News 2-STALL ENGINE HOUSE KIT -- KIT REVIEW WITH PICS

Zscaleplanet Oct 22, 2020

  1. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Just received my 2-STALL ENGINE HOUSE KIT from Basher and Sons Hobby, and wanted to provided a "first look-kit review" for everyone. I just opened the kit so have not started any building yet, but will provided along the way pics as I go.

    DISCLAIMER:D
    NO, this is "NOT" a paid endorsement for Basher and Sons. But when someone supports "Z" with low prices and great quality, I do my part to support them with a solid and honest review.(y) And yes, I have conversed with Mike Basher via Email a few times to thank him for his work and share my completed pics with him. Nice guy too.

    This kit is available on Ebay for an amazingly low $29.95 with free shipping!!! As a suggestion, run a string search on Ebay titled "Z-scale laser cut" and you will see all of the current offerings that Mike Basher is running, and the prices are really good. He also just came out with a new barn kit as well. As you may recall, I converted his Burton Station kit to a Feed and Supply Store and that kit was phenomenal, inexpensive, although rather complex to build. But the end results are fantastic.

    This kit looks equally complex, but the detail is incredible. The attached pics speak for themselves.
    The brick relief is very, very nice. The window frame and muntins (lattice) are very crisp and exact, and you can see the door trim for both the stall door and entry doors are very precise. I cannot wait to paint and weather this kit based on these details.

    The window glazing is nice as well, although I noticed two very minor scratches in two of the window panes. Probably done during kit assembly, by sliding across a surface to be picked up and put in the package. No worries, as they will be hidden well enough behind the window muntins.

    There is one DRAWBACK to Basher's kits -- no detailed step-by-step diagrams that show how to build his kits. For novices, this can be really challenging, and you can really only go by the pics of the completed kit in the instructions. I even went back to the Ebay pics a time or two on the Burton Station kit. So, these are advanced kits and do take a little patience and finesse. But at this price, you cannot go wrong. Like they say "No risk-it, no biscuit"

    As I complete this kit, I will post updated pics as I go.

    Final note -- RRAY and I both have the same mantra -- acquire these types of products now while you can and while they are available. You never know how quickly they will go off the market.

    Lance

    ENGINE HOUSE 1.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 2.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 3.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 4.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 5.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 6.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 7.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 8.jpg
     
  2. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    It's true, get them when you see them. :D
     
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  3. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    Cool looking kit. I’m such a fan of laser cut kits. Is there a link to other kits?

    instructions are relative. But good pictures do help put a kit together. Heck I mess them up a lot but sometimes a mess up looks good!
     
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  4. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Joe, if you go onto eBay and look up and “Z-scale laser cut kits”, you should be able to see the complete array of kits Basher and Sons is offering at this time. They do not have a website that I am aware of.
     
    Last edited: Oct 22, 2020
    bostonjim likes this.
  5. husafreak

    husafreak TrainBoard Member

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    I see several very simple buildings on Ebay, but not this one. Nice review BTW!
     
  6. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    You are correct. I noticed the posting for this particular kit is no longer available. Hard to say how many of any given kit he produces. However, I do have Mike’s direct email address and will reach out to him and see if he is, or will produce and list more kits for those interested.

    There was a section house kit he had listed as well, which is a more complex, but it appears to be sold out too. Although the listing for it was up for quite some time, which could simply mean he produced more of that kit or there was less interest in the design.

    I will put a bug in his ear to continue with the more complex kits.
     
  7. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Ha, talk about customer service!!! Mike Basher just responded to my email requesting more kits be made available. He noted he is in the middle of a major house remodel project but fully intends to get back to get production and availability hopefully by the 1st of November.

    He also noted more of the two stall house kits would be made available.
     
    husafreak likes this.
  8. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Mike Basher just Emailed to inform me that he is cutting 4-5 of the Two Stall Engine Houses, and will have them listed on Ebay hopefully as soon as tomorrow. Again, get em' while they are available.
     
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  9. SJ Z-man

    SJ Z-man TrainBoard Member

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    That’s great! I always had a 1 or 2 stall house for my side yard. It was constrained to 2 tracks so preferred a single stall, backside track so I could leave a loco in the clear up front (with all the necessities) but all the kits had this on the opposite side and I gave up having to kit bash, just for a few shows a year. But this kit will work and I can transfer it to the home layout (whenever I can start building one, after being retired for a 1-1/2 years (n)
     
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  10. husafreak

    husafreak TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks again! I just ordered the two engine stall and a grain silo. Very excited as Z scale buildings kits are probably my favorite thing about trains ;)
    Still some left BTW.
     
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  11. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Great!!! Mike really came through for us. And his prices are very reasonable too!!! He alluded to more varied and complex buildings for the future, so keep an eye on that eBay listing.
     
  12. SJ Z-man

    SJ Z-man TrainBoard Member

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    Long gone. By the time I got home this morning . . . na-da
     
  13. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    I’ll reach ought to Mike Basher and asking him to cut more Two Stall Engine House kits. Demand seems to be higher than expected.
     
  14. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Mike Basher has restocked the Two Stall Engine kits on EBay for those that are still interested. Continue to use the “Z-scale laser cut” search verbiage for best results.
     
  15. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    As promised, here are some "in progress" build pics with general comments regarding the process I use.

    The era of choice for my layout is the early 1960's, and I intend for this 2-Stall Engine House to reflect a structure that is 30-40 years old, which has seen better days, but is still somewhat functional for various locomotive service work. The building will be modestly weathered, but not overdone.
    • I started by removing the doors of the loco entrances, as these will be painted a different color later.
    • I am using APPLE BARREL and FOLK ART matte acrylic paints, available at Wally-mart for a mere $0.50 per bottle. I do not believe they make a Brick Red, so I used Barn Red instead and with great results. Overall, I have had tremendous results with this paints on several kits.
    • I also used Flat Black, Territorial Brown, and Medium Gray for random application to various bricks, in order to give them a "tumbler" look, or a mildewed look. Right now, this may look unseemly and out of place, but once the walls are weathered, I think the planned effect of a building that is starting its decline will be more evident.
    • Being a water-based product, the paint tends to warp the POLYBAK material, which the kit walls are made of.
    • Note in the pics, the warping was quite evident, but this was quickly rectified by simply putting a flat heavy object on the walls after they were relatively dry. I prefer to flatten the warped panels as soon as I can, and while they are still a bit damp from the paint. Timing of this is critical, as you don't want to smudge your paint, and walls will settle down to flat again after about thirty minutes or more of being weighted down.
    • You'll note in the first pic that I tested a few reds on a small area of the material. I found that Barn Red really works well as a Brick Red in my opinion. I only use one coat, but am diligent about ensuring complete coverage. POLYBAK tends to soak up the paint pretty well, but this also leads to the warping.
    In the next report out, I will show you my method for adding grout to the walls to make the bricks stand out.

    • ENGINE HOUSE 9.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 11.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 10.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 18.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 12.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 14.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 15.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 16.jpg ENGINE HOUSE 19.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2020
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  16. miata-mike-1

    miata-mike-1 New Member

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    Hi Lance, and other TrainBoard Members. Mike Basher here. Lance mentioned that he thought that it would be a good idea to join TrainBoard and I could not agree more. I appreciate his review of our 2 stall engine house KIT. I think it hit the mark perfectly. For those of you looking for the single and double engine houses, we have them listed on eBay along with our other currently available Z Scale and N Scale kits. We will also be working on new releases in the very near future. (I don't want this post to sound like a commercial) but I would like to thank all the TrainBoard members that have purchase our kits and I would like to invite other members to check out our buildings and let me know if you are looking for any specific type of structure for your layouts. If there is enough interest, we just might design, cut and sell it.
    Best regards,
    Mike Basher
    Basher and Sons Hobbies
     
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  17. rray

    rray Staff Member

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    While you are here Mike, and Welcome to Trainboard by the way, what is the material you are using in this kit? Is it .024" Polybak?
     
  18. miata-mike-1

    miata-mike-1 New Member

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    The materials that we use for the Z Scale structures is just purchased as "Laser Board" from a supplier in Pennsylvania. The trim pieces vary by structure and can be 0.011 or 0.016 and the main walls and roof "underlayment" is either 0.020 or 0.025 Laserboard. We have found, through trial and error, those combinations allow us to design the model kits in N scale where we use 1/32 aircraft plywood for the main structure, and then for Z we just scale them down to 73% and the location tabs and corner mouldings, and window trim work out without a bunch of fiddling around to get everything to fit properly. I hope that answers your question. I will do some research on Polybak and see what is available and if it would work for our process.
    Thanks,
    Mike
     
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  19. Zscaleplanet

    Zscaleplanet TrainBoard Supporter

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    Welcome aboard Mike and thanks for supporting Z-scale(y)(y)(y)

    I was under the impression by the look and feel of the brown board material, that it was Polybak. But now I see that it’s laser board. So indeed that would explain some warpage when using latex based paint.

    Regardless I love the finishes I am getting with the latex based paints, and am successfully working out any issues, which are minor. Polybak may be the solution.
     
  20. husafreak

    husafreak TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the visit to our forum Mike! I am really happy with the kits I got (scored?!) and hope you will do more. I don't think you need to worry too much about "advertising" but I could be wrong. Just let us know when new kits become available and I doubt they will go unsold.
    zscaleplanet I am looking forward to your technique for painting brickwork. I fell in love with Archistories kits and enjoyed building them but these kits require painting, which i look forward to, but your brickwork is really nice!
     
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