Recently, I purchaced two woodland scenics “built n ready” structures from walthers…and for 50 bucks each, I expected a bit more. The buildings, which were advertised as “weathered”, weren’t even close! Also, the roofs are painted factory jet-black. Is anybody else disappointed with these features or others? Am I cheating in buying assembled buildings?
Although I usually wouldn’t hesitate in weathering these models, I’m nervous about touching these (It’s the $50 price tag!). Any ‘noninvasive’ ideas for the problems I mentioned?
I haven’t seen the buildings yet (surprised at the price tag–didn’t think they’d be THAT expensive!). Do you have any idea of what material they’re made out of? I know some of the other Woodland Scenics building kits are white metal, just wondering about these. I might suggest chalk weathering, since it can always be washed off if you don’t like the results. However, that depends on what Woodland Scenics used as paint finishes on the buildings to begin with. I’d have to see the buildings myself to have any other ideas, but at THAT price, I think I’m just going to stick with Walthers and Design Preservation. However, chalk sounds relatively safe to me.
Tom
Go to your LHS, buy the same DPM building kit for $9, paint and weather it to your heart’s content, buy $40 worth of scenery details, add as desired. Enjoy the feeling of actually modelling, and getting EXACTLY what you wanted with your money.
Plastic? Now I’m REALLY leery of the price-tag! And they looked kinda cute in the ad photo, in fact I had a place all set out for them. Think I’ll go with the Walthers “Merchant’s Row” instead. Not to kick a downed horse anymore than necessary, but some of the products that Woodland Scenics puts out can be gotten MUCH cheaper from other manufacturers (plaster cloth, Hydrocal, cement, etc.). But I do like their scenery material very much. But those buildings just seem way out of line price-wise to me.
Tom.
DPM and Woodland Scenics are two departments of the same company. That’s why the DPM building kits come with WS flocking and dry transfers (and why they’ve got the same address!). This is just the company’s attempt to cash in on the RTR market. Considering how much hand work goes into each one of the RTR DPM buildings (most of the work HAS to be hand done), $50 isn’t that steep. Heck, I’ll charge ya $20 to custom paint and decal a twin hopper, if you supply the kit!
And it’s working. My LHS got a big box of them from Walthers last week. They’ve sold 29 of the 30 they got in as of yesterday. All at around $50 a building. For that kind of cash, I should get assembling buildings!
They’re beautiful but if I ever pay the price they want for basically a DPM building with a few details added, PLEASE call the men in the white coats to come and take me awayl
Well, my LHS got them in, and I have to admit they’re sure cute little fellas, but I think I’ll stick with my kits. I don’t need that big a town anyway, and I’ve already started work on the Walther’s “Merchant’s Row” (four or five ‘buildings’ in one block for about half the Woodland Scenics price for one). I also noticed that WS came out with some ‘auto scenes’ from the 40’s and 50’s. Again, pretty expensive, but WOW, are they cool. Now those, I think I’ll get a couple of!
Tom[:P][:P]
Woodland seems like there playing to both ends of the hobby, they offer those sets of white metal castings that you paint and weather yourself, and then they offer whats basicly a dressed up kit, already built up.
I love scratch and kit building so much, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if all I had to do was open a box, set it on the table and just look at it. That would get very boring quickly.
However, I really don’t save any money by scratch building. I spent $30 just on glass block windows. $50 for a prebuilt doesn’t look too bad after I total up the tab for my latest project.
I know I spent over $300 building and detailing my 15 stall roundhouse and turntable. Just the roundhouse interior detail castings was $50. Not to mention I built it over a five year period.
So don’t feel bad about spending $50. But it’s ok to be mad that you could have done as well or better job yourself.
I don’t really get much out of putting kits together, unlike some of you. I did most of my of my current structures so that I could be knowledgeable; i.e., for the experience. I find them a bit messy and finicky, so I would make a couple now and then, but never an entire village and industrial block…just too much time away from what I prefer to do- run trains.
That said, my layout has exactly two built-ups, a church and a house. The other structures are all hand built. Would I pay $65 Cdn for a well-constructed structure? Sure, if I wanted it in a hurry. When I think of what my time was worth as I retired, and what the kit would cost, the extra $20+ for the ready-to-place object is dirt cheap.
I say chalk it up!!! Chalks are forgiving and easy to work with. Dont worry about the price tag just dont add everything up that you have spent on the Model Railroad Hobby!!! Kevin
Smart business strategy as this is basically the “RTR” version of the structure kits.
Personally, I prefer the kits. But we have to consider that for persons that have little hobby time on their hands are have great difficulty building kits because of physical problems, this seems like a good way to go.
Another consideration is that this is also good for those businesses, civic groups, etc. that sometimes use scale models to represent an idea or proposal for a city/town/or neighborhood.
If these start showing up on ebay, it’s safe to say that they’d be bought quickly.
There is a dulling, clear spray you can get from Krylon or some one like that. They are listed as safe for oil, enamels, acrylics, plastics, wood, metal, ect. I use the gloss and the dull. Gloss to make a dull surface shiny so I can add decals, then spray again with gloss to blend the decals in, then a coat of dull, so that weathering chalks will stick. I get it at Wally World. However, do avoid the so called “Triple Thick” It sprays in splotches, not a nice smooth coat.
It’s a bit off the topic but talk about paying too much, how about buying a new paperback copy of Freight Car Projects and Ideas (Model Railroader) by Kent J. Johnson for $911.23!!! [:0]
You can still buy it from TrainWorld for $13.99 + shipping. Go figure.