Love Plasticville. They have been put under our trees for years. Nothing wrong with ceramic if you like it better.
Edit Plasticville is not expensive, A repaint will make them look new again with no real value lost.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
Try the hardware store... They usually have some brands I cant remember, but that's where I got all my Christmas buildings.
Bachmann trains has just added some new Christmas fun to their new line of bluetooth trains. The trains animate (motion/lights) to Christmas music. Here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf-DYoQ3D4s
Michael's is starting to display their new line of LEMAX buildings. Here is a link:
http://lemax.org/index.asp?id_cat=245&pag_cat=1
I like the Doggy Day Care.
For a "short term" layout, such as Christmas, halloween, etc., just use them as they come from the package. Try to find the ones with the greatest spacing between lights you can. For a more long term/permanent arrangement they can be broken out into individual pieces but that requires a lot of additional labor and additional parts.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
Doug: I would appreciate a little more info about this as well. I've got my platform up (I have new-found love for nail guns!), and am wondering what to do about wiring, too. Thanks!
Matt
Doug,
When you say you use x-mass led light sets do you cut them up and then rewire them under the layout? Then do you plug them into the ac outlet or do you wire the lights to a transformer?
Your creativity "ROCKS" Becky! I always enjoy your pictures!
msbsouthpaw very impressive! looks like the p-ville schoolhouse turned into the HoJo? what did you light it up w/? thanks for sharing.
very impressive! looks like the p-ville schoolhouse turned into the HoJo? what did you light it up w/?
thanks for sharing.
Thanks! It's one of my faves! I used Model Power peel and stick lights in all of my P-Ville buildings. I also glue tissue or tracing paper into the window frames with a water based glue stick. The glue doesn't damage the plastic BTW. Some buildings, like the HoJo, require more than lamp to look good. There's also a "Simple Simon and the Pieman" weathervane on the top of the spire! I'll try to get better pics next month when I start unpacking and servicing this layout.
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
msbsouthpaw Doug: Quick question ... on some of those thortrains.net layouts, he has a trolley crossing another set of track. Do I need a 2nd transformer to make each one (the trolley on its bump-n-go path, and the train on it's loop) move at the same time? I like the motion of having two moving trains/trolleys. Thanks! Matt
Doug:
Quick question ...
on some of those thortrains.net layouts, he has a trolley crossing another set of track. Do I need a 2nd transformer to make each one (the trolley on its bump-n-go path, and the train on it's loop) move at the same time? I like the motion of having two moving trains/trolleys.
Thanks!
Matt,
The simple answer is "it depends". Some transformers are capable of powering multiple tracks as well as multiple controls. If you don't have one of these I would suggest separate transformers so you can have individual control. For a trolley line a small transformer would be more than sufficient.
PS Here's a little Plasticville mod I had a lot of fun with:
It's one of those things they should have made but never did! I made the signs using a mimic of the HoJo font and printed them to the sizes I needed. There's also a white Tonka van (ambulance) with homemade HoJo markings!
msbsouthpaw ahh a christmas plasticville layout! thanks for the inspiration. quick question for you becky since you are into plasticville: i have a church w/ paper windows that are glued into place. the church is horribly mildewed, and what I've done w/ other pieces is simply soak in soapy water and scrub w/ a toothbrush. I don't know that I can do that w/ the church though, b/c of the paper details (they are not the kind that slide out). Any suggestions on how to get the mildew off w/o damaging the paper details? Thanks!
ahh a christmas plasticville layout! thanks for the inspiration.
quick question for you becky since you are into plasticville: i have a church w/ paper windows that are glued into place. the church is horribly mildewed, and what I've done w/ other pieces is simply soak in soapy water and scrub w/ a toothbrush. I don't know that I can do that w/ the church though, b/c of the paper details (they are not the kind that slide out). Any suggestions on how to get the mildew off w/o damaging the paper details?
I'd try the bleach method first, testing it on the inside of a wall with a cotton swab if that's possible. If that fails, or the paper inserts get damaged, here's a place that manufactures replacements: http://www.tandem-associates.com/plasticville/plasticville_db02.htm#PAGE2 You can also find them on Ebay.
I always use Plastiville structures.
Try a MR CLEAN ERASER.
If it is mildew, a cloth dipped in Clorox bleach will remove surface mildew. If the stain has permiated the plastic, I doubt if anything will remove it, including a "bath".
I love Plasticville!
If I could jam all of this into a 4 by 6 layout in my bedroom, I can't wait to see what you can do with an 8 by 8!
'95: thanks for the heads-up on those trolleys. the "Philadelphia" model looks just like the old PTC trolleys before the white/red/blue SEPTA scheme! i have pictures of my grandfather on one of those. unfortunately, i already bought a christmas trolley, but that PTC trolley might be nice investment in the near future, to run when the holidays are over. wish i would've found that website earlier!
yeah i've found the k-line "plasticville" stuff locally and it looks just the same to me, so it should fit into the layout nicely. some of my grandfather's p-ville stuff was not salvage-able, so i've replaced a few pieces w/ similar things from k-line.
thanks fife. yeah was definitely trying to go "old school" w/ the plasticville and some of the older trackside accessories i've found. i've cleaned the p'ville stuff in hot water and dish soap, and most look almost new. learning now about how to wire some of the accessories. will definitely post some pictures when i get the platform all set up for the holidays.
If you'd like to get a trolley to honor that heritage, I'd recommend these by Western Hobbycraft. Can't beat the price. I've also found very inexpensive ($10-14) 'off-brand' Plasticville by K-Line at local hobby stores.Fastrack is very nice track. If you're on a budget, there are many places to buy inexpensive 'traditional' three-rail track.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
An 8 x 8 is definitely plenty of size to incorporate those three items. I think it's cool you wanna go "old school" with the Plasticville. Make sure you post some pics here (or SPF) as you go.
I also like the use of LED Christmas lights in the structures.
If the ceramic look appeals to you, and you aren't a purist about brands or locked into a specific theme, consider hanging around the local second hand store. It's amazing how much ceramic you can buy for the $80+ you'll pay for a single genuine Dept 56 structure. I have a mixture of the genuine article and knock-off, second-hand variety, and (for the most part) my wife is unable to tell the diffference. They usually hit the shelves of the thrift stores around October. Prices are never more than $10 bucks. I've yet to find the "Scrooge and Marley Counting House" that cheap, but there are lots of other structures that fit right in on my Christmas layout.
LED's are a great idea. thanks Doug.
A good lighting source for your buildings would be a small string of LED Christmas lights, Lemax makes LED lighting sets but they would be more expensive. LED's would run much cooler and wouldn't melt plastics.
Check out this link for some layout ideas, even if you don't use one exactly as shown you may find one to your liking that can be modified to your wants/needs. http://www.thortrains.net/
thanks for the feedback. I found about 18 Plasticville structures my grandfather used to have on his platform, so I decided to use them, rather than buy all new Lemax or Dept 56 or something similar. I decided I'd rather spend the money on track, woodwork, and maybe an operating accessory, than all new bldgs. That might be an investment in the future. I am, however, using a lighting system from Dept 56 to light up the plasticville houses and bldgs. Should be pretty neat b/c my dad hasn't seen this stuff in years, and doesn't know I found it at his mom's house. I'm planning on adding to the plasticville stuff w/ some of the smaller Lemax or Dept 56 accessories, like mini christmas lights, and trees.
I actually have an 8x8 area available, so I'm still wondering how I can get the following onto a platform of that size, using fastrack: a freight train (w/ some siding to display some of the older pieces), a passenger train, and a bump-n-go trolley. If anyone out there has a track plan that could accomodate those three things in an 8x8 space, I'd be very appreciative of you sharing it.
Thanks again to everyone that took the time to read and respond.
If cost is a factor, I recommend the buildings at AC Moore and Joann Fabrics, if you have those near you. Starting on the day after Thanksgiving, they have sales and coupons that bring the prices of these buildings at the $15 or less per structure level. I just couldn't pass up those prices so I got a lot.
The same thing with Kohl's St Nicholas Square line. If you combine the sale prices with the 30% off coupon they give you a couple times during the holiday shopping season if you are a Kohl's card owner, you can get them for cheap. And I really like their buildings. High quality and many of them have blinking Christmas lights on them. They have a really nice train station that beats any station you'd find in any other line of buildings.
Lemax is good, but pricey. Use the Michael's coupons to bring the cost down. Ace Hardware also has some Lemax as well as another brand. Ace has sales that makes the cost of these affordable. Lowe's carries Lemax, but doesn't really discount them. Sears carries Lemax as well as buildings from "A Christmas Story" and Disney buildings -- both made by Dept 56. Sears has many sales where you can get them cheap. Last year Sears also had buildings from "It's a Wonderful Life". Last year Kmart had buildings from "Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus".
Can anyone suggest a track plan for me? My idea is to have one freight train running, w/ some siding to put "idle" cars (my dad is very attached to some rather sad-looking pieces of freight we found stored away in grandmom's house), and a second track of some sort within that w/ a trolley or commuter train.
What do you all think of the Lionel Fastrack book? SGT Google (as google is affectionately known in my, and most, Army units) seems to reveal mixed opinions on it's usefulness.
I found some other sites w/ track plans, but nothing really exactly what I was looking for, and within my space constraints.
Thanks again for all the kind feedback.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month