I noticed the other day on Ebay the Lifelike HO coaling tower. It looked like a good basis for kit bashing, but I was worried that it was too toy like? Any thoughts on this? What would be the foot print of this kit? I am not close to a hobby shop . . . so it is not easy to access information.
With a lot of weathering, it can be made to look acceptable.
The Walthers catalog number, if you’re talking about the HO scale model, is 433-1377. Type that into Google or go to Walthers web site and use that number as the search phrase to see a picture of it.
Here’s a link to the Cherry Creek Hobbies web site with a picture of the Life Like coaling tower.
http://www.cchobbies.com/hoscale/structures/lifelikestructures.htm
this one’s better:
The Alexander model is better, but it’s a craftsman kit - a lot harder to assemble than the Tyco plastic kit. The Tyco is about 3 1/2" square + the ladders for the workmen - should be OK for a background building. My [2c]
For me the difference in work between an Alexander model and a Life Like is not much. Why? Because I spend a lot of time making painting the Lifelike models to make them look good.
But that doesn’t meant the Alexanders don’t need a lot as well.
I’ve built the Alexander kit - it’s a bear, but turns out a good-looking structure. The only really hard part I found was the stairs. Well, the chute rigging was also tough, I guess. The stairs were hard enough that I substituted the Central Valley stairways. When painted the same color as the prototype (flat black) you don’t really notice them.
Not a full shot, but this is the Life Like coal tower.
The only difficulty it presented to me was that the stair railings didn’t fit well. I seem to recall having to trim the supports a bit in one instance.
It kind of depends on your skill level. I’ve seen cheap Tyco kits turned into works of art and I’ve seen highly detailed expensive kits turned into garbage.[2c]
The kit does have issues. That said, it is quite similar to the coaling towers used by the D&RGW at several points on its narrowgauge lines. I happen to model Durango. Given the price and quick assembly, it’s serving as a stand-in until I get time to build my Campbell kit. The Life-Like kit meets my expectations.
It builds up into a nice model, but you need to work on the steps(a little oversize). Walthers has it on sale right now for something like $6.00…
Jim
I think it is a decent looking coaling tower and it is is Walthers’ latest sale catalog being offered at what might be a close out price of $5.98 – normally $28!. At that price you can afford to kitbash freely without fear.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/433-1377
Also the rather large LifeLike Supply House building is extremely cheap in the latest sale bulletin, $8.98 and it is normally $28.
Dave Nelson
Your choices will probably be fine–especially as they are a good price and can be bashed and weathered up a lot being dirty old coaling stations.
Nothing could be more ugly and toylike than model power kits “molded in 8 colours”! I almost threw this one and some others out when I opened them (got them cheap off Ebay). But if they are bashed a bit and weathered up a lot, as a coaling tower could be, even ugly ones can be salvaged. This is the Model Power Blue Coaling Station
This is my favourite: The Model Power Bors Coaling station. It wasn’t too ugly to start, but needed generous weathering. It is based on the real ones below.
I have yet to put them on the layout, but both needed stupid looking plastic track beds cut away. I have some WS lump coal to scatter around and glue down.
The Life Like model is based on the same prototype as the Alexander Scales Models tower. The GRI (PRR) tower that was in Grand Rapids, MI.
Yes, it needs some work to be a great model. But fabricating a new chute, and replacing the stairs should not be a real problem. A few NBW castings would not hurt.
Paint it a very dark gray. Indeed a faded black.
It could be a very nice model. Indeed I was visiting Milwaukee and bought one at the showroom.
I notice no mention of the Walthers coaling tower. Pardon my ignorance, but is it the LifeLike? If not, would anyone care to comment on it? Thanks.
Hmmm, I assume you’re talking about Walthers Part # 933-2922? That’s their wooden coaling tower (they have two other concrete coaling towers also.) Don’t recall exactly, but I don’t think it had been released when this thread was started in 2008. However, it’s a much nicer and larger model than the LifeLike or Model Power coaling towers – and more expensive.
As I noted above, II actually have one of the Model Power Bors coaling towers on my layout at Durango. In my case, it sits in the middle of a large turnback loop where my engine terminal is. Thus, you can’t get close enough to it to see how crude a model it is. But for the price and looks, it’s a bargain stand-in model until I build my Campbell kit, which is a much nicer real wood version of the same prototype.
The Tichy coaling tower is $89 with free shipping right now if you order direct from Tichy.
I’ve built a Tichy coaling tower and trust me, it’s not for the inexperienced modellers. I fought with mine for a couple of months but it turned into a very nice model once it was done.
The OP suggested kitbashing, so I am assuming that this is not his first rodeo. I have one here waiting for a time slot to build it this winter…after I get done scratch building my CWR train.
The coaling tower I used was built from a Campbell kit. It’s very similar to the life-like model since both were modeled after the Chama and Durango prototypes. The kit was a bit difficult to assemble, but worth the extra effort on its appearance.
This tower actually looks great after lots of weathering. I’ve used it on many different scenes. First, I spray paint the whole thing with a light, misty coat of flat black and gray primer. In other words, get rid of that shiny plastic look. Then I use Woodland Scenics earth colors like yellow ocher, burnt umber and slate gray among others - put a bit on an area and spray some water on it with a spray bottle. Work it until it looks right to you. The roof especially gets that great rusty, weathered look with the right colors.
So yeah, it looks a bit like a toy out of the box but with the right weathering I think it looks great. Add some trackside junk and make everything around it as dirty as possible, and I’ve found it makes a nice addition to a scene.
Hope this helps. If you want to actually see how I weather things, check out www.modelRRscenery.com and click on the Honor Flight videos among others.