and they say they want to give me a new part as a courtesy… I must admit that I did not see that one coming. But I’ll take it lol… Still gonna try and build something myself as well just to see how it comes out. Tom
Glad that worked out for you. Did they also offer to take the dog off your hands???
Just for future reference, while you are wandered around Wally World, they sell “For Sale” signs (etc) in the hardware department that are made of sheet styrene. If you need sheet styrene that is a source. Buy one and test your solvents/glues on it to see how it reacts.
Well there is something I would never have thought of… and seeing how I don’t have a LHS I may try that out rather soon Thanks for the information. Tom
To follow up on Dave’s post, the bigger the sign the thicker the styrene. The smaller ones are great for crossings while the larger signs work well for scratchbuilding walls, etc.
Terry
there might not be a hobbyshop but there might be one of these craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc. Both places have kit stuff and maybe some kind of plastic pieces or stuff to dibble with as noted in this thread. checkem out.
Try Walthers for sheet styrene. They have a huge selection of Evergreen Scale Models styrene sheets in all sorts of finishes. I have made several scratch built structures such as a ‘his and hers’ outhouse, a small rural station, lots of simple line side buildings and a large feed supplier. It really is easy and fun. Just use your imagination. Get yourself a supply of #11 X-Acto blades (nothing works better than a fresh blade). I prefer to use Tamiya extra thin liquid cement because it does not leave any trace solvent marks. Look through the Walthers web site for ideas and get started