"Hidden Gem" Building Kits

[Anonymous]

Ive just started building Atlas' Signal Tower kit and am amazed at how detailed and well thought out this kit is, especially considering its cheap price relative to other building kits. I had read about George Sellios (spelling?) making this kit into a very detailed model in MR several years ago, and am happy to find out that most of the details I thought he had added were actually already in the kit!

This kit is definitely a Gem and I would recommend it to anyone as a good, detailed small building to add to their layout.

I also like DPM's Laubes Linen Mill for its suitability for kitbashing into larger buildings.

What are some of the other "Hidden Gem" kits that are out there?

Bobk64

[willy6]

I have a few DPM kits,I think they are great. And they also have a "roof and trim kit" for their buildings which I found very useful.

[Anonymous]

I think the DPM kits are fantastic. They look great just as they are and have endless kitbashing potential. One thing I would like to see are bigger sections available in their modular line. Perhaps same width but two stories tall or same height and a couple pieces long. City Classics and Smalltown might have the same potential, but I haven't worked with either.

[Jetrock]

Atlas kits are often undervalued, just because they're cheap and commonplace but often they are very good kits that just need a little attention to bring out their best qualities. Here's an Atlas water-tower kit I built for a museum display:



The photo is a tad small but I found the detail to be very nice and the castings clean--a good paintjob and a careful hand hiding seams produces an excellent model.

[IRONROOSTER]

Like so many others, I started with Atlas many years ago. I built the signal tower, the station and the lumber yard for my first layout. You're right they are gems.
Enjoy
Paul

[danmerkel]

I like the IHC kits for their fire house, townhouse, Herald Star, etc. The basic kit walls can easily be cut & rearranged into a lot of different configurations. They can also be stacked into 4 or 5 story buildings as well. Save the parts that are left over and they are interchangeable with other similar kits.

dlm

[chutton01]

QUOTE: Originally posted by IRONROOSTER

Like so many others, I started with Atlas many years ago. I built the signal tower, the station and the lumber yard for my first layout. You're right they are gems.

For some reason I remember an MR article of many years ago (15, maybe), and the author was kitbashing the Atlas lumber yard, and raved about the detail on the radial-arm saw and associated workbench (indeed, he moved them around to a more prominent display position). Unfortunately for me, the 1970s (when I was a child) co-incided with the rise of big-box home centers (Pergaments, Rickels, Channels) and hardware/lumber chains (True-Value), and just kept on going (Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, Service-Star), so that the Atlas lumber yard matches no prototype I've ever been to (also, there doesn't seem to be any concerted effort to build such sheds at the lumber railroad transload centers that have opened around these parts in the past decades - probably cause lumber and building supplies are usually wrapped in plastic, or just waterproofed).

Some of the old kits gave you so many plastic details (of varying quality) like lamps, crates, barrels, tables, chairs, signs, etc., that I was able to fully stock an modern-era HO antiques store using those parts (after decent painting and weathering)