Need Help with stuctures and buildings

[Anonymous]

Guys

This is my first post to the board.

I am just now restarting my passion for building model railroads as I have been out of it for some time. Anyway, I'm in the process of planning for my next O Gauge layout and of the features I am going to have will be several animated scenes and several towns.

My first question is in concern with buildings. I am going to use the MTH firehouse w/ animation which I love. There are several other buildings that I would also like to have but haven't been able to find more than one sorce. They are:

1) The car dealership. MTH has a nice looking one, but I'd like to see some other examples of some before I decide on this one. Any ideas?

2) The Police Station. Again MTH has a decent one but I'm looking for one that possibly has anamation to it or looks more like a station house. Any Ideas?

3) The airport hanger. I'm from Lock Haven, PA; home of the Piper Cub. I see Plasticville has hangers and an administration building, but they have "Plasticville" in the front. I need a blank hanger to change it into the Piper Airport. Once again, any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for all your help

[Anonymous]

While there are some very nice structures on the market these days; when I'm looking for a unique piece I just scratch build it, from balsa wood strips, heavy weight illustration board, bristol board, carpenters glue, acrylic flat paints and using common household items where appropriate. I use 1/4" to the ft. which is O scale. While I do own several ready built plastic structures, they just don't seem to have quite the same realistic look as hand painted scratch built structures. However, I must admit that many of the Atlas and MTH structures do look very nice. If you do not wi***o scratch build then there is always the option of customizing a ready built structure or kit. Things like signs can be easily created on a computer / ink jet printer. Color changes can be accomplished with oil based paints. It is doubtful that you will find exactly what you are looking for, but with a bit of time and a few low cost materials nice touches can be added to whatever you buy.

[Anonymous]

One of the nice things about scratchbuilding is that you can fit exactly what you want in exactly the space you have with 'selective compression"; that is, the building doesn't HAVE to be scale width or height; the stairs can be moved from the front to the side. You can customize a structure to your whims an your railroad, giving it its own unique look, rather than a 'cookie cutter' type scene. One of the major concerns I have with the current crop of 'look at me' structures is the footprint ~ too large for a given area, in my case.
Scratchbuilding can be done with a number of materials, ranging from cardboard to wood to styrene. While it's more time consuming and requires a bit more planning than just dropping a building into place, I think the result is well worth the effort. And, I'll bet you have more creativity in you than you imagine!
As far as animation, that can also be added to your own structures. Check the CTT ads; several offer 'slo-mo' motors to fit individual needs.
There are several 'car dealerships' available, both pre-built and in kit form; a simple motorized turntable could be fitted for animation. Don't know what kind of 'police station animation' you're looking for, but there might be a possibility of 'dissecting' an animated Lionel car for that purpose; the 'cop and hobo' and 'sheriff and outlaw' cars come to mind. As far as the airport, it might be possible to carefully sand or file down the raised 'Plasticville letters, and decal or paste your own in place. Of course, you could scratchbuild you own; in that case it might be the "paper Piper place to place the plastic planes"!

[brianel027]

Good advice dlagrua, trainbud. In addition to their thoughts, I very often kitba***hings. I turned a Plastiville Fire Station into a bakery by filling in one of the front fire house doors, cutting a new door in the back with a scratchbuild loading dock. Added a smoke unit to the chimney. Used nylon window screen material inside the windows to represent the steel reinforced factory windows once common.
I turned a Plasticville Gas Station into a shipping company. I totally rebuilt my K-Line diesel fueling station to make it smaller yet add more detail and animation. I also heavily modified my K-Line operating switchman tower.
Those MTH accessories you like are very nice, but are also very big and require a lot of space on a layout. I envy those who have the space, but since I don't, I've had to use some old fashioned creativity and my own design skills to either alter what is already made, or simply design and make my own from scratch.
I will say, it's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. Mostly it's having the confidence that you CAN do it. Just start small with an easy project and work your way up to it.
As far as locating those MTH items, MTH does have a product locator on their website. And of course, it pays to watch e-bay and to pay close attention to the ads in Classic Toy Trains and O Gauge Railroading. And by the way, I like both magazines... saying one is better than the other is like saying Paul McCartney was better songwriter than John Lennon. Truth is they both had their strengths and weaknesses, just like the CTT and OGR magazines. When they're the best is when you put them both together!

brianel, Agent 027