Need suggestions on huge impressive building kit

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am in HO and I have a place that needs a huge impressive building. I like building kits, especially lazar cut kits. I am looking for suggestions. I am not concerned about cost or difficulty. I just want a show stopper building. I have done some looking, and now could use suggestions and opinions. Thanks.

2

http://www.custommodelrailroads.com/theparkhotel.aspx

3

Commercial? Residental? Industrial? Municipal?

Can you give us an idea of the space available (including height), if you want it to generate rail freight or passenger traffic, and an idea of a) your budget b) your modeling skills (in case you can’t afford a 1000.00 prefab building, or hey maybe a big ship at a port facility, or hey maybe a petroluem refinary, or hey maybe a 1960s multi-building high rise housing project… you get the idea.

Edit - I see you mentioned don’t worry about skills or budget - well, in the real world you have to - is this a lifetime project (like those guys who build models of apartment-building-sized electric execuvators that you see on 1/87 Vehicle modelers site - takes years of work, and do you have room for a open-strip mine to show off).

Heck, go for a harbor export grain elevator complex if you want big…

4

You can do a lot with DPM modulars; however, since they have been out for many years and have been used a lot, they tend to look a bit generic.

Scale Structures Ltd has the old Magnussen line of resin buildings. Some of those are large and could be kitbashed larger
http://www.scale-structures.com/Page/ss_main.html

Bachmann has just come out with a number of tall city buildings that could work, and could possibility be bashed larger. See the ad on page 5 of the January 2011 MR.

Custom Model Railroads has a line of large buildings.They also talk about doing custom designs.
http://www.custommodelrailroads.com/ho.aspx

5

Mmm - big, wood, laser cut.

For your current layout, i.e H0 scale, early transition era, theme rural western/logging?

How about that BTS McCabe lumber mill set (http://www.btsrr.com/millplan.htm)?

Smile,
Stein

6

I always considered this series “impressive”

http://www.btsrr.com/millplan.htm

7

Darn it Stein, you beat me to it!

8

American Model Builders, Dabler Mill kit.mh

9

In the old “Suydam” line there was a kit called “American Chemical & Potash”, it was a rather large building by itself but in addition to the main building they also offered an “annex” building as well. When the two were combined they took up a rather large footprint and made a really nice looking set of buildings. The main drawback was they were “LARGE”, I don’t know if California Models offers that kit or not but I’m sure you could find one on the secondary market if need be. If you can get ahold of an older Walthers catalog it would have it listed with dimensions and pictures.

Mark

10

LOL - could be a sign that we are great minds (since we think alike … [(-D] )

Grin,
Stein

11

Art - How do the suggestions seem so far? Do we need to focus on a particular area??? [*-)]

12

Campbell’s “Bretts Brewery” it’s a real show stopper when you use it as a centerpiece, and support it with some outbuildings.

One word,buy it from new stock,(Walters is listing it again as in stock) the original kit packaged in Tustin,Ca. had an unbuildable set of instructions.

13

Build a nuclear power plant

14

Thanks for the great suggestions. If I stay with buildings, I now have a years worth of good ideas. I am still debating between starting a sky scrapper scene and doing another three story Diorama type. The saw mill is wonderful, but I would have to add a whole new area. Maybe later. It sure would be a fun build. I am still intrigued by the Imagine That stuff as well. I need to decide pretty soon.

15

From what I’ve seen of your work, I think you are one of the modelers they were thinking of when they put that sawmill kit together. You have the sense of space and the skills to give it a proper home. I, for one, would love to see your interpretation of that scene.

The latest MR has a full-page ad for a number of Bachmann tall building kits. They’re plastic, not wood models, but that’s probably the better option for urban modeling. A couple of these are really large, and quite impressive. City Classics has a series of 5-story buildings too, if you’ve got more space to fill. Go ahead. Give Rod Stewart a run for his money.