Hey guys. most of you know i model the D&RGW w/ some SP traffic in the early 70s, basically running GP9’s, 35’s, and 40’s and SD40T-2’s and SD45’s being the most modern engines I run.
I’m having trouble figuring out what possible industries, besides coal mines, that I could incorporate into my layout. I’m open to all ideas… creameries, meat-packing, flour mills… anything. The caveat, however, is that I want to incorporate as many craftsman kits as I can.
Unfortunately, most of the craftsman kits that I see are made for steam/transition era layouts. Does anyone have any ideas? I’m looking for customers that woudl generate a fair amount of traffic… but nothing requiring switching 3 times a day that would load out 10-15 cars, lol. something that would need maybe up 3-5 cars per day, or something.
any help with any kit examples would be so awesome. I’m stuck home sick, and this is a good tiem for me to make some headway on my layout planning and get stuff ordered (and asked for for Christmas, hehe) so that I have projects lined up.
What area are you interested in? It makes a difference which industries you model . If you are modeling the mountains you’ll want mining and logging. If you are modeling a city (like Salt Lake City or Ogden, the grain elevators, flour mills, cement mills sugar works, scrap dealers, auto ramps, industrial parks (consumer goods, etc). You can pretty much rule out a brewery. 905 of the Wathers buildings are suitable for the 1960’s 1970s.
Modelers, if they are thinking they want their layouts to appear at least somewhat realistic, need to consider the impact of their chosen period, location, and prototype railroad will have on the type of modeling/railroading they can expect. (Like, if building craftsman kits is essential, what eras, locations, and prototype railroad scenarios can satisfy that desire?) The type of modeling and railroad one desires should be the early questions to be answered. Then one can choose period, location, and prototype railroad more logically. I wouldn’t let a favorite locomotive paint scheme be the first point on my decision chart.
I’m modeling the D&RGW with a little SP traffic in the Rocky Mountains of the early 70’s. The SD40T-2 first came in 1974, so thats basically my era.
Thats all set. I was just wondering what crafstman kits were available that might be appropriate for my era and locale. I’m still trying to decide what customers/industries I want on-line, so thats why Im wondering what kind of stuff, from like Bar Mills and whatnot are out there.
Craftsman kits, very little, since the majority of craftsman kits are models of wood buildings. “Modern” buildings are not made of wood. So if you want modern industries built after WW2 then you will want brick, concrete and steel buildings.
Buy a craftsman feed mill and combine it with silos and piping from a modern feed mill. Houses are still wood so you can build those. Other major industries, buy plastic.
yeah thats what i’m realizing. which is too bad, because modern-era modelers deserve to have craftman kits on their layouts, too!!
any suggestions, though, as to what might be good industries to have? My one main town will have a diesel fueling/service facility. Anything that might go good with that? Like a warehouse or LCL transfer house, for deliving goods to be trucked out into the rest of the local area?
I’ve been involved with this hobby mostly on, sometimes off, the last fifty years, and I find your conclusions to be wrong, and amusing. Having built many craftsman kits as well as a bunch of plastic kits of structures, I’ve noted the following. Many craftsman kits have lots of special detail parts and instructions for such nit-picking details as nail holes (which, in HO scale, I find rediculous because at six feet from a 1:1 scale building I can’t see nail holes, but regardless, that’s the level of detail some craftsman kits get). They also contain often-overlooked details as rafters extending beyond the sides. Some even have board-by-board construction and include 2x4 interior framing. Also, there is no inherent reason why a craftsman kit can’t be altered as any other. Probably the only thing holding back many modelers from kitbashing craftsman kits is that they fear ruining a “piece of art.”
Ok, I’ll agree I may have overstated things. I will say that I can’t recall seeing and article where someone kitbashed a “craftsman” building, but kitbashed plastic buildings are very common. You are certainly are correct that you could kitbash one (people kitbash brass engines) and the higher end models do have a lot more details in them.
I think the answer to the root question, why aren’t there modern craftsman structures, is that for the most part craftsman structures are wooden structures. and wooden structures tend to be older and more rural (since a large wooden structure would violate many modern f
Dave, now we’re on the same page…Regarding resin castings for structures, I note that some craftsman kit producers have started using resin casting instead of plaster castings in their kits. (I’m talking major componenets, not details like metal drums, etc.) It could be the wave of the future… In fact, Sierra West has been using them for some time. I built one of his kits, the woodcutter’s shed (this is a board-by-board kit), which has a two-piece resin casting for the roof. After building it, I didn’t like the looks of the roof, particularly because the warp caused the roof not to fit square on the end (peaked) walls. So I scratchbuilt a sub-roof and rafters with stripwood and used Campbell’s corrugated sheet metal for the roof.
Edit - Yesterday I received Rail Scale Miniature’s craftsman kit for the Dewdney Trunk General Store. To illustrate its complexity (it isn’t a mere four-wall structure), as well as thoughtfulness in giving contruction techniques, the instruction book is 56 pages long. (Note - complexity doesn’t mean difficulty, but more modeling time.)
Weren’t the structure kits from Magnuson resin ?? Whatever they were they were mighty sticky. They were OK but the versions Walthers re-did in styrene was better in my opinion…at least easier to work with.
i just think its weird that there aren’t more highly detailed modern kits. I mean, the Walthers Cornerstone series and DPM’s stuff are definitely good, but they don’t have the crazy detail that craftsman kits of older buildings have.
There are lots of craftman kits, although not industrial in nature, you can use. Heck, many buildings last decades, if not centuries. How about Rail Scal Miniatures “Dewdney Truck General Store” for instance. There are many, many others.
wow thanks for that link. lots of info. a bit hard to decipher everything and understand it, but definitely cool.
I checked otu those Rail Scale Miniatures kits. Way cool. However, I’m looking for more rail-served industries. I guess i’m reserved to just superdetailing Walthers kits…
hey guys, do you think this kit would look out of place for my mid-70’s layout? I really like this kit, and the skylights give it a really modern look, I think.
Right on! Its a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for, here. I also might have access to their siiiiick Cabin Creek Coal Co. kit, too.
So, do you think this would look good in a small yard/engine service area?
Basically, i have one main section of my layout for the industries and like, the “town.” I’m going to have hoppers coming down from my mine that will be stored here in the yard, to be picked up by unit trains to go Elsewhere, and then there’ll be an engine servicing facility.
The idea is for this little area to be the rail-access part of the town for the miners, where stuff gets shipped in and out, and where the diesels can get serviced in between mine runs.