Scenery = old fashioned British cottages?

[Brutus]

Does anyone know a source for British buildings? My kids and I are modeling the Hogwart's Express and while we can find some castles, we can't find any source for old time British shops or a little cottage/farm house....

Thanks for any help!

[leighant]

You didn't say what scale you are modeling. HO?

Heljan is a Danish manufacturer with structures resembling both American and European prototypes. A lot of their Europeisher stuff is Northern European-- Norse or North German looking but some may resemble British scenes, especially half-timbered buildings of the sort we associate with the time of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare. Some "thatched-roof" cotttages...

Heljan country/ farmhouses
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-139
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-203
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-204
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-206
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1770
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1771
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1789

Heljan houses/shops for a town
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-155
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-220
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1777
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1785
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1788
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1797
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1798
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-2019

Heljan country station
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/322-1712

You mentioned castles. Have you looked through the complete product lines of the European manufacturers? -- Vollmeer, Kibri, Pola, Noch.

I remember seeing a line of British structures several times in hobby shops. I ones I looked at were in N scale. Seemed to represent British scene of mod-20th century. Some semi-modern, some a bit earlier. Can't remember name of the firm. Might be what you were looking for.
See their lines at www.walthers.com

For a Londonesque scene, Victorian and older city-town buildings, might look through the European manfuacturers with an eye to what could be adopted with a few detail changes.

Another possibility. I remember seeing some old "thatched village" structures in paper cutout buildings. Don't remember name of manufacturer, but try some of the ads for paper cutoff buildings.

Some pretty technocolor travel books/ "coffeetable books" on the beauties of the English countryside might be a place to research looks of scenes to see what can be made to fit.

[challenger3802]

British Buildings......

......let me help you. Try the following sites (all have what you're looking for!)

http://www.metcalfemodels.com
http://www.superquick.co.uk
http://www.hornbyrailways.com/pages/prod.aspx
http://www.thesignalbox.co.uk Ratio and Wills kits have buildings

Ian

[jrbarney]

Jim,
If you are interested in scratch building buildings, there are two books you might find useful:
Miniature Building Construction, John H. Ahern, 1950, Percival Marshall & Co., Ltd.
and
Modelled Architecture, P. R. Wickham, 1948, Percival Marshall & Co., Ltd.
My copies are obviously more than 50 years old, but perhaps one of our Brit members can advise us if they are still in print. Otherwise, you might be able to borrow them on Inter Library Loan or find them in a used book store.
I have seen the Metcalfe and Wills structure kits at the Timonium, MD train shows.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Brutus]

Thanks guys!

[BR60103]

Jim:
If you are looking for people selling British buildings, go to the British Railway Modellers of North America
http://home.ca.inter.net/~brmna/index.html
and check out their "member dealers" section. There are a lot in canada and a few in the USA.
I recommend the Metcalfe and Superquick kits. These are cardboard and not too hard to assemble (can you trust the kids with a sharp knife?)
Hornby makes RTR cast buildings if you're in a hurry, and some kits as well.
Ratio and wills make plastic kits. Wills has a series that are real craftsman type kits -- you get sheets of plastic walls/roofs/whatever and have to cut it to shape.

[Train1725]

Heres a link for paper buildings, they have a long list of English style cottages and stuff :
http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/buildings/english/english.htm. Some free stuff also. If these work for you, there are a lot of free paper buildings available, just do a google search. Good Luck modeling track #9 3/4 (i think that was it ).

[Train1725]

Try this link for the paper buildings : http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/

[Brutus]

Thanks - this looks perfect - my kids will love it!

[Anonymous]

Ontracks in the UK sell the full range of 98 items of Skaledale ready made resin OO scale buildings and accessories at reasonable prices when compared with some kits. Mailing time is about eight days from UK
http://www.ontrackscart.co.uk/Mainflash.html

Dapol in UK sell affordable plastic kits in OO

http://www.dapol.co.uk/cgi-bin/dapol-direct/commerce.cgi?page=dapol00/kits.html