After 10 plus years of modeling my RR I am getting ready to build my first structure, a Blair Line laser kit.
After seeing their kit for Pizza Land, I just had to have it on the layout. Those of you who watched the TV series The Sopranos, in the introduction of each episode you saw James Goldofini aka Tony Soprano driving to his home in NJ from NYC, going past Pizza Land. Goldofini died unexpectedly while on vacation in Italy. Some think it was a hit.
To get an idea of what it is like to assemble a laser kit I bought Blair’s loading dock. Admittedly this is a very simple one and everything went well.
Oops, wrong gangster film. I’ve got a sweet tooth, but I’d still go for the pizza over cannoli anyday, haha.
“The apple does not fall far from the tree.” The pizza place on my layout was modeled by my son from a Downtown Deco Bingos Pool Hall kit, that’s him behind the counter working the dough. And in real life he makes from scratch some killer pizza, with a cheese filled crust to boot.
Maybe Blair Line should do a series of kits based on famous New York “mob” related buildings. Next from the Sopranos could be Train Land…“Bobby bought it at Train Land!”…followed by Corleone Olive Oil Importers.
Are there really very many recognizable buildings from movies and TV? The Pizza Land structure is only recognizable for the way it was featured in the show’s introduction. It played no part in the actual series.
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Most iconic buildings from movies (Wayne Manor, The Hall of Justice, Starke Tower, Shawshank Prison, Downton Abbey) are either WAY too large to feature on a layout, or easily identifiable with a prototype location.
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You have the residences like Archie Bunker’s House, or the house from A Christmas Story, but those are really not anything special, nor do they have readily identifiable features.
I just watched the intro on YouTube, and I believe the Plasticville “Cape Cod House” was used as Mister Roger’s house in the opening sequence of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.
Looking at your restaurant, it seems it would be not too much work to build something similar with Capt. McClusky and Sollazzo sitting at a table while Michael is returning from the bathroom.
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The building is not iconic, but the scene sure would be.
PIZZALAND is indeed an icon from an iconic show. For the sake of posterity and to honor the memory of a great actor, his name was James Gandolfini and he played the inimitable Tony Soprano.
While taking brakes from working on the kit I’ve been preparing the site for it to sit. Choosing the site wasn’t hard because I only had one open space with road frontage.
Site preparation in progress:
Really enjoy woking on this kit and only wish I had tried kits earlier.
I have a couple of blair line kits already, a house and a church. Hopefully they will find a place on the layout. I will also keep a look out for my own Pizza Land kit.
I see you have an interest in pizza as well. Your scene of your son making pizza is typical of your real to life modeling, which I have admired for a long time.
Thanks for the encouragement.
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See You 190,
Better get the Pizzaland kit. It keeps the memories of the Sopranos alive. It really seems odd that Tony died in Italy. What a loss!!
