Good news for folks who model Southern California on their layouts. Walthers is coming out with L.A. Union Station later this year. Given the price, it must be pretty nice.
Took a look at the station platforms that the are selling for the station and they are great. The platforms look close enough for my modeling of chicago. I will have to wait and see what the station looks like before i make a layout that is chicago to LA.
Ohhh nice!!! That looks like a great station to model. I might have to make a new Denver-LA Amtrak route. I already have the Amtrak California F59-PHI loco, and looking to get the new Amtrak Superliner Cali cars that were just announced.
CARDSTOCK![:O]
$200.00 for a cardboard model?!
What are they thinking?
-George
Is the Flying F3 included? [%-)]
I would like to see the station walls done in MDF material or styrene sheet, both can be laser cut easily. Otherwise I will use the card stock material for a pattern to cut styrene sheet. After a few years the card stock will likely warp because of any humidity, and we do have humid areas in the US.
LMAO!
Did I miss something, when were these announced?
Cardstock? Not a chance! My club has several of the Suydam/California Models/Alpine Division kits on the layout, and over the years they have warped badly, not to mention that the bugs love to munch on the siding. A better choice would have been to laser cut the sides out of styrene. Built in layers, styrene sheets (even .020 and thinner) make for some nice, stable walls.
As much as I like the idea of having a model of the LAUPT, that price coupled with the materials they’ve chosen means that this is one that I’ll be sitting out on.
$200.00 does seem pricey for cardboard. And cheesey. The card stock could be glued to styrene to prevent warping.
You could get one of the boomtown USA kits from walthers and do some tests on that?
But after seeing the cardstock bit i don’t think i’ll buy one. See how it turns out though
Yes you missed something! LOL
I think they had to go with the cardstock to really pull off the “look” of the stucco walls.
At 29" x 22" I really love the comment “sized to fit most layouts” really? Who’s? Maybe if “most” layouts are full-on basement fillers LOL. Thats about a 1/5 of the total real estate of my current layout LOL, but then I don’t think given the size or the price that this is intended to be a wide seller.
I think we also need a clarification as to the difference (if any) between the cardstock as used in the old Suydam kits and “architectural grade cardstock” they list on the model description.
I posed the question to Walthers on their Facebook page, and got the following response:
I’d have to see the material up close to be sure, but it sounds like it might hold up better if it’s as dense as they say it is.
So many buzzwords, so little time: Architecture-grade, museum-grade, diorama-grade, BS-grade… I’m just saying 
Anyway, I still love ya Walther’s - no hate!
Ditto! (my favorite was “warp resistant”)
To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, I don’t have anything against cardboard models. I have something against $200 cardboard models!
-George
Good thing they used E-Z Line for the telephone poles.
I ran across a picture that someone took at the NNRA show: Picture won’t post. Here is the link.