Unique, New, High Quality O-Scale Structure Kits from River Leaf Models

[Frank-53]

Here are some unique new O-Scale building kits from River Leaf Models. My very good friend, Andre Garcia, has started this new venture providing high quality laser cut building kits for your layouts.

The first two kits - the Peerless Rooming House and the Norfolk & Western Freight Depot are nearly exact representations of actual historic railroad structures. The original Peerless Rooming house is located in Ashland, Oregon and served as a boarding house for Southern Pacific Railroad workers. The building has since been converted to the Peerless Hotel and operates today.

If anyone here is from Ohio (cough, cough) you may be familiar with the Norfolk & Western Freight Depot located in Norwood, Ohio. 

Andre researched both buildings, gathering photos and constructing a laser cutting guide to duplicate these as exactly as possible based on the source material. On his website at www.riverleafmodels.us he shows photos of the original buildings and a Google map which may be used to navigate to street views of the Peerless Hotel.

The original Peerless Rooming House is shown below:

Andre's representation:

The kit includes everything you need to build the structure as shown. The figures, lampost and vehicle are not included, although Andre makes amazing light posts from brass.

The walls are laser cut from 1/4" MDF with laser etched brick pattern which will easily accept mortar lines and weathering. The 1/4" MDF is super sturdy and Andre selected this material for durability and ability to be set up perfectly square using readily available materials - yellow carpenters glue, white glue or liquid nails.

The detail parts - windows and doors are plastic and basswood.

This would make an excellent downtown building and a nice alternative choice when compared to the usual stuff we all have used on layouts. There are a lot of plastic, thin wood and hydrocal kits out there and typically these take a lot of work to glue together and get square. Wood and plastic kits typically require interior bracing to overcome warping and keep them square. These MDF kits overcome all of these remedial steps because the material is thick and sturdy.

Further, from this basic design, Andre is developing other unique downtown buildings, like this small office building:

Here is an original Fire Station located on South Ewing Street in Chicago:

He laser cut a nearly exact replica, complete with the Year Plaque on the cornice:

In the scene above, there are three one of a kind buildings, as opposed to one plastic front after another which all look like everybody else's layout.

Since this post is getting lengthy, I am going to put the N&W Depot in a response below. More to follow . . . 

 

[Bob Keller]

There you go, Frank. I couldn't access the control panel to move it back to the forum from myt iPad. Had to wait until I came in this morning.

 

[Firelock76]

I'm very glad to see this issue was resolved amicably.  After all, all Frank-53 was trying to do was help a buddy out who's trying to start a business, NOT an easy undertaking when you come down to it.

It's for the same reason that when I visit a "brick-and-mortar" hobby shop that I've never been to before and have a good experience with it I come on the Forum and praise it, also giving the location and website if they have one.  The ones I don't like (and there haven't been too many) I don't say anything about.  "If you can't say something nice..."

Got to support those hobby related businesses people, or they won't stay around too long.

By the way, those kits look GOOD!

[Frank-53]

Here is the information on the Norfolk & Western Freight Depot.

This is also based on a real life building in Norwood, Ohio.

Andre's rendition:

This model is 16 x 11 and eight inches tall. It can be expanded in length by adding an second module. Although I don't know this for fact, I can't imagine why it can't be expanded infinately with the use of additional side wall sections.

Personally, I think there is a lot of potential in what Andre is doing. Anyone can pretty much have any structure of a reasonable size made from just about anything - a photo, a sketch or a blueprint.