Lifelike Coaling Tower - Is this kit too toy like?

[CP guy in TX]

Maybe look at the Walthers kit. That plastic kit can be made to look pretty good with the deft touch of an airbrush

[betamax]

These things are like the Atlas Station kit everyone sees everywhere. Just like their lumberyard.  They are a good start point for something better.

A little time and effort, and some liberal applications of paint, and no one will recognize it.

You do have to watch what they are near.  Some kits are proportionally incorrect, being narrower than normal, with narrow doors and windows to maintain the illusion.  As long as they are not near proportionately correct structures that will make that stand out, everything is fine.

I do have the Tichy coaling tower kit, got it partially assembled from an estate.  Should start on it again.  I used glazing putty to fill some seams, and with some sanding and paint the tower looks really nice.

[farrellaa]

The Life Like coaling tower makes a great model if you put some time into it and add some better detailing. I added a Tichy coal chute and some other small detail like nut/washer castings, lights and a good paint  and weathering job. These photos are one of many I have built in the past year. Also, they are on sale at Walthers now for $6.98!

    -Bob

[TheSceneryGuy]

This tower actually looks great after lots of weathering. I've used it on many different scenes. First, I spray paint the whole thing with a light, misty coat of flat black and gray primer. In other words, get rid of that shiny plastic look. Then I use Woodland Scenics earth colors like yellow ocher, burnt umber and slate gray among others - put a bit on an area and spray some water on it with a spray bottle. Work it until it looks right to you. The roof especially gets that great rusty, weathered look with the right colors.

So yeah, it looks a bit like a toy out of the box but with the right weathering I think it looks great. Add some trackside junk and make everything around it as dirty as possible, and I've found it makes a nice addition to a scene. 

Hope this helps. If you want to actually see how I weather things, check out www.modelRRscenery.com and click on the Honor Flight videos among others.

[Bob grech]

The coaling tower I used was built from a Campbell kit. It's very similar to the life-like model since both were modeled after the Chama and Durango prototypes. The kit was a bit difficult to assemble, but worth the extra effort on its appearance.

[Odie]

The OP suggested kitbashing, so I am assuming that this is not his first rodeo. I have one here waiting for a time slot to build it this winter...after I get done scratch building my CWR train.

[Odie]

The Tichy coaling tower is $89 with free shipping right now if you order direct from Tichy.

[mlehman]

erosebud

I notice no mention of the Walthers coaling tower.  Pardon my ignorance, but is it the LifeLike?  If not, would anyone care to comment on it?  Thanks.

Hmmm, I assume you're talking about Walthers Part # 933-2922? That's their wooden coaling tower (they have two other concrete coaling towers also.) Don't recall exactly, but I don't think it had been released when this thread was started in 2008. However, it's a much nicer and larger model than the LifeLike or Model Power coaling towers -- and more expensive.

As I noted above, II actually have one of the Model Power Bors coaling towers on my layout at Durango. In my case, it sits in the middle of a large turnback loop where my engine terminal is. Thus, you can't get close enough to it to see how crude a model it is. But for the price and looks, it's a bargain stand-in model until I build my Campbell kit, which is a much nicer real wood version of the same prototype.

[erosebud]

I notice no mention of the Walthers coaling tower.  Pardon my ignorance, but is it the LifeLike?  If not, would anyone care to comment on it?  Thanks.

[steamrailroader]

The Life Like model is based on the same prototype as the Alexander Scales Models tower. The GRI (PRR) tower that was in Grand Rapids, MI.

Yes, it needs some work to be a great model.  But fabricating a new chute, and replacing the stairs should not be a real problem. A few NBW castings would not hurt.

Paint it a very dark gray. Indeed a faded black.

It could be a very nice model. Indeed I was visiting Milwaukee and bought one at the showroom.

[Otis]

Your choices will probably be fine--especially as they are a good price and can be bashed and weathered up a lot being dirty old coaling stations. 

Nothing could be more ugly and toylike than model power kits "molded in 8 colours"! I almost threw this one and some others out when I opened them (got them cheap off Ebay).  But if they are bashed a bit and weathered up a lot, as a coaling tower could be, even ugly ones can be salvaged.  This is the Model Power Blue Coaling Station

This is my favourite:  The Model Power Bors Coaling station.  It wasn't too ugly to start, but needed generous weathering.  It is based on the real ones below.

I have yet to put them on the layout, but both needed stupid looking plastic track beds cut away.  I have some WS lump coal to scatter around and glue down.

[dknelson]

  It builds up into a nice model, but you need to work on the steps(a little oversize).  Walthers has it on sale right now for something like $6.00......

Jim

I think it is a decent looking coaling tower and it is is Walthers' latest sale catalog being offered at what might be a close out price of $5.98 -- normally $28!.  At that price you can afford to kitbash freely without fear.

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/433-1377

Also the rather large LifeLike Supply House building is extremely cheap in the latest sale bulletin, $8.98 and it is normally $28.  

Dave Nelson

[jrbernier]

  It builds up into a nice model, but you need to work on the steps(a little oversize).  Walthers has it on sale right now for something like $6.00......

Jim

[mlehman]

The kit does have issues. That said, it is quite similar to the coaling towers used by the D&RGW at several points on its narrowgauge lines. I happen to model Durango. Given the price and quick assembly, it's serving as a stand-in until I get time to build my Campbell kit. The Life-Like kit meets my expectations.

[loathar]

It kind of depends on your skill level. I've seen cheap Tyco kits turned into works of art and I've seen highly detailed expensive kits turned into garbage.

[selector]

Not a full shot, but this is the Life Like coal tower.

 The only difficulty it presented to me was that the stair railings didn't fit well.  I seem to recall having to trim the supports a bit in one instance.

[gmcrail]

I've built the Alexander kit - it's a bear, but turns out a good-looking structure.  The only really hard part I found was the stairs.  Well, the chute rigging was also tough, I guess.  The stairs were hard enough that I substituted the Central Valley stairways.  When painted the same color as the prototype (flat black)  you don't really notice them.

[SpaceMouse]

For me the difference in work between an Alexander model and a Life Like is not much. Why? Because I spend a lot of time making painting the Lifelike models to make them look good.

But that doesn't meant the Alexanders don't need a lot as well.

[lvanhen]

The Alexander model is better, but it's a craftsman kit - a lot harder to assemble than the Tyco plastic kit.  The Tyco is about 3 1/2" square + the ladders for the workmen - should be OK for a background building.  My

[steemtrayn]

this one's better:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Alexander-Scale-Models-HO-scale-Coaling-Station-KIT_W0QQitemZ110246776097QQihZ001QQcategoryZ484QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[cacole]

With a lot of weathering, it can be made to look acceptable.

The Walthers catalog number, if you're talking about the HO scale model, is 433-1377.  Type that into Google or go to Walthers web site and use that number as the search phrase to see a picture of it.

Here's a link to the Cherry Creek Hobbies web site with a picture of the Life Like coaling tower.

http://www.cchobbies.com/hoscale/structures/lifelikestructures.htm

 

[Onrman]

I noticed the other day on Ebay the Lifelike HO coaling tower. It looked like a good basis for kit bashing, but I was worried that it was too toy like? Any thoughts on this? What would be the foot print of this kit? I am not close to a hobby shop  . . . so it is not easy to access information.