I have several , and I have had no problems , in fact I use them alot for scratch building and kit bashing . Granted they take a little work but isn't that half the fun !
Diversity is such a wonderful thing---but seriously, if one combines a questionable quality product( in this case a ' warped' DPM kit) with someone who may not have the skills of G.Selios for example wouldn't this kind of mess this whole thing up? I still think it could be both and as others have said, you do get what you pay for---but is the modeller going to be able to work better with a more expensive kit? Or is that going to frustrate the fellow more?
Mind,I still think that DPM makes good product as I still do not have issues with them----
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
Yes
I got another poor DPM kit cause I dont know how to assemble it....... :-(
WIARCNJ831 I would have to agree with Lee that it sounds like you assembled the model improperly. A 2' deviation from square is by no means likely for a properly built DPM model. In fact, I consider DPM as one of the great innovations in hobby kits introduced in the past quarter century, with regards to their quality and price (they started out at $7.98 as I recall). Most of the other available kits for similarly detailed buildings today run several times the price of DPM kits and usually require considerably more work to complete correctly. CNJ831 Nope. The kit was assembled quite correctly. The rear wall fits inside the two side walls (the rear wall has no texturing on the ends while the side walls do have brick texturing. There's no valid reason for the rear wall to be that much wider than is correct. As for the earlier post regarding the suggestion to skip the step of sanding the rear wall's edges to make it perfectly square, that suggestion is stated in the instructions as I indicated in my original post. Instead of producing a better casting, DPM simply opted to instruct the builder on how to correct their mistake (which I suppose is cheaper than actually fixing their molds). Fellas, if you're OK with poor quality at a low price, then fine - knock yourselves out. I like a challenge (and as far as that goes I've worked with more difficult kits than this one with 4 walls and a roof), and this one is turning out well enough to pass muster. I'm simply stating for those who might be considering buying a DPM kit that you will have plenty of work to do to make it look right. If we're not supposed to say anything about bad quality simply because it's no worse than what you could get "back in the old days", or because it's cheaper than other brands, than I guess nothing is ever expected to improve in the industry. Forget about getting better products at a lower price - as long as the price is low quality can be overlooked. Sorry, but I get somewhat worked-up when people start questioning a person's skills as a modeller because they raise an issue with a particular brand.
CNJ831 I would have to agree with Lee that it sounds like you assembled the model improperly. A 2' deviation from square is by no means likely for a properly built DPM model. In fact, I consider DPM as one of the great innovations in hobby kits introduced in the past quarter century, with regards to their quality and price (they started out at $7.98 as I recall). Most of the other available kits for similarly detailed buildings today run several times the price of DPM kits and usually require considerably more work to complete correctly. CNJ831
I would have to agree with Lee that it sounds like you assembled the model improperly. A 2' deviation from square is by no means likely for a properly built DPM model. In fact, I consider DPM as one of the great innovations in hobby kits introduced in the past quarter century, with regards to their quality and price (they started out at $7.98 as I recall). Most of the other available kits for similarly detailed buildings today run several times the price of DPM kits and usually require considerably more work to complete correctly.
CNJ831
Nope. The kit was assembled quite correctly. The rear wall fits inside the two side walls (the rear wall has no texturing on the ends while the side walls do have brick texturing. There's no valid reason for the rear wall to be that much wider than is correct.
As for the earlier post regarding the suggestion to skip the step of sanding the rear wall's edges to make it perfectly square, that suggestion is stated in the instructions as I indicated in my original post. Instead of producing a better casting, DPM simply opted to instruct the builder on how to correct their mistake (which I suppose is cheaper than actually fixing their molds).
Fellas, if you're OK with poor quality at a low price, then fine - knock yourselves out. I like a challenge (and as far as that goes I've worked with more difficult kits than this one with 4 walls and a roof), and this one is turning out well enough to pass muster. I'm simply stating for those who might be considering buying a DPM kit that you will have plenty of work to do to make it look right.
If we're not supposed to say anything about bad quality simply because it's no worse than what you could get "back in the old days", or because it's cheaper than other brands, than I guess nothing is ever expected to improve in the industry. Forget about getting better products at a lower price - as long as the price is low quality can be overlooked.
Sorry, but I get somewhat worked-up when people start questioning a person's skills as a modeller because they raise an issue with a particular brand.
Well....you and Jeffery have fun building your model power "pre-colored" K-mart buildings. As for me, I'll stick with DPM.
I still dispute that the walls would have been significantly out of square. The only possibility in my mind is that there was a packaging error, wherein the rear wall from a wider kit was included in the kit you had.
Again, this is something that could be caught by inspecting the clear ziplock packaging before buying.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
WIAR CNJ831 I would have to agree with Lee that it sounds like you assembled the model improperly. A 2' deviation from square is by no means likely for a properly built DPM model. In fact, I consider DPM as one of the great innovations in hobby kits introduced in the past quarter century, with regards to their quality and price (they started out at $7.98 as I recall). Most of the other available kits for similarly detailed buildings today run several times the price of DPM kits and usually require considerably more work to complete correctly. CNJ831 Nope. The kit was assembled quite correctly. The rear wall fits inside the two side walls (the rear wall has no texturing on the ends while the side walls do have brick texturing. There's no valid reason for the rear wall to be that much wider than is correct. As for the earlier post regarding the suggestion to skip the step of sanding the rear wall's edges to make it perfectly square, that suggestion is stated in the instructions as I indicated in my original post. Instead of producing a better casting, DPM simply opted to instruct the builder on how to correct their mistake (which I suppose is cheaper than actually fixing their molds). Fellas, if you're OK with poor quality at a low price, then fine - knock yourselves out. I like a challenge (and as far as that goes I've worked with more difficult kits than this one with 4 walls and a roof), and this one is turning out well enough to pass muster. I'm simply stating for those who might be considering buying a DPM kit that you will have plenty of work to do to make it look right.
The taper on the ends of the rear wall is necessary to allow the wall casting to be released from the mold. You will find this on thicker resin and plaster cast walls in other kits from other manufacturers as well. Check out a Chooch retaining wall or a Woodland Scenics tunnel portal, and you'll find an ever-so-slight taper of the same variety and for the same reason.
This requirement to sand the rear wall ends has nothing to do with DPM not wanting to "correct their mistakes" and everything to do with the physics of releasing very thick castings from molds. You won't find these issues in Model Power kits because the walls are so thin.
...and I'm fine with having to sand walls when necessary. It's a valuable skill in model railroading, up there with soldering.
Modeling the Rio Grande Southern First District circa 1938-1946 in HOn3.
wm3798 I still dispute that the walls would have been significantly out of square. The only possibility in my mind is that there was a packaging error, wherein the rear wall from a wider kit was included in the kit you had. Again, this is something that could be caught by inspecting the clear ziplock packaging before buying. Lee
I've got one of their kits that's pretty out of square. More of a parallelogram than a rectangle. It is the correct parts and they were put together correctly. Can't really tell once it's built unless your looking for it.
Far from bashing theier quality, I just would like for them to release some of their N scale kits in HO... I'm a sucker for buildings with turrets on them. They make a nice one that way in N scale but it isn't part of their HO line. : (
dlm
Since my previous post was deleted, I'll try again without being "sarcastic"!! As 90 something percent of the previous posters seem to agree that DPM make a good product, the OP must know something the rest of us don't.
Years ago I bought the Woods Furnature kit from DPM in N scale after reading the review in MR. That kit went together very well and I enjoyed building it. No issues here.
You can get bad quality products in most anything these days. Sorry to hear the original poster is having so much trouble. Like most have stated here, the DPM's I have obtained have been free of defects. They are a kitbashers' dream,reasonably priced , available & fun to work with . Chances are , try another kit & it'll be ok. Either way it was a gift. so I wouldn't complain too much.
While I have never built a DPM kit in N scale I have built several in HO scale and have always found them quite acceptable. Sure there are quirks and such but with some imagination they turn out to be very nice buildings. And if you get a corner that you just can't get flush, well, a little ground foam or turf makes great vines to cover it up.
Just my.
Mainetrains
'there's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear' Modeling the Hard Knox Valley Railroad in HO scale http://photos.hardknoxvalley.com/
Semi-related question...where is the best place online to buy DPM kits? Most LHS's near me only carry the modular stuff, I would like to pick up a kit to work on this winter.
Kinda hard to do when I wasn't there when it was bought (as indicated in the original post). Were I there I wouldn't have bought it. As far as "K-mart" Model Power kits go, I don't think Jeff or I said we actually buy that brand. I also never said DPM kits were over-priced or that I expected the highest quality for the cost of a DPM kit. I simply said the quality I've encountered so far in the 3 kits I've built (including this gift, an N scale furniture factory and a freight house) has been poor, and I stand by the statement.
Then if you don't like them then try one or two different kits---maybe a craftman's kit?---and see how they work out. Enjoy----
Well, I think we've been around the block enough on this topic. Since neither side is going to convince the other side of thinking any differently, let's move on. Thanks.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.