I thought of getting a movie theater for my layout and I wanted to know if anyone has one yet. Also, what is your favorite model building?
I have Model Power’s Lowe’s theater…(I think it’s a model power building)…i’ve had it for over 25 years. My favorite building?..gee!..that’s a tough one…I like them all. I guess i’m partial to the Walther’s Cornerstone series buildings.
[#ditto]
I have several of the Cornerstone series buildings (Adam’s rib, Backwood’s loco shed, a coal depot and a couple others). I like them all. Many of them don’t need much detail added after assembly and they just look better IMO.
Why not get a popcorn hopper and a soda tank car to go with that movie theater? LOL
I prefer buildings that have loading docks, freight doors, or any connection to trains.
Walthers has a theater with electro-luminescent lighting that MOVES !!! …
Mark.
By a very wide margin, the most impressive HO movie theater ever produced was the Art Deco Theater offered by Magnuson Models some years back. You can still find them on e-Bay from time-to-time and I believe someone is still making them in limited runs. The plastic kit movie theaters available today are decidedly toy-like in comparison to this craftsman structure.
CNJ831
Here’s the Magnuson theater. This one was build by a member on another forum …
Mark.
By odd coincidence, I’ve just begun “renovating” the ancient theater on my layout. It’s an old, odd plastic model, but it looks very much like a “modern” theater from the 1950’s, about when the model was made. Tonight, I took it apart and spray-painted it with one of those “speckled” Rustoleum paints. It looks pretty good so far, but it will be a while. Part of my “homework” will be to scour the dubya-dubya-dubya for movie posters to put in the display cases on the side of this one.
There was an article in a model magazine about converting a cornerstone powerhouse into a movie theater. Anybody catch it?
My favorite buildings are the one’s I build out of stuff I have laying around the house.
I like that old Magnuson model. I can also see how that power house could make a cool theater front. I’ll have to look that article up.
Lee
My favorite all-time is the Drive in Movie done by Miller Engineering. With all the small portable DVD players, it ought to be easier to do today. The trick back then was to find a screen you could mount independent of the DVD Player. When it’s trackside, it’s a good place to run Dream Plan Build or other train videos.
My favorite new building is this year’s Hallmark Church Ornament.
The building is mostly done now. The original walls were white, the overhang and trim were orange, and the roof was lime green.
I’ve still got some work to do on the surroundings. Pretty much all the pink part will be Durhams Water Putty painted gray for the road, and the white sidewalks will end up a lighter shade of gray.
If I remember correctly, the Lowe’s Theater was originally made by Tyco. I built one many years ago and it looked pretty good if it was painted and detailed right. I have a Heljan theater on my layout now and it’s also a nice model if you can find one. The only problem is that it’s big but I just say there’s a bowling alley on the second floor so I have an excuse to use one of those cool animated signs. [:)]
Speaking of modern buildings, has anyone built a casino on their layout? They seem to be almost as much a part of the American scene now as a 7-11.