My wife bought a bar mills wood kit. I was a little trepedacious at first because I never worked with wood.
I have to admit I’m a convert, as ALL the pieces were easy to remove, and mostly fit perfectly together. The kit looks really good when done to. I would even go as far to say that these kits go together easier than some plastic buildings I’ve assembled. I only had to modify two small pieces that didn’t quite mesh up perfectly. The kits assembly pictures can be a little vague. But some common sense is all you need.
If you ever need a machine shop interior, get the JAKS industry/SS Ltds Machine Shop kit. (HO Scale Kit #7226) The price is a little hefty but the casting is excellent. There’s little to no flashing to trim and the detail is EXCELLENT. I wish I had my cell phone so I could show you how good they are. Here’s what the kit includes (which they don’t list on their website)
Instruction Sheet
Plan Sheet
Lathe Bed/Pedstal
Large Drive Gear for Lathe
Gear Chain for Lathe
Drive Gear Bracket
Tool Holder for Lathe
Drill Press
Band Saw
Band Saw Wheel
Mill
Miling Table
Clamp Handles (qty: 2)
Wheels (qty: 9)
Bucket
Push Broom
Bunch of Tiny Tools (wrenches etc)
Pulley Wheels 22" (qty 2)
Spud Wrench (qty 2)
Oil Can (qty 2)
Pail (qty 2)
Empty Box (tool box?) (qty 2)
Overhead Belt Drive (qty 2)
So I now add them to my favorite brand kits which includes Branchline Ltd (pullmans & 40’ reefers) and Kibri (buildings) .
I was disappointed yesterday when I went to Bar Mills website and it said it would no longer produce the billboards that they made their mark with. There were a number of outstanding looking billboards that I wanted for my layout that are now not available unless I can get lucky on e-bay.
I built four of the Bar Mills kits. I chose the simpler ones to start off and was very pleased with the results. I also did some AMB and Branchline laser-cut building kits and found them of the same quality. The lesson I learned from the Bar Mills instructions was to use inside bracing and to paint both sides to prevent warping. The other kits didn’t tell you that but I did it anyway and it really helps keep things straight. I now have a good supply of 1/16" lumber on hand.
I just finished SS LTD Victoria Falls Hotel - not too difficult but there was a lot of flash to file inside the windows - egad, there were a lot of them - imagine that - windows in a hotel. The hardest thing with the hotel was installing lighting - I had a few do-overs till I got it right.
Re the billboards, I believe this was the result of IIRC some obscure copyright issue. I recall some messages awhile back on at least one list I’m subscribed to that they were having a sale until the end of that month, then the bilboards would be taken off the market because that was the drop dead date on whatever legal issues were involved.
So they tried.
As for billboards, with the imaging systems available to the average computer user, it’s pretty easy to simply find an old ad and roll your own billboard by adjusting it to the right size – not to mention you can “weather” it with the tools in the software.
DigitalG, there are a few manufacturers of kits of this type that are well worth looking at. American Model Builders and my personal favorite JL Innovative are two excellent makers of wooden laser kits. I agree, they are very satisfying to make.
I’ve given that a try, even copying one of the Bar Mills billboards but was not happy with the results. The colors on my printer just don’t look right, especially reds, and I have an archaic graphics program that I have a high level of comfort with but does not work with high enough resolution to do quality work. I’ve downloaded Paint Shop Pro but haven’t spent the time needed to learn to use it. It looks like I might be forced to get up to speed on it.
I also recently completed two BarMills kits and was very pleased with the quality/content/price.
The billboards that will pose a problem I would imagine are the laser cut ones with the letters/logos cut out and placed on the woodframes, the poster type I agree are easy enough to scratch.
As far as I am concerned, Bar Mills kits are top-notch and are relatively inexpensive compared to many of the other laser-cut kits on the market. I’ve built a number with excellent results and some that provide the most modeling “fun” are the larger, more complex ones. Below is my example of their Shipyard Brewery beforeI set it on the layout.
