I am considering making this model. It would be my very first model. I was a terrible car modeler in my teens. Is this a good model for me to tackle? What other things will I need–paints, etc? It’s at rocousa.com for $35. Good price, good dealer?
The price is good, I’d say - if you mean this one. Faller’s price here in Germany is 30 Euros.
Harry
I’ve built this in n-scale, and I know I’ve seen it on several screen shots / movies posted around here.
IMHO it is a difficult “starter” model. However if you have the patience then I’d say go for it. I had to bash mine some because the roof didn’t line up “just so” for me.
I bought mine at the LHS, I think it was $30.00 USD but they just happen to have it in stock.
That’s a great model, but it may be a little much for a first try. I remember you have to bend the walls for the upper part of the mine where it angles toward the back. I built it as a young teenager, and all I had was that thick model cement which dripped everywhere. [xx(] It was sold by Tyco at the time, and I guess it’s been marketed under other brand names.
It’s up to you what you think you can tackle, but personally I’d work my way up from something simpler.
Thanks to all of you for your replies. Is there any kit similar that’s easier? Are the instructions good with the Faller kits?
I think you can do this kit, I built that same one back many moons ago when I was 10, it was a AHM kit though, Faller must have ended up with the molds after AHM folded. I still have mine and it has needed some repair work over the years, but it is still in use.
I think I’m going to try it–I am really an intruction reader. Do I understand that most kits come with bad or non-existant instructions.
it’s also available under the Model Power name . a quick look on ebay shows it can be had for slightly less than the price quoted above , but maybe not enough less to cover the difference in shipping costs
My wonderful wife got the Model Power incarnation of this coal mine for me a while back, and I am starting to work on it today. It really doesn’t look too difficult; I’ll probably spend more time getting the weathering right and such as assembly. The cost was less than $25, but I can’t recall now where she got it.
For all you youngsters, that’s the Jack Work Coal Mine, featured in MR back in the mid 50’s I think. Probably an article on how to scratch build it, too.
Bob Hayes
I did the HO version. Not all that hard but takes some imagination to guess what the instructions mean. Its not too hard. It just will take longer because it really is about 4 models in one.
It does take a very large foot print. I have not found room for mine yet.
Can you give me the approx. size?
Bob gets a cigar for recalling that one. The coal mine under discussion here is indeed based on a coal mine scratchbuilding article by Jack Work, appearing in the Oct., Nov., and Dec. issues of MR from 1959, later to be offered as a plastic kit by AHM and several other companies since. Work’s article was from back in the days when MR regularly ran detailed constuction articles for the hobbyist…unlikely the abreviated outlines of recent years. The coal mine article stretched over 22 pages, with explanations of the prototype, assembly diagrams, materials lists and building tips! Jack’s coal mine also included several auxiliary buildings that, to their detriment, the plastic kits omitted.
CNJ831
It fills an area of about 16" by 20". With some weathering, it looks ok, I just have very small gold mine structures.
Major league ditto’s on that, brother. It’s why my file of 30 year old + MR’s is such a valuable modeeling tool!
Jack’s articles were always great because he literally built almost everything…even parts like nuts and bolts that most of us buy. Even if you weren’t going to build all the little fiddly bits yourself, you learned the way to do, so when you had to fabricate an odd ball part, you had some idea how to proceed.
Jack’s article on the coal mine is well worth hunting down because the out buildings really add to the impression of a working mine. By the way Jack also built the main building in reasoanbly good shape, not the rickety structure of the old AHM kit which has always looked to me like an abandoned building. Why do European designers think American industrial structures have busted windows and safety railings, and big holes in the roof? (Perhaps the mine is a non-union operation?..definitely pre OSHA!)
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I finished the n-scale model of the coal mine today; it really wasn’t very difficult. I spent more time for the glue to dry, and painting, really, than anything else. Finished in 5 days, an hour or so an evening.
(Just a quick snapshot with a cellphone camera)
This will really add a lot to the layout when I add some details to the surrounding mining area. I was very pleased with the relative ease of assembly, the fit of the parts, and so forth.
This is a more modern mine on my layout. It is built into the side of a mountain and has three loading tracks.
Faller’s “Old Coal Mine” - Kit Reg.price $51.99 Sale price $39.9 Walthers Measures: 16-9/16 x 14-9/16 x 7-1/2" It’s a nice kit, but requires a bit of intuition to build. If this is your first kit, why don’t you build a styrene plastic business or residential structure, (which, also, requires Styrene glue, an exacto kinife, a fine tooth file or sandpaper.) A “rail cutter” pliers is handy to use for cutting the pieces from the sprues. The model is meant to be placed next to the mountainside mine, with a spur track passing under the mine. It is intended to be an abandoned mine, that is falling apart.
Bob
I purchased one of these from an e-bay seller several years ago. It was already built and when I got it I found it to be quite poorly constructed. I also decided that it really did not fit my era as I wanted more of a working mine. To be honest, I find this structure to be a bit fanciful as a real coal mine. In the end I hacked it apart and constructed this miners changing facility/storage shed from it. So it now sits next to my modified Walthers New River Mine structure.
Kenfolk, nice job on that. Now that I see it built it’s a little more rundown looking than I wanted–I needed an active mine–not abandoned. Is there a way for it to look less rundown or is there a better,circa 1900, mine to use?
David, the Walthers New River Mine is not a bad building. It is probably a little modern for circa 1900 but not by much. I used it as the basis of a mine in Illinois and have photos from the 1920’s and 30’s that have a mine structure of a similar type.
Here is my version of it.
