I just got the November ad from Terminal Hobby a couple days ago. I had time last night to look at it while we were in the motel. So I was looking at the Walthers Cornerstone series buildings and I found a few I like. As of now I have to buy some Kadee #5 couplers from Terminal Hobby so I figured i might as well buy a decent building. I’m thinking about buying one of the feed mills in there. Its only like $19.98 or something so I should have enough money to get that. I also looked at the lumber yard, saw mill, coal mine, cement elevator, grain elevator, and interlocking tower and some houses.
I’m wondering what my fellow MRR’s have for buildings from Walthers and what they think of them?
I’d approach the question from the other direction.
What buildings do you need to create the layout you have designed for yourself? Make a list of them, and search the sources for designs and materials you think fit your concept. Make notes on the manufacturers and bookmark the websites. New offerings frequently come into and are deleted from the line. Taken that way, when you find a specially apt building for your purposes you will recognize it immediately.
To answer your question: I scratchbuild all my structures. Walters has a good reputation for ease of construction and acceptable quality of the parts. They are basic kits, very many people have built them or used them as a basis for ‘bashing’ individualized structures.
Their Cornerstone series are of good quality. I have not taken the scratch-
building approach, but I have built their Roundhouse. With a custom paint job,
It came out quite nice. DPM also makes quality kits. I have built and painted
many of these. Dave
My wife bought me the Columbia Feed Mill for my Birthday, which was some time ago. I was a bit apprehensive about it as it was a structure whose style was not common in this part of the country (Nova Scotia). However, I put it together while onboard the ship in a couple of evenings without difficulty. One of the guys stepped into my cabin and looked at it and asked me if that was the building from Pictou (Small Town in NS, with ties to ship buliding, pulp and paper and cattle farming) and I said, no it was a generic structure probably with a Mid-West influence. He looked at it and said well it looks alot like the one in Pictou. He made my day as I can get away with a little more modelling murder. In short, Yes I research and take pictures but don’t have the time to build from scratch at this point in my life. Yes every region has its distinctive characteristics but as always, there are commonalities. I believe Walthers makes a high quality kit that can be used in a wide range of scenarios, without major alterations, especiaaly if your feelancing.
i think once i finally get track laid and the benchwork and everything done i can finally start to picture what i’ll have on the layout. this feed mill looks just like the one in town here so i figure that would be cool to have. i don’t have time right now either to scratch build anything. maybe some little things but nothing major.
I bought the Walther’s Lakeside Shipping Cornerstone kit like a year ago. Now it is almost assembled, with some parts underway with the weathering. It was way harder to build than it seemed. Some of the parts were missing off the sprue and some were damaged. I worked around these parts as much as possible. Pieces of the walls and roof did not fit like they were supposed to. I had to file some material away.
I have no buildings as of yet. There is a complete set of cranes, docks etc al for a harborside area which will be under construction next year. I am still trying to find a suitable match for my planned sugar refinery, food distribution, and cannery (seafood)
Once I settle these 3 structures then the fun begins with associated industries. For me the big issue is a turn table. The space taken by one of these monsters could be used by a wye to turn engines. (cheaper too)
WALTHERS #3215 BRACH’S CANDY FACTORY to be kitbashed into GULF&CARIBBEAN COFFEE COMPANY, based on Maxwell House coffee plant located next to former Houston Belt & Terminal Milby Street enginehouse in Houston, Texas. Building was a 1920s automobile assembly plant that has been added onto again and again, each addition with a more modern and stylized variation of the old style and color of brickwork.
WALTHERS #3211 ALLIED RAIL REBUILDERS to be used as a utility company service center, consignment point for wire cable cars, utility poles, etc.
WALTHERS #3210 BIJOU THEATER (mft by Heljan) used as a small town theater with advertising posters for short experimental films I made as college student.
WALTHERS # 3209 STATE ST 2STY STORE used as a small town drugstore on the brick-paved courthouse square.
WALTHERS # 3201 WATER ST FRT TERMINAL used for a railroad LCL FREIGHT STATION
WALTHERS #3219 REFINERY to be used with scratchbuilt elements and possibly a mirror as a background representing a refinery DISTRICT. Industry spurs not to represent single refinery but interchange with switching railroad serving multiple refineries and related channelside industries.
N scale.
Kenneth L. Anthony, Santa Vaca & Santa Fe Rwy.
here are the buildings i have so far and what they will be used for.
ADM grain elevator
Farmer’s Co-Op rural grain elevator
Miranda’s Bananas (produce warehouse)
Blue Star Redi-Mix Concrete
Red-X Cement (feed elevator)
Walton & Sons Lumber (lumber yard) with future addition of walthers’ other lumber yard(name escapes me now) and a few building for office and warehouse space
as time and money permit i will be adding these
Candy factory (american hardware supply)
Fuel distributor (walthers’ fuel distributor and oil storage tanks w/berms and truck oil loading platform.
And Plastics factory( walthers george roberts printing plant)
I have built many Wathers HO kits over the years and have found that the build up in to nice structures. I have used the kits as made and have kit bashed a few of them.
The last one was the Flour Mill. The only thing I have found is a few warped walls but not enough problem to over come.
My current layout had structures from many manufacturs, a few kit bashed and also some scratch built structures.
I just added a built up (GASP!!!) structure, that Bob’s Hotdog stand was just what I need near the entrance to the auto distribution center.
I the WALTHERS flour mill,cement plant and the cement silos and 5 DPM kits.an old model railroader told me when doing buildings…“IT’S NOT WHO MAKES EM ,BUT WHO IS BUILDING THEM”
do you know of any places that have basic ideas on how to do a baseball field. i think that would be cool to have on a layout. or if you know of any companys that make what looks like or is a bowling ally.
Any 1940s or later single story commercial structure of appropriate dimensions and signage would make a suitable bowling alley. Many small bowling alleys were retrofitted from such structures. The Walters #3210 Bijou Theatre would make an interesting Art Deco bowling alley with some DIY computer signs.
A little league ball field would be an interesting and easily done first scratchbuilding project. Protractor, reconfigured chain link kit, green flock, white pinstripe tape and you are in business. How about adding some personalized computer generated business fence ads?
My favorites are in my quarry:
a kitbashed Glacier Gravel and New river mining
15 some Moderen Conveyors
scratch built crushers and silos
Walthers hot mix plant and Blue Star redi-mix
I must say that Model Power builtup houses make up the city out skirts!
mostly just little buildings and some yard sheds. I am not at a
structure stage yet really, but have some really cool plans.
Terminal Hobby will have my business when I am ready.