Back on TrainBoard after a couple years away. I was looking for a special page on structures and didn't see one. But then it occurred to me I could start a post in N scale. I am building a layout "based loosely" on Galveston as it was in RR transition era middle 50s. Much of downtown was 1870-1880s buildings, which I am modeling in 1950s condition before 1970s-80s historical preservation/ historical tourism boom. Merchant's Mercantile Insurance Building, as a 1950s furniture warehouse. Built using POLA Metropole Theatre kit. To approximate this prototype. 2018 photo, as a boutique. I understand a scene from the Kenny Rogers movie "The Gambler" was filmed in this building. I need to stop playing on Trainboard and go do a chore, so I think I'll come back later with more. Meanwhile, let's see some of your structure builds, especially scratch and kitbashes.
Well the Virginia City Brewery was my most complicated build from scratch except for doors and windows. Virgini City Brewery by John Moore posted Nov 6, 2006 at 5:18 PM
N Scale coal breaker and yard office, both scratchbuilt because I couldn't find any suitable kits. Layout is now gone, but I'm hoping to use these on my next railroad.
I scratch built all of the buildings on a N scale module except for a small warehouse kit. The tall building will be renamed Crawford Wool Mill, it was made with cardstock and a few pieces of balsa wood for support. Two buildings in the middle are King Mill prints attached to foam core and the other grey building is Norge Manufacturing made the same way as Crawford Mill. Joe
@Kenneth L. Anthony Nice to see you back. I just returned myself. Great buildings. I'll share some of mine but will wait till they are worthy of posting. ☻
Here's one I hope to get done soon. A few other project got in the way. But this is the Silver King mine ore house in Park City UT.
I had this enginehouse kit (Quality Craft #206, later Gloor Craft #288-2005) on my N Scale road built in 1980. It featured many cast parts and its appearance is wonderfully authentic. I wish someone would reproduce it. The photo below isn't of mine (and the photo's model is missing the cast doors). There's one on eBay, but it's $44.50 which is too much for me and I've never succeeded with any eBay "Make An Offer" submission, so don't plan to waste an effort there. I still have some of the castings and plan to see what I might be able to piece together.
Another kitbash "based loosely" on a building on Galveston's Strand. For once, this build was not inspired by seeing a proto building, but by reading a list of building occupancies in a 1955 city directory. I saw district I was modeling had an "Adler's Fountain Supply" What? A store SPECIFICALLY to sell supplies to SODA FOUNTAINS? I tried googling to see if there was any information about such a business, but all I got was referring to companies that sold BIRD BATH type fountains. Eventually, a Galveston history buff on another website posted a period newspaper ad for a Adler Fountain and Restaurant Supply, and that made sense. On a later trip to Galveston, I hunted up the building. My correspondent also sent a photo with Adler's sign, which I used as basis for making a decal for my hanging sign. Model kitbashed from a ca.1970 Arnold Rapido European rural tenement house. Would youb have guessed thart's where this came from?
OK here is one of mine. This general store was kit bashed from part of a Model Power house. I added a printed roof, a full front porch, and signs. Had this on one of my old layouts and sold this building on ebay after I took the layout down. Hopefully it's on someone else's layout now. Country Store - kit bashed by nscalestation posted Dec 2, 2019 at 9:17 AM Ken this thread is a great idea and thank you for starting it. I have lots of buildings that I have built over the years and have photos of most of them someplace. It has prompted me to start a new media folder that I will be adding to as I find the photos / files.
Haven't seen anything added here so I'm going to kick this thread with a little more of my own stuff. I built a track too close to back of my layout and had a car fall off, broke the coupler. Another modeler referred to that table edge as the CLIFF OF DOOM !!! I already had a background on the wall behind the rollaway table, so I added flat structure fronts, attached to back edge of my table. Warehouse wall built from parts of a 35-40 year old Wabash Valley N821 product I will describe as a "craftsman kit." I attempted to construct the frame from wood sticks supplied and was not satisfied with my result (top) I found identical Grandt Line windows I had on hand for another project which I had cancelled due to lack of space. I used the Wabash Valley brick-printed styrene sheet, windows and cut my own stripwood to build warehouse front. Walls of Walther's "Brach's Candy Factory" unfolded to make a flat. Kit had 4 sides and looked not quite symmetrical or balanced if only the 4 used. So I made a color copy into cardstock to duplicate one wall (shown with dotted line). Fastening structure flats to back side of wall. Held in place with clamps, then glued and screwed. Layout all on rollers pulled back from wall. Down length of "train-catching wall." Far left end of wall was a 2-story bldg. front made from the small "wing" buildings of a Bicentennial Philadelphia souvenir cutout model of Independence Hall, the portions which do not look so recognizably "Independence Hall." Could possibly be some kind of industrial offices.
Great thread -- crazy, that I had missed it. A couple of mine -- built with the assistance of my SP common standards books. Sand house: Yard office: (Sorry for the tilt!!) And -- a trestle Thanks, Wolf
One pack of (2) Kato Signal Towers from Fifers... http://fiferhobbysu770.corecommerce.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=19598 Made: (1) Yard Tower... with the addition of 1 white Lego block to extend the height. (1) Gaurd Shack at the entrance to 'Lucky Penny Yard'. (1) Greenhouse for the main house at 'The Homestead'.
Great station, SP-wolf. I would love to catch a train there. Wouldn't mind riding over that trestle either.
Some NEW childrens oral medicine syringes...free from any local pharmacy...some 'plungers' from new (unused) insulin syringes...and some more Lego blocks... made "Stevens Concrete" batch plant...
