I know well how things evolve and this could be an old topic, but every time new folks visit my pike, the same questions are heard...."Are your freight cars Red Caboose, Intermountain, Kadee, MDC, or Athearn?" No they are mostly from old wood kits like Ambroid, Gloor Craft, Quality Craft, Main Line, Labelle, etc. Actually I'm flattered knowing that I cannot build a wood car to look as fine as a store purchased RTR car. Then I'm asked where may they find these kits as some are indeed interested. I know of only two companies that offer these today...Labelle and American Model Builders/Lasercraft. Are there more? I can only say try eBay or check the many train shows. I have still over 1500 of unbuilt kits that I acquired over the decades and from my store when I sold out in 1975. The new owner had no interest in wood kits so I kept most of my stock.
Personally I love the look of well built wood cars as 98% of my rolling stock is from wood kits or scratch-built from basswood. Apparently others do also as every once in a while I see some come up for auction, and they command very high prices.
Opinions?
HZ
Howard Zane I have still over 1500 of unbuilt kits that I acquired over the decades and from my store when I sold out in 1975. HZ
I have still over 1500 of unbuilt kits that I acquired over the decades and from my store when I sold out in 1975.
I hope not! I love building a wooden freight car kit. Here is a LaBelle HOn3 gondola that I built a few years ago...
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Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
Actually when I become really decripit and can no longer get down the stairs to the basement, I plan on building these kits. I'm just "cripit" now. This is my most favorite activity in the hobby. Second would be designing and building structures, and third is acquiring and playing with brass models.
B.T.S. has a few Laser cut rolling stock kits.
Personally, I too love the wooden kits. I buy some of the old ones at train shows if the price is reasonable. I don't have anywhere near 1500 unbuilt kits, more like around 200 spread across HO, S, O - about 40 are wood kits.
Paul
In my book ANY kit isn't dead and is fair game. I'm about halfway through an AMB laser-cut caboose kit. While I haven't put together any of the older wood rolling stock kits yet, I'd definitely be open to trying one.
Come to think of it, I have at least one or two Gloor Craft caboose kits in storage that I should try and tackle. I also have a few Waterlevel Models caboose kits but they are styrene. Kits - albeit simple or complex - are what makes building a roster an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor for me.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
At one time, I built wooden kits and scratchbuilt in wood, too, but once I discovered styrene and styrene scratchbuilding materials, the wood stuff was gone.If I want wood floors in a gondola: styrene strips...
...or a scratchbuilt "wooden" structure: sheet and strip styrene...
...or even "stacked lumber" in a lumber yard: strip styrene...
Scribed wood siding was a great thing in its day, but scribed styrene, especially for rolling stock, is much more prototypical in appearance. Here's one of my first scratchbuilds, a composite of scribed wood with styrene...
...a car with gaps that wide between the boards would be relegated to "hide service only", while a weathertight baggage car like this one, converted from an Athearn coach using Evergreen passenger car siding, has years of useful service life left...
Howard, I wouldn't deign to criticise anyone's choices or preferences, but for me, styrene is all-round better than wood for modelling wood.I did, however, use wood (and a lot of it) when I built my house...for that, it was the better choice.
Wayne
"Are wood rolling stock kits dead?"
Around here, they are. Like Wayne, I've been working with styrene for years.
If I have a wood kit I want built (there are still a few here), I substitute styrene for the wood.
Ed
Wayne,
Your work is magnifcent....thanks for sharing. I also love styrene and have built many cars...both freight add passenger in addition to structures. I have found that with a well built styrene car, when finished, it looks like a plastic car. As mentioned, wood has a certain distinct look and when well built, I think it is the best.....Just my opinion!
Thanks for those kind words, Howard.The owner of a nearby hobby shop (recently closed) got a number of partially-built wooden freight cars as part of an estate lot, and had offered them to me, gratis, as he didn't know of anyone else who might take them. I knew the deceased only casually, and hadn't really seen any of his work in-person.
The cars, all 36' singlesheathed cars similar to Fowler cars, appeared to be scratchbuilt, and rather well-done, too. As I wasn't interested in them, I gave a couple to a friend who wanted to try finishing them (he's more of a collector than modeller), and I gave the rest to another friend who's very "old school", and very interested in trying to finish them. I also gave both friends some doors - styrene, but representing wood doors. Both seem to be coming along fine with them, with the older one really enthused about the progress he's making and with the cars themselves. He buys many wooden kits at train shows, even though he admits it unlikely that most will ever be built. Instead, he is simply saddened that no one seems to want these kits, and he sees himself as rescuing them from an otherwise ignominious disposal.Wayne
Some people like wood, some like plastic. Brass can be nice, too.
I find I can do things in styrene that are impossible with wood--things that use material .010" thick. Or even .005" thick.
And I have zero wood grain to deal with--a real problem if you're recreating steel. Or well-painted wood.
Pieces of styrene can be bonded in a few seconds. That's doesn't happen with wood.
Wood can be affected by humidity. Gaps and warp can appear.
I might use wood for flat car decks and timber structures.
I work in construction. I have a table saw. And a miter saw. I happily work with wood, just not in model making.
Except for ties in handlaid track. I like wood there.
To me , nothing look's like wood ..... except WOOD.
I love finding those old wood kit's , and I also love scratchbuilding stuff with wood.
But, I also use Plastic, Brass, Paper, Glass, whatever is at hand really...
Granit line fitting's , Kadee truck's/coupler's , and the water tank is an old metal Roundhouse tender. The rest of this workcar is Wood and random stuff.
Rust...... It's a good thing !
I have some built wood cars built from kits that would give plastic a run for the money but the ones I kept are few. Recently got an OK one, a 1920s container car, would like another one but hard to find one thats well built, i build buildings instead.
tstageIn my book ANY kit isn't dead and is fair game. I'm about halfway through an AMB laser-cut caboose kit.
I'm with Tom on this one. I finished up one of the LaserKit NYC wood cabooses and I'm mighty impressed with the outcome.
IMG_7251_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
Very few (RTR) have been commercially made of these NYC cars and an Overland brass example may run $200 or more, unpainted!
caboose track2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I have a couple of AMB Nickel Plate cabooses on the "soon-to-be-done" list.
The laser cut models are the best of both worlds, a craftsman-type kit with the precision-fit of modern day technology. I also have a few Cloor-Craft B&O wood cabooses on the "to-do" list. Maybe some cold, snowy weekend will be the day I get going on it.
I'd like to tackle one of the Ambroid Helium cars that were featured in an MR article by Eric White last year. (12/2017: Building a Vintage Wooden Freight Car Kit)
I'm presently building a laser-cut Lackawanna "concrete" signal tower from N Scale Architect (but mine is HO?) and it is going together beautifully.
DLW_tower1 by Edmund, on Flickr
Most of my roster is RTR but I still enjoy the kit-building aspect of the hobby. Everyone should be encouraged to build one (or two-dozen).
Regards, Ed
I have two wood kits on my roster, and four unbuilt.
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I doubt I will buy any more, but I keep looking at kits at train shows, and maybe I might add another.
I really prefer plastic kits.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Labelle is still offering Ho wood kits.
j. c. Labelle is still offering Ho wood kits.
Now-a-days, building wood car kits is certainly a minority interest in the hobby, likely impacted by two trends:
1) The dominance of RTR and high quality plastic kits; and the migration of craftsman modelers to resin kits.
2) Most modeling now is either modern era, or steam-to-diesel transition era, both favored steel cars. Yes there are wood kits for steel cars, but very few of us would go that route unless it was a unique model, along the line of craftsman structure kits.
For me, modeling the early 1900's, while plastic fills out the roster - it's really all about wood cars!
Jim
7j43kAre wood rolling stock kits dead?" Around here, they are.
Around here they died after the introduction of plastic car kits back in the day and with today's quality detailed cars I suspect the market for old wooden car kits may be very limited.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I think of the laser cut wood kits as being a whole 'nother animal from the wood kits of the past that I suspect HZ is referring to.
I think many folks would enjoy building one of the Silver Streak wood kits for double sheathed wood boxcars. Cast metal ends, doors, and frame/center sill; sheet metal roof ribs. Back in the day they were billed as "easy to build" - by the time they were discontinued they were marketed as craft kits! Sic transit gloria mundi.
I have a few unbuilt Picard boxcar bodies, all wood -- two in HO, one in O. Anyone here old enough to remember them?
Dave Nelson
Dave,
I have built several AMB laser cut ACL and Seaboard caboose kits and found them to be quite excellent in all aspects. My thread is about the appearance of a wood kit built car vs. the plastic counterpart. The assembly of these kits is of course different from the older wood kits, but still enjoyable to build. I seem to remember that they did not supply decals or transfers with their kits. I found this quite annoying as it took awhile to locate proper decals even with their suggestions.
In my collection of wood kits are models dating back to the beginning of HO wood kits....late 30's. I still run several Megow cars and older Walthers passenger cars and reefer built-ups. I still enjoy building these and sometimes I'll build them with just what is supplied in the box....other times I'll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some.
There is an old saying about travel....."getting there is half of the fun" I see building a craftsman kit in a similar light. I can also see why kit-building could be going the way of the phone booth....when was the last time it was fun to travel?
Howard Zane...I still enjoy building these and sometimes I'll build them with just what is supplied in the box....other times I'll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some.
And that, to me, is the whole point, whether you're working in wood or plastic, or even something else. A great hobby, no matter how you do it!
Howard Zane Dave, I have built several AMB laser cut ACL and Seaboard caboose kits and found them to be quite excellent in all aspects. My thread is about the appearance of a wood kit built car vs. the plastic counterpart. The assembly of these kits is of course different from the older wood kits, but still enjoyable to build. I seem to remember that they did not supply decals or transfers with their kits. I found this quite annoying as it took awhile to locate proper decals even with their suggestions. In my collection of wood kits are models dating back to the beginning of HO wood kits....late 30's. I still run several Megow cars and older Walthers passenger cars and reefer built-ups. I still enjoy building these and sometimes I'll build them with just what is supplied in the box....other times I'll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some. There is an old saying about travel....."getting there is half of the fun" I see building a craftsman kit in a similar light. I can also see why kit-building could be going the way of the phone booth....when was the last time it was fun to travel? HZ
doctorwayne Howard Zane ...I still enjoy building these and sometimes I'll build them with just what is supplied in the box....other times I'll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some. And that, to me, is the whole point, whether you're working in wood or plastic, or even something else. A great hobby, no matter how you do it! Wayne
Howard Zane ...I still enjoy building these and sometimes I'll build them with just what is supplied in the box....other times I'll add many updated details. Either way for me is quite enjoyable and then some.
I agree. I just love working with wood. But I can see how others would prefer plastic, or brass, or even card stock.
If you're willing to haunt some model railroad flea markets and have a bit of patience, old school wood kits are still floating around out there.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
Four of my favourite pieces of rolling stock are stock cars made from Star Line kits. I can't take credit for building them though. I bought them from eBay a few years ago. They were in pretty good shape damage wise for being 70+ years old, but what really enthralled me was the quality of assembly. Every board was placed perfectly. There was no excess glue anywhere. They were obviously the work of a very talented craftsman and I respect his abilities. I am honoured to run them.
I had a lot of fun rebuilding them but I have to admit to using a few styrene strips to replace some broken boards. Howard, you can slap my hand!
I have built a couple of wood caboose kits and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I have two LaBelle passenger car kits unstarted. I have opened the boxes several times but never have had the courage to start them. I'm sure the time will come.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Are wood rolling stock kits dead?
So it appears the answer to the above question is no, not dead, but they have a small and limited following, mainly among modelers interested in the era when wooden rollling stock was still running in revenue service.
Maybe it's fair to say wood rolling stock kits are a niche genre now.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I started in 2005 or so with a LaBelle kit, and glad I did: I thought, “if I can do this, I can scratchbuild.” I never expected to enjoy building cars quite so much, but there it is.
Definitely a niche thing, though: seems to me like a lot of today’s Wood kit builders are modeling the wood car era. But we’re keeping the price of those unbuilt Labelle, Ambroid, and Central Valley kits up On eBay. For anyone who’s never tried one, btw, the CV old-timer kits are a unique experience: those painted and silk-screened sides must be the world’s thinnest pieces of plywood! You can wear out an Exacto blade on a single kit, but if you’re willing to put in the time, the elaborate lettering really does give you a period-appropriate car.
http://mprailway.blogspot.com
"The first transition era - wood to steel!"
What we have in the model train world with the new RTR super detailed stuff is the very best "for now" models as far as exact models that most could acheve. But unless your other skills are up to the task you end up with exact scale models running through a less than an exact small world, for many this is fine but some like the talents to be more equal. This is where wood car kits shine " untill we get cheap RTR whole layouts". They also shine in a world for those that like a compleated project, lets face it, a layout is never done but a kit can be.