I noticed an HO kit of a DL&W tower on their website. I thought I would ask if anyone can offer any feedback on their products. I do prefer craftsman kits over plastic.
Thanks in advance!
Funny you should ask [:)] I remember chasing the D&H PA’s and the 759 and 2102 on parts of the old Lackawanna and seeing the hulks of some of these concrete towers. I’ve always wanted one for the layout.
I bought that kit some two-years ago. Finally got around to sticking all the pieces together just recently.
DLW_tower1 by Edmund, on Flickr
If you have never built a laser-cut type kit before it would be good to start on a simple structure first to gett your feet wet. The instructions are good but you will need to shuffle through the “parts locator diagrams” in order to keep track of part numbers and shapes. Just takes a little careful sorting as many of the parts have to be “layered” in a specific sequence.
DLW_tower by Edmund, on Flickr
There is still one of these towers standing in Scranton so there are a few photos on-line for reference. One suggestion I would make is to apply the window glazing after constructing and painting the basic structure, THEN apply the painted window and door mullions.
DLW_tower4 by Edmund, on Flickr
I enjoyed the construction of this kit immensely. The edges of the “laserboard” will soak up paint so you will need several coats of sealer/pr
I have one of their HO Reading tower kits. Haven’t finished it yet, but it seems like a nice kit, instructions are clear and the parts are nicely cut. I wish they’d do more of them, I could use a few more like this.
–Randy
Thanks for the feedback! My next railroad will be focused on the Erie Lackawanna operations based out of Scranton in 1970, with pusher operations out of the valley. These DL&W towers were such a a mainstay of the lines thru the Poconos that I may purchase several.
N Scale Architect has been around for a long time. I built one of their kits for a friends layout. This was a kit I bought for myself before I switched to HO scale. This would have been in the late 1990s I believe.
.
I remember the kit went together perfectly, and was very well detailed.
.
My memory might be clouded. Back then there was not much in American prototype N scale, and we were probably very happy just to have something else that looked goo on the layout.
.
-Kevin
.
I have build severals kit from Ns architect in N scale and with no trouble
Primer the surface like any wood kit is the key of good results.
I have replaced some parts of their kit with my own designed parts sometimes, like stone walls and some very little wood details with some wood angle with north eastern wood profiles to obtain better finish.
All in all they are great kit, some are big which is not negligeable and they are not the kind of kit you find in all the catalog, they are often unique kind of kit.
Following a few I have build, a small shanty, the marble company (modified), and the big saw mill also modified.
