I am in the process of restoring my HO layout that we had up when I was a kid. It is a double decker 4x8 platform but hasn’t been up in 20 years and I am looking to make a lot of changes. One thing I wanted to add to the scenery is a casino theme. Are there any ho scale casino type buildings out there? Whether it is a fake casino or one from Vegas or AC, it doesn’t matter to me. Any direction you can send me would be greatly appreciated. I was in AC yesterday and noticed the significant rail presence in the city. Thought it could be neat on a layout. Is anything like this out there??? I appreciate your expertise.
Not sure I’ve seen any buildings that were listed a casinos, but such buildings as theaters, hotels and the like come to mind. There is a series of Bachmann buildings which may yield something convertable. Some have been rereleased others may still be out of production, but available on ebay. I prefer looking through a real paper Walthers catalog to looking at stuff online, but how you look is up to you.
They have a large assortment of BAR, HOTEL and other appropriate signs, and they also have do-it-yourself “experimenter kits” that you can use to make your own signs.
I live near Reno/Sparks and there is a significant presence of railroading there. One large casino in Sparks sits directly across the street from the UP rail yard. The yard has a TOFC/COFC facility and supports about 35 or so trains a day. I would recommend doing a search on these casino towns and look at images, then compare to building models that are available. Off hand I don’t know if there is anything out there that fits the bill for these casino structures.
However if you can find one, a Ferero Rochere (spelling) pyramid chocolate box and a couple of egyptoose (spelling) 28mm wargames miniatures would make a good start towards a casino.
Thoughtlessly called Pharoes Palace no prizes for lack of imagination on name.
You could also get some very tiny dice for some internal decoration.
I think you will have to think out side the box after eating the chocolate[:D] for this one.
Having been to Las Vegas several times it seems to me that you could turn almost any structure into a casino if you want, The big problem with espically modern casinos is that they take up a lot of space or so it seems when walking between miles of slot machines.
As a resident of the Las Vgas Valley I second the idea that almost any building can be gussied up with a neon sign, Fillintheblank , with CASINO in a different font. Sizes range from neighborhood sports bars to the humongous iconic edifices seen in photos of the Strip. Architectural styles range from classic (Caesar’s Palace and its wannabes) to concrete block (on a street corner walking distance from my humble abode.)
A smaller Nevada town probably won’t have a huge casino unless it’s right on the state border. The more usual is a bar and grill with a dozen slots and two poker tables.
Chuck (Clark County resident modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Chuck is right I was just thinking of the strip of course but I have been to other towns in Nevada. Based on his advice you could build a small casino.
If you are looking for something big and modern like the Las Vegas strip, Atlas offered some N scale skyscrapers years ago that would fit pretty well. These have been out of production for many years, but occasionally turn up on eBay and other resale sites.
Edit: Oops, my bad, the original poster is in HO. The Atlas models might still work as forced-perspective in the background of a deep scene in HO, but probably not in the tight space in which he is working.
What about something like the Empire City Casino (really a limited Racino) in Yonkers, NY. Google Street view here
I think you could make this as a background flat, the building flat angled but promiment, with the parking lot angling away behind some trees. The pluses are it’s not in Nevada or Atlantic city, and in fact lots of other states have equivalents, like Sugarhouse casino in Philadelphia, PA
Or…comb the hobby shops or on-line stores for near HO-scale marine models and build yourself a Riverboat Casino (permentantly moored to the shore, of course).
one thing I’ve noticed about casinos is that the actual casinos (not attaced hotels or restaurants) have very few windows to allow patrons to see the outside world. Don’t forget that detail. But for a interesting and different look google images of Central City, Colorado casinos.
A possible way around using space and actually modeling a building - put up a 24 sheet billboard advertising the casino. About two decades ago they started to appear all over, especially in places where even penny-ante poker would have gotten you busted a few years earlier.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with no space for a Pachinko parlor)
