Who makes building kits or modular systems that are NOT listed in walthers. Looking for more variety.
SHane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
I can't imagine anybody with a wider range of options than Walthers. Part of that, of course, is that Walthers has bought-up quite a few smaller companies, including many in Europe, based on what I see in their ads.
They also cover a wide timeline, with structures from the 1800s and right up to some of todays latest prototype builds.
You can also re-work most kits by either combining them with other kits, or adding scratchbuilt upgrades. Of all the Walthers kits on my layout, I think that only one or two were built using the instructions. I also have a some other structures (not purchased, at that time, from Walthers) on my layout that were originally created in Europe, but are now available through Walthers.
Wayne
Shane,
While Walthers has the best visible line of buildings from many manufacturers, there are quite a few out there who are not in the Walthers catalog.
If you have the opportunity to go to just one show, go to the train show this coming weekend in W. Springfield, MA - Railroad Hobby Show. There are manufacturers who sell at the show. I do know one who just emailed me about a new kit he's launching at the show. He's not in the Walthers catalog.
There out there, and you might find some on Ebay.
Good luck!
Neal
Can't recall if Walthers carries Bar Mills kits or not but I really like their line of structures.
Researchhound. Yes they still do carry Bar mills.
the companies that Walters carries has shrunk to a rather small number. I know there are some great lines out there like ITLA (I have a few of his). Wish I could get to places like Amherst. Time is my problem. Which is why I was hopeing for recommenended sites.
shane
Hi Shane,
If you want unique buildings then why not give scratchbuilding a try. Start with a couple of very simple structures like line side sheds (my first was a privy!) and then work up from there. If you aren't sure how to approach a scratchbuild, ask for help. Post a picture of a prototype if you can, or just give us a rough sketch.
If you choose a specific prototype, tell us how much space you have to work with including whatever you would like around it like sidings, parking lots, etc. We can help you compress your structure to make it fit and hopefully still be a fair representation of the original.
Keep in mind that some structures are easier to model than others. For example, a 'castle' with heavy stone walls (possibly curved) and lots of arches is something best left to the pros (which I am not). However, buildings with plain brick walls are much easier, as are wood sided buildings.
The materials are readily available. Evergreen Scale Models is a great place to start for styrene walls and strip stock. Tichy Trains has a large assortment of windows and doors.
If you have built kits then you already have a good understanding of proportions, roof angles etc.
Just food for thought,
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
There are many manufacturers out there, not in the Walthers catalogue. And Walthers is often out of stock.
Dave brings in an excellent point: some kits are definitely better than others, i.e., better made. And some are easier to assemble/paint than others, while others can have crisper details. I suggest you do a quick search online about the reputation of the kit/manufacturer to know what you are getting into before purchasing.
Simon
I'll second the recommendation to try scratch building. If you can put together a styrene or wood kit well enough to brag about it, then you already possess most of the skills needed to scratch build.
My layout models Southern California and you won't find many brick buildings here (too many earthquakes). Since most of the commercially available kits are based on typical small town mid-western structures, there weren't many kits that would be appropriate for my layout. Thus, I had to learn to scratch build. The result is that I have scratch built well over half of the structures on my 18' by19' double deck HO scale layout and you'd have a difficult time finding similar looking structures on another layout.
If you think you aren't creative enough to design your own buildings, then try using Google Maps Street View for ideas. When planning to model a certain location on my layout, I would search the prototype location on Google Maps looking for interesting buildings that really exist there. I would then use Street View to search for the most interesting looking structures to model. I have modeled both exact copies of some buildings, "close enough" versions of other buildings, and even mash-ups of the best looking architectural ideas in a single building. It's really a kick, too, when one of my operators recognizes a building, or even a street of buildings. Give it a try!
Hornblower
hornblower I'll second the recommendation to try scratch building. If you can put together a styrene or wood kit well enough to brag about it, then you already possess most of the skills needed to scratch build. My layout models Southern California and you won't find many brick buildings here (too many earthquakes). Since most of the commercially available kits are based on typical small town mid-western structures, there weren't many kits that would be appropriate for my layout. Thus, I had to learn to scratch build. The result is that I have scratch built well over half of the structures on my 18' by19' double deck HO scale layout and you'd have a difficult time finding similar looking structures on another layout.
Rich
Alton Junction
Two small companies here in VT: Creative Laser Design and Banta Modelworks,,They are both on the list to be at the Amherst show.
Creative has had a model reviewed in one of the major rr mags MR, RMC or MRN. I think within the last two years.
Have fun,
Richard
I do a lot of scratchbuilding. and use the modular building sets like dpm, kitbash and such. I just wanted to see if a kit fit the bill before the kitbashing or scratchbuilding. Starting into 3d printing myself
Richard, I didnt know BAnta made buildings, and never heard of creative Laser Design so I will have to check those two out.
Shane
I enjoy both kitbashing and scratchbuilding, and most of my structures built from kits have some modificatons beyond what was in the box.Of course when you do stuff like that, you often amass a pretty good supply of spare parts....
This one could be considered a kitbash, I think, since it was built from a collection of DPM wall castings...
This one is a scratchbuild (sorta) as the foundation is from an MDC 3-in-1 kit...
This crane is a composite scratchbuild, as is its runway, based on several overhead cranes in the steel mill where I worked...
This add-on to a Walthers grain elevator is a scratchbuild, too...
...as is this one...
...a couple of scratchbuilt structures, along with a modified Revell fuel tank...
...this station is a scratchbuild, too, but I did cheat a bit by using leftover doors and windows from a couple of Walthers kits....
On an around-the-room layout, the unseen side of a structure can be made using a plain piece of .060" sheet styrene, which frees-up left-over walls and details that are useful for kitbashing or creating structures unrelated to the source.
I can't decide if this turntable is a scratchbuild or a kitbash...
...as the sides of the bridge are cut-apart Atlas through-girder bridges, with handrails made from piano wire and Athearn diesel stanchions. The turntable itself is simply a block of wood mounted on the shaft of an electric kitchen beater/mixer, while the pit wall is a piece of leftover Masonite.
The ice house in the background is another scratchbuild, though, built in fairly low-relief due to the limited depth of the layout in this area.
...some more simple scratchbuilds...
This, I think, is the only Walther's kit that I've built according to the instructions, mainly because it was just the right size for the space I had...
I have a lot more scratchbuilt structures, many of them railroad-owned (crossing shanties, equipment sheds, speeder sheds, section houses, etc.), so I'll stop the boring parade of pictures for now.
NVSRRWho makes building kits or modular systems that are NOT listed in walthers. Looking for more variety.
I am quite a big fan of Ratio Models. These are from England, OO scale, and plastic. A lot of their stuff is wonderful. While not really modular, their wall sections are very nice and can be built into larger structures.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Here you go Rich:
I scratch built a whole street of building flats.
Another view,
Here are a few shots of Mesa Liquor.
Another low relief building with another building to the left.
Here's a shot of Park & Sons Precision Manufacturing.
Here's a couple lumber sheds that meet the backdrop at an angle.
The lumber sheds were designed to match the old Atlas kit in the foreground. This shot also shows how the sheds angle into the backdrop.
This shot shows my Huntington Beach Legion Speedway scene showing one turn of the 1/4 mile paved oval (long gone).
Here's a whole row of beach cottages in West Newport.
I have lots of other photos but I haven't yet uploaded them to Imgur. Soon!
You've created some very nicely-done scenes there, Hornblower.
Ooh, hornblower, I like it. Very nice structures. Thanks for posting those photos.
I think Banta Modelworks is a different Banta than you are thinking of.
Good luck,
hornblowerI scratch built a whole street of building flats.
WOW! Very Nice.
Thank you for sharing.
Why don't you share more of these in Weekend Photo Fun? Some of your photographs are really good.
As mentioned, kitbashing is a reasonable way to make unique buildings. I have a building that I bashed around 20 years ago from three DPM Laube Linen Mill kits. I needed a building with a lot of loading capabilities and couldn't find a kit that would do that. The linen mill kits have the doors and lots of windows that accomplished my goal. I can say that the building was built in two states. When I started it, I was living in North Dakota. I moved back home and finished it here in Montana. Ended up with a scar from a knife blade on that project but that's a whole different story. It is one of the bigger buildings on my layout and has been used on two different layouts as well.
doctorwayneI can't imagine anybody with a wider range of options than Walthers. Part of that, of course, is that Walthers has bought-up quite a few smaller companies, including many in Europe, based on what I see in their ads.
Keep in mind Walthers is a wholesaler, manufacturer, and retailer. Most things in a Walthers catalogue are not made by Walthers. I don't know that they own any European manufactuers, but they are a primary North American retailer/distributor for several of them.
wjstixKeep in mind Walthers is a wholesaler, manufacturer, and retailer. Most things in a Walthers catalogue are not made by Walthers. I don't know that they own any European manufactuers, but they are a primary North American retailer/distributor for several of them.
You're probably right, wjstix, but when I see them listed in Bowser's weekly Toy Train Heaven site, they're shown as a Walther's structure...as you say, probably made by the original European manufacturers, and merely imported by Walthers.
I keep hoping that Walthers would absorb MV Products, apparently now completely gone. Their multiple-use lenses were fantastic for simulating headlights, taillights, marker lights, etc. etc., and even more realistic ones when used in conjunction with properly-sized LEDs.
I have several of them left, likely just enough to do my last nine locos (and tenders) that are yet to be built.
Here's another approach...
Go to train shows and pick up some of the older, long-out-of-production building kits you'll find there. Building them is tons of fun, and you'll wind up with a layout that doesn't trigger that "deja vu" feeling which comes from seeing so many layouts that have many of the same popular kits (Walthers Cornerstone is the most obvious product line). I'm not being critical; I use a lot of those same popular kits.
Even with the wider variety of plastic HO kits available these days, a "sameness" from one layout to another results from the popularity of these kits.
Adding some kits last produced in the 1970's and even earlier will give your railroad a unique, never-seen-this-before character.
A couple examples I've done:
Campbell's HO Loading Tanks (still available, but out of stock everywhere I looked, including the manufacturer). This is considered a craftsman kit, but the build was very easy on my 1970's version. How much the more recently produced kits differ from mine I don't know. But they're not all that commonly seen on urrent layouts, and the last kit sold on ebay went for about 43 bucks. I paid about $15 at a train show ten years ago. By the way, the green station in the second photo was scratchbuilt by me back in the 1980's (that's why it looks a bit worn around the edges. it's old!).
Another kit that falls in the same category is the Model Hobbies HO Feed Mill. This one hasn't been produced since the 1960's, and I've never seen one on another layout. This one cost me $15. It's not completely finished yet, but it makes an almost one-of-a-kind structure that was as easy to build as any but the most basic plastic kit available today.
So keep an eye out for those older kits at train shows. You'll find some gems at bargain prices, and won't have that sense of sameness of so many others.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton