I think of the laser cut wood kits as being a whole 'nother animal from the wood kits of the past that I suspect HZ is referring to.
I think many folks would enjoy building one of the Silver Streak wood kits for double sheathed wood boxcars. Cast metal ends, doors, and frame/center sill; sheet metal roof ribs. Back in the day they were billed as “easy to build” - by the time they were discontinued they were marketed as craft kits! Sic transit gloria mundi.
I have a few unbuilt Picard boxcar bodies, all wood – two in HO, one in O. Anyone here old enough to remember them?
I have built several AMB laser cut ACL and Seaboard caboose kits and found them to be quite excellent in all aspects. My thread is about the appearance of a wood kit built car vs. the plastic counterpart. The assembly of these kits is of course different from the older wood kits, but still enjoyable to build. I seem to remember that they did not supply decals or transfers with their kits. I found this quite annoying as it took awhile to locate proper decals even with their suggestions.
In my collection of wood kits are models dating back to the beginning of HO wood kits…late 30’s. I still run several Megow cars and older Walthers passenger cars and reefer built-ups. I still enjoy building these and sometimes I’ll build them with just what is supplied in the box…other times I’ll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some.
There is an old saying about travel…“getting there is half of the fun” I see building a craftsman kit in a similar light. I can also see why kit-building could be going the way of the phone booth…when was the last time it was fun to travel?
Agreed. You bring up one point about travel, I have tried to reinstate the joy of travel of my younger years but no mater how I try, I get but a short bit of it here and there. Just went on a long plane trip, not fun, even 30 years ago it could be fun, not now, in fact it was like one long commercial with them trying to peddle this or that.
Four of my favourite pieces of rolling stock are stock cars made from Star Line kits. I can’t take credit for building them though. I bought them from eBay a few years ago. They were in pretty good shape damage wise for being 70+ years old, but what really enthralled me was the quality of assembly. Every board was placed perfectly. There was no excess glue anywhere. They were obviously the work of a very talented craftsman and I respect his abilities. I am honoured to run them.
I had a lot of fun rebuilding them but I have to admit to using a few styrene strips to replace some broken boards. Howard, you can slap my hand!
I have built a couple of wood caboose kits and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I have two LaBelle passenger car kits unstarted. I have opened the boxes several times but never have had the courage to start them. I’m sure the time will come.
So it appears the answer to the above question is no, not dead, but they have a small and limited following, mainly among modelers interested in the era when wooden rollling stock was still running in revenue service.
Maybe it’s fair to say wood rolling stock kits are a niche genre now.
I started in 2005 or so with a LaBelle kit, and glad I did: I thought, “if I can do this, I can scratchbuild.” I never expected to enjoy building cars quite so much, but there it is.
Definitely a niche thing, though: seems to me like a lot of today’s Wood kit builders are modeling the wood car era. But we’re keeping the price of those unbuilt Labelle, Ambroid, and Central Valley kits up On eBay. For anyone who’s never tried one, btw, the CV old-timer kits are a unique experience: those painted and silk-screened sides must be the world’s thinnest pieces of plywood! You can wear out an Exacto blade on a single kit, but if you’re willing to put in the time, the elaborate lettering really does give you a period-appropriate car.
What we have in the model train world with the new RTR super detailed stuff is the very best “for now” models as far as exact models that most could acheve. But unless your other skills are up to the task you end up with exact scale models running through a less than an exact small world, for many this is fine but some like the talents to be more equal. This is where wood car kits shine " untill we get cheap RTR whole layouts". They also shine in a world for those that like a compleated project, lets face it, a layout is never done but a kit can be.
I would encourage you to build one of the Labelle kits. I love older wood coaches, etc., so I ordered one of their Chapel Car kits, since I don’t have many passengers on my short line. I survived rounding the roof ends very well, and had a very good time assembling the kit. It is awesome!!
I think you’re onto something. When I started reading MR in the ‘70s, a lot of people (Olson, Allen, Furlow, McClelland, Hegge, Moore) were building every component of comparatively small layouts. They made their own scenery, scratchbuilt cars or heavily modified kits and RTR equipment. Whatever the other merits of their efforts, the result was a layout that had a higher degree of artistic unity: everything reflected the skills, techniques and vision of the builder. It was just as easy to pick out the bones of the Mantua kit underneath, but when I look back at that era- even when the models were cruder- that sense of everything somehow fitting together is my strongest impression Of some of my favorite modelers.
I have a car I got used around 1960. It has a wood floor. It’s an ice bunker reefer (Pabst Blue Ribbon) with thin metal sides. It’s been brought up to modern standards with Intermountain wheelsets and Kadee couplers.
First wood kit I built was a Cliff Line caboose. I have been packing to move and consolidated all the unbuilt wood kits into one box. There are enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life. This time, I plan to finish those I started and start and finish the rest. If you look at all the untouched kits on eBay, it makes you think there are more unbuilt than built.
I personally would rather fix someone elses work and add extra detail as long as you have a good base to work off of. Finding Z mouldings in the right size to match old kits can be near impossible sometimes.
In a different direction… I think wood kits offer great learning tool for scratch building. I have several QualitiCraft kits to be builtin my stash. The wood kits that reproduce wood cars offer the best result and are far easier to assemble than the highly detailed resin kits. Labelle is gearing up to re issue the Pacific HO brand of simpler wood kits. The reefers look great. And they will assemble fast. I would think younger modelers, once they are exposed to this type of modeling, will embrace it. Howard, you graciously allowed me to visit your layout years ago. It will be always remain a highlight of my model railroading life. Best regards, Andy
My thinking exactly. A few wood kit’s under my belt and the next thing you know, POOF, A two story building was on my workbench. I built it out of scale 2 X 4 's and built a complete interior for it.
( I kinda “cheated” on two of the wall’s . I used a sheet of scribed siding… then I figured out I could make it myself, board by board… then I figured out … that was too slow ! So I went back to the scribed siding. )
I have a Quality Craft Northeast caboose in my stash, waiting to be built. I’d get another, if I come across them, if only to get more cabees that AREN’T the P2K ones. Gets boring just changing numbers all the time. Funny thing is, the WOOD kit is for the STEEL version of the caboose.
While we are discussing the “woodies” we have built I will throw in my two wood kits both was Silver Streaks B&O I-5 cabooses that look pretty darn good with my Athearn/Hobbytown GP7s.
