Large Scale "Plasticville"

[gbbari]

I have been wondering why we don't see Plasticville(TM) or a similar line manufacture a line of quick-assembly (snap together) colored plastic buildings that are scaled for G; i.e. 1:24 or 1:29?  The plastic could be suitable for outdoor use (UV stablized) and if they are cheap enough, many folks probably would not mind replacing them every few years if necessary. 

A large scale "plasticville" would provide a low cost way for folks on a tight budget to populate their garden towns without going half broke as one has to do now to afford large scale buildings. The Aristo units are the most affordable but they are still well over $50 each for many models with several well over $100.

The modeler who buys a Bachmann starter set does not have any corresponding low cost options that provide any semi realism such as Plasticville structures do in O scale. Kit building is beyond many folks' abilities and many would rather just assemble layouts and play with their trains...

Just curious...am I alone in wondering about this

-GB

[SandyR]

I suppose that most manufacturers would consider the G scale market too small to make the investment in tooling and production worthwhile. But it sure would be nice for beginners and kitbashers to have a 'Plasticville' line of buildings available!

SandyR

[altterrain]

I hear ya, GB. I had quite a few HO Plasticville kit buildings in my youth. Most became kitbash fodder as I graduated to more complex kits. Bachmann did have a snap together coaling tower in a few of there Big Hauler sets and they pop up on eBay now and then. The closest thing out there are the Colorado Model Structures kits (http://coloradomodel.com/default.htm). Reasonably priced but they do need a bit of skill to put together and painting. They will be coming out with with a modular, build your own system soon.

-Brian 

[Lathroum]

I have built 3 of the Colorado model structures kits... (Fire house, Store, Switch Tower)

I think they are the best bang for the buck.... I found them pretty easy to make and paint...

There is some tweaking involved though with sanding edges, and door/window fit...

and I still built all of mine in only a few hours time each... I run idoor, and they might need a bit of beefing up for outdoor use (corners, roof supports etc)

I am eagerly awaiting the modular line so I can build a few smaller structures.

Philip

[vsmith]

Piko had an low cost lineup of structures for a while, some of these were also sold under the LGB Toytrain logo, they averaged about $40 each, (which was about a year pre-LGB explosion). these turn up all the time on Ebay. However these are also by far the most common buildings seen on peoples layouts in the magazines.

 

[kstrong]

You're definitely not alone, but I think physics may be working against us. For the cost to be kept low, the walls would have to be fairly thin, so not to use much plastic. The thinner walls have a greater tendency to warp in the sun. I'm sure one could engineer some kind of bracing that would mitigate that, but that also adds to the complexity of the tooling, thus increasing your costs.

I agree, though, it would be nice to see.

Later,

K

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Brings to mind a thread I think we discussed about 2 or 3 years ago!   Funny he should mention Bachmann beings they are the Plasticville people!

If they did them in 1:29 I'd buy a bundle of them!   Probably had 50 or so back in the 50's when I was into Am Flyer.

[gbbari]

SandyR - I think you have a good point.  Maybe if the Bachmann Big Hauler sets sell so well then it might just be that purchasers of those low $ sets would also be apt to buy low cost buildings.

Brian - Thanks for the link. I keep searching for signs that any of the large scale structure mfrs are going to introduce a low cost easy-to-assemble line... and by low cost I don't mean $50, rather I'm looking for $30 or less.

Philip - I have seen those Colorado Structures and they have been high on my check-it-out-more-closely list. But they *are* still kits as opposed to snap together (for the least-skilled among us).

Victor - Yes I too thought of the sameness of seeing the same structures on different people's railroads, but we see that somewhat now with the Aristo buildings and with some of the other more popular kits. Of course if we had Plasticville G Scale I'd bet they would be almost everywhere

Kevin - I agree the UV protection would not be enough; they would definitely have to add a bit more 'beef' to the panels, especiually the roofs. The molds could include reinforcement braces across the backs of the panels with the roof braces being even a bit thicker. I was thinking since this has to be designed from the ground up (well, maybe they could just blow up the O Scale line to start with) then anything might be possible.

Capt. Bob - I had maybe 20-some in O scale too! You are thinking like me. If they would "fit" the scale, then why not buy a stack of them and use to fill in space until one could afford the nicer models or learn to build the more complex kits...

Thanks for the feedback from everyone!
-GB

[Anonymous]

But they *are* still kits as opposed to snap together (for the least-skilled among us).
-GB

GB, what I did to learn kits was small ones starting out. Some diagrams ain't the best but small kits can help you learn to build bigger!

[gbbari]

Thanks TF&WL.  I appreciate your suggestion. I actually used to be a pretty fair plastic model builder - built a lot of elaborate 18th century sailing ships, cars, and WWII ships and planes in my youth.  But my eyesight is now pretty bad for closeup work even with glasses, so doing a lot of closeup work is a challenge.

I have recently assembled a Shell Station (Piko or Pola, can't recall) and have 4 more Piko kits waiting - Durango Water Tower, Sonneberg Station/Depot, a Pharmacy and a Dry Goods store.  I only bought them because my local hobby shop was clearing out all LGB/Piko products and sold them to me much lower than any prices from webstores or eBay (yes I cleaned him out of LGB track too). 

-GB

[Anonymous]

So you was like me a glue sniffer putting them all together and having fun

They make those goggle things or jewelers head mag.s that would bring all up close. I use 10x, and they also make different X's to get real small.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=18108SP

[gbbari]

Yeah I do get a bit woozy from too much plastic glue in the basement where ventilation is poor. 

Appreciate the suggestion about magnifying goggles.  My vsion impairment is not so much presbyopia (of course at my age I have that too) but is caused by the "floaters" inside my eyeballs. I have an unusualy high amount that constantly drift across my vision and make close up work (including computer) very straining on my peepers. What happens is you try to focus but there is no way to do it until the floater moves away from in front of your macula.  Kind of like looking through a real dirty window where the dirt streaks move around.

The workaround is a lot of bright light. I'm thinking maybe one of those big magnifying lenses surrounded by a bright flourescent ring might do the job.  The techs at my company use those worklights where they build/repair tiny electronics boards and modules. I would have to try it out.

-GB