I am just starting to set up my downtown scene on my HO scale layout. I realised that I have Walters Merchant Row Series, I,II, IV, and V, but no III. I checked all of the online retailers but found no mention of it, on the Walters site it stated it was sold out. I then went to ebay in search of it and found that it had been repackaged and renamed as Court House Square Series and the manufacturer was now Heljan. Is this a common practice and why would Walters no longer carry the item? It is the exact same building, Walthers product # is 933-3064, Heljan product # is B-903. I am just curious if this happens very often.
Merchant's Row III was not originally a Walthers offering. It was sold under Con-Cor and Heljan brands for many years, so I thought it was odd for it to surface as part of the Walthers Cornerstone line as part of Merchant's Row - it didn't seem to fit with the proportions or general feel of the others. Plastic kits being sold under varying brands over time is very common, however, and there are many examples among popular structures.
Merchant's Row I and II were initially resin kits from Magnuson, but later re-configured in plastic by Walthers. Walthers continues to offer other former Magnuson plastic structures too, although the names have been changed.
Scale Structures re-named the original resin kits "Burlington Street" http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/650-1534 and "Quincy Street" http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/650-1539 .
Rob Spangler
If I recall the Merchant's Row III was originally from a scratchbuilding article in MR Crooksville Bank. I do have it on my railroad because the basic design is similar to one from my prototype inspiration. My only issue is with the doors, or lack thereof, for entering the stores.
I received the Merchants row III ( Crooksville Bank )today and it is clear that even though Walthers sold it as part of theMerchants Row series it is not the Walthers quality that I am used to seeing, even the instructions are nothing like Walthers, they list the four sides of the building as A,B,C,D and that is about the extent of the instructions, even the window decorations are on thin paper, a litter thicker than tissue paper. Maybe that was the reason Walthers dropped it from their line.
woodmaneven the instructions are nothing like Walthers, they list the four sides of the building as A,B,C,D and that is about the extent of the instructions,
Glad I'm not the only one to have problems with the store front. The basic design really appeals to me, all the way back to the original article, because it was so similar to the store in my home town (grocery, barbershop, diner, and drug store all on the first floor with theater on the second) but I'm still not happy with how the front went together.
woodman I checked all of the online retailers but found no mention of it, on the Walters site it stated it was sold out. I then went to ebay in search of it and found that it had been repackaged and renamed as Court House Square Series and the manufacturer was now Heljan
You have that the wrong way around. It was originally a Heljan kit that was later incoporated into the Cornestone line.
"Courthouse Square" was Heljan's first serious attempt to make kits which were recognisably and essentially "American", rather than just tarted-up European kits.
"Merchant's Row" started as resin kits from Magnuson Moidels, and they did a I, II and III. MR I and II were later done in sytrene by Walthers, but the Magnuson MR III was never made in styrene. Magnuson's MR III was three joined stores, somewhat similar to what Walthers did with their MR IV, but a not quite as long.
As for the Cornerstone MR III, it is basically an 1970s era kit, but it does built up into a very nice street corner model with a bit of effort - which is what everyone pretty much expected they'd have to do, back in the day!
Hmmm....weren't the Merchants Row kits in the latest Walthers flyer? A quick peek at google imgages will show how nicely these kits can be when painted nicely, etc.
Jim
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.
There are a number of Merchant's Row kits, in both HO and N. I agree that they are very nice kits. I built Merchant's Row 2.
This is a kit that's worth spending some time on. I added interiors to most of the kit, along with selective lighting and some stuff out on the sidewalk.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.