If anyone here has built this kit I’d like to know if it’s a good lst timer craftsman kit or too much for a beginner. Are all parts pre-cut and fit well without jigs- without warping easily, etc. How are JL I.D. kits in general for quality and ease of construction? If you’ve built the Brookside ice house/platform I could really use some large close up pics to decide if I’d like to use this model instead of the Walther’s/Cornerstone Ice House/platform kit. Close ups of that kit would also be appreciated if possible. All online pics for the JL I’ve been able to find are small/thumbnail shots. Thanks.
Hi,
I have the Cornerstone kit with three platforms melded together. With some good painting and weathering they do the job, and have held up for years. The ice “warehouse” is large, but in fact they were large - and rather plain. I thought about slicing it in half lengthwise and placing it against the backdrop. Have not done that yet, but might.
The JL Innovative kit is nice (seen it but not built it), but IMHO it is a craftsman kit and of course a laser wood kit (mostly). I confess I am partial to plastic kits, although I have built wood and metal ones. Some folks on this forum can do wonders with laser kits - but I am not one of those folks.
FWIW,
Mobilman44
I have the JL kit, but have not built it. My copy is fairly old and predates the JL laser cutter. It is essentially a box of sticks. It will require a lot of measuring and hand cutting. It may well be that current versions of the kit are different. I would e-mail Chris Jesse via the JL web site and ask directly what to expect. I suspect it might be a bit of a challenge for a first time construction.
I have built the Cornerstone kit and it is a good looking kit and not terribly difficult to assemble. I added a second platform. Here is a picture:
I had to trim the rear roof because I hadn’t figure on the overhang when I laid the track. I discovered this after I had assembled the kit. At that point, it was easier to trim the roof then relay the track.
I can’t speak to the degree of difficulty of this particular JL kit but I have several other JL kits and I think they are great looking structures.
This is a close-up of the platform on my Walthers Cornerstone kit:
The ramps from the platform are all on hinge pins, so they can be placed in any position. The kit comes with the ice blocks, but not the figures shown here. I just threw this on the layout for the picture, by the way. I hadn’t finished the roof yet, and that’s why it appears to be coming apart at the seams.
The structure itself is a very large wood building. It’s pretty plain. Mine came in stark raving white, and I found the whole kit needed a lot of painting and weathering to make it look realistic. I guess I really wasn’t prepared for the overall size of the building itself.
Capt,
The Walthers kit is a pretty good example a an ice storage house and icing dock. IIRC, it is a model of the Soo Line facility at Antigo, WI. The JL Innovative Designs kit is a pretty small ice house and dock - I doubt if you could get more than two reefers there to be iced at a time. The Walthers facility is much larger.
As far as construction, The current JL Inovative kits are laser cut and construction is straight forward. The loading dock is something that may be a challenge to assemble without alignment tools/jigs/clamps. A friend built one and ‘extended’ the dock so that he could ice at least 5-6 reefers at a time. He also modified the small attached shed by raising it on a platform so that company ice service reefers could be spotted for ‘replenishing’ the facility with more blocks of ice.
If you have never built a ‘laser’ kit before, a simpler ‘box’ type structure without all of the docks/gables/etc might be a good first kit. Myself, I had never built a ‘laser’ kit until last year. My son had built a small 1 room depot kit from AMB at a NMRA national convention years ago(part of the junior model railroad program). He was 14 at the time, and the construction was OK. He did get another of these sample kits and I decided to try it last year. I went together very well using CA adhesive as suggested. I did not use the provided roofing material, and made a couple of changes(like adding an interior). It took about three eventings to finish it. Based on that experience, I have built several other ‘laser’ kits and like them.
If you build the Walthers plastic kit, I would suggest getting some 1/8" square Evergreen or Plastruct material and brace the structure as you assemble it. It is large(I have one) and making it ‘rigid’ assists with placing the ice dock next to it.
Thanks so much for everyone’s replies. Box of sticks was what I was afraid of. I’m just finishing up the bench work and getting ready to lay track so want to keep long/slow learning experiences with MORE learning processes in the future. Thanks very much too for the great pics of the Cornerstone on your layouts. I like this kit, have so far been a styrene guy, but the JL model was an “exploration” to see if I could avoid nudging some track over to make enough room for the platform and building’s width. From dimension published, (and they’ve varied a little!) I think the Cornerstone’s total width would be 6 and a quarter inches. Can anyone verify that for me, please? Length wouldn’t hurt either. I’ve considered slicing down the Cornerstone a tad if I have to. I will contact JL via email and see if he might be able to send me a pic of the parts in an opened box, etc. but I’m leaning towards the Cornerstone. Something in between size wise might be the ticket, but these two are the only ice houses/platforms I’ve seen that appeal so far. Thanks, Jim for the suggestion to provide extra bracing for the C.S. kit. So to sum up: Mobilman I’m with you on the styrene preference so far if I can find kits I like. I may not be “one of those folks” either! My Campbell trestle experience in my long ago youth was-daunting to say the least! JeCorbett, your layout looks awesome! Thanks for your pic it really helps with the decision. Mr. Beasley. Ditto for yours. The close up with the drop doors on the platform look great and ups the appeal factor for me too. That kit IS blindingly white! Jim, as always, I appreciate your technical and detailed descriptions. I like lots of information to decide and/or act upon. Just ask my wife! It’ll likely be the Cornerstone model for me but I’ll see what JL can show/tell me. I have a small layout but more than two reefers would be desirable. Maybe 5-6. Thanks again guys.
Capt,
I just measured mine. From the rear roof overhang to the front of the actual ice dock is a little over 6 1/4" with the drop down platforms folded up. And ‘paint’ yours - That ‘white’ is just too plastic! Mine is painted a two tone grey(Milwaukee Road) and weathered.
Jim
Jim, any photos of precisely how your friend modified the shed and main building for the off-loading of the ice service reefers? I’m about to tackle a very similar project since I have my ice harvesting facility nicely remote from my reefer re-icing station to create an additional industry to be served.
CNJ831
Thanks very much, Jim, for taking the time and trouble to measure for me. I may need to nudge my stub track over just a titch. If all else fails I will use the Cornerstone kit in the main yard as it will fit there no problem and look good. I was interested in getting my footprints mapped out before cookie cutting the mountain industrial switching yard so wanted to inquire about the JL in case I couldn’t fit the C.S. in there. I also want a second icing dock in that yard if I use the C.S. in the main yard. I’m not sure too C.S. could be made to look convincing (different paint jobs?) or be too boringly repetitive. I’d be interested in seeing your friend’s JL pics too if any should become available. I’ve seen measurements in online dealer’s ads that varied from the Walther’s catalog. Now that it’s definite, I can proceed.
I design layouts by frequently fitting tracks around structures rather than designing them to fit among existing tracks.
Mark
If you’re concerned about the depth of the Walthers icehouse, why not build your own from Evergreen sheet styrene siding - there’s various sizes of clapboard available, along with novelty siding and board & batten, and you can use the Walthers add-on kit(s) for the platform?
I built this fairly large icehouse from Evergreen siding (two different board widths, to show part of the structure as a later add-on) and strip styrene. While there’s a short platform for car icing, its major function is as a storage and distribution facility for other icehouses, both in railroad and domestic service. Here’s the “street” end:
And the other end:
The siding has a slight curve in it and is not parallel to the backdrop, either. In addition, the backdrop bulges out near the end of the siding, so the building was constructed with that in mind.
I run ice service reefers between this storage facility and the small icehouses located in each town, which sell to the public:
I’ve also used the Walthers kit, with a couple of add-on platforms, to model a car icing facility in one of my larger towns. I added a couple of door-level platforms for ice-service reefer deliveries, too.
Wayne
Thanks very much for your pics,Wayne! I think you’ve likely hit the nail on the head for me. I like the Cornerstone kit for the main yard already. If I can duplicate at least generally, the C.S. kit in a smaller version for the Mt. country town, that would tie things in nicely and as it may be a smaller version, would tie things together nicely as being from one company. The pic of the small ice house gives me some “back to the drawing board” ideas too. Gorgeous work on everyone’s part! I have to decide if I want the largest ice house/platform in the “Big City” main yard or in the country town with the cannery and fruit packers and grain/flour mill. The country setting will have the obvious suppler/users right next to each other. In the city, they’d be “assumed” to be in the area. While we’re discussing all of this building stuff, I was given a mostly assembled O.L. KING COAL Co. building and wondered what the slanted roof area was used for. (No instruction sheet). Was it to load dump trucks or gons. with shovels, or just a shed roof kinda thing? Anyone have this kit on their layout? Thanks. Guys, thanks for sharing your gorgeous modeling with me and us! Capt. G.