Period Buildings

[Anonymous]

I am trying to concentrate on the time period 1920s-1930s for my train layout. Are there places (internet sites, etc) that have period scenery and buildings ?

[mike33469]

Try dowmtowndeco.com

[tstage]

skolla,

Welcome to the forum! [:)]

Just a quick note of clarification. Are you looking for actual buildings and scenery to put together for your layout? Or, are you just looking for pictures to give you some ideas of buildings and scenery in that era?

If you are looking for actual buildings, Walthers (http://www.walthers.com) makes a "Cornerstone" series that is very good. Also, DPM (Design Preservation Models) makes some VERY nice and very detailed period buildings. (Walthers sells them both.)They both come in a kit. A few of the Walthers you can get already assembled. I would check out some of your local hobby shops (LHS's) in your area.

The DPM models are a little more of a challenge to assemble than the Walthers but well worth the effort. You just have to sand down some of the sides to square them up and be able to set walls exactly perpendicular to one another. They provide good directions to help you out.

Hope that helps...

Tom

[pbjwilson]

Somewhat related to this topic - I saw a great book at Borders the other day.
The title is "Bound for Glory" and it's in the photography section or art section of the store.
It contained great color photos of the depression era in the U.S.
Would make an excellent reference book for modeling that era.

[tstage]

willist,

Wow! Thanks for the web site! Very Impressive looking slums! Small correction though: http://www.downtowndeco.com will get you to the right address.

Tom

[Anonymous]

I'm building a series of N scale laser-cut basswood house kits based on the Sears Catalog houses which were built from the very early to mid 1900s. You can find floor plans and (usually) front elevations for a great many of their houses at a Sears website, http://www.searsarchives.com/homes

This isn't great and innovative architecture but you'll be able to pinpoint some popular styles of that precise period. I've found it a good starting point for the residential areas of my N scale towns.

Wayne

[CNJ831]

skolla - a word of advice when it comes to using 1920's - 1930's era images (off the net or in books) as a basis for your modeling. Most of the photographers who "documented" the Depression Era (the governmet sponsored a number of such projects to keep these guys and gals from starving!) had specific and often bias ideas of what they wanted to say with their images. They often meant their work to tell tragic stories and evoke emotions, not necessarily reflect the typical way things were. Thus, you will tend to find them separated into two camps. The first and largest depicted the worst of the worst. It is reflected in what I call the George Sellios school of modeling, where everything looks filthy, rundown and grim. I think the alternate might be regarded as the Minton Chronkite (sp?) school, where everything was clean, art deco, and surrounded by neatly kept open spaces lined with trees.

Reality was unquestionably somewhere in between. So try to ballance what you model within that range if you want to depict the way things actually were during the period in question.

CNJ831

[orsonroy]

For general reference on what the 1920s-1930s looked like, there are two fantastic sites:

www.loc.gov This is the Library of Congress' main site. They've got hundreds of thousands of documents, plans and photos digitized, including most of the Depression-era works project photography. It'll take LOTS of time to go through everything, but it's well worth the effort. There's even color photos from the 1930s and 1940s.

http://railroad.union.rpi.edu This is the NEB&W's online resource treasure trove. Specifically designed to educate HO scale modelers on prototype practices, it's got LOTS of scenery and architecture information in it. Want to know what the best selling Sears paint color was in 1949? It's in there, along with the paint chips from the catalog. Want to know when stucco bungalows were built? It's in there too, along with a synopsis and photos of every major architectural style in the USA from 1600 to 2004. The authors have also tried to track down every HO scale building kit ever produced (it's a work in progress), and have explained what the kit represents, if anything. They've built thir favorites, and have kitbashed loads of them to look more realistic. The site is a must for anyone attempting to do period modelling.

As for kits, lots of manufacturers make stuff appropriate for the 1920-1930 time period. Every building DPM makes is OK, as is everything from Smalltown USA, City Classics, and AMB. .Atlas is really helping period modelers by releasing three new American home kits, all appropriate for about 1920 on (both two-story houses are from about 1890). And Branchline is really helping with their extensive line of lasercut wood homes. They're a bit expensive but build up into beautiful examples of typical early 20th century American homes. Virtually every other building kit on the market is OK for the time period too, but you have to know a little about the period to look out for duds (which is where the NEB&W website comes in handy!)