Hello, I just started model railroading this past summer after finding all my Roco military equipment from years ago. It's been great and I am thinking of trying to combine all the military equipment I have onto the modules I'm building for my train club. I'm wondering if anyone else does HO military modeling on their layouts? Is anyone using the Roco military models with their trains? Does anyone have pictures of their military layouts or trains? Are you building military bases, military trains, transfer yards? I am trying to gather ideas and look for rolling stock and buildings that will fit into or be modded into a military layout. Thanks! Ty Holland, MI
I'm going to use Rico motorcycles If I had a few boxes of Rico military around I'd add more military to my plans. But since I don't, it's not a priority. On my last under the bed layout I always had tanks on flatcars, and occasionally would roll tanks down my mainstreet just to ward off aliens (nothing like the childhood set). I've thought about doing military,but I'm not going to jump into the costs of the models right now. I am focusing on doing a bike rally, and I'm going ot use Rico military motorcycles (repainted) to add a low price bike. I'll post pics when I get some painting done. I'm having trouble photographing the befores, they just come out as grey blobs. I think the paint will help give it definition. I had a buddy growing up that had a cool Special Forces train set. Turns out that it was a GI Joe set but he got it second hand and didn't know that at the time. If you want another military related set of odd cars, check E-bay.
Military Modules? or 'HO' Military Equipment? Modern? There is, or was the last time I saw it, a military module on the big traveling layout of the "Antique Barn" in Wilson. N.C. This layout is normally setup on the second floor above the train store portion of the complex, when not at some model train exhibit around the country. The layout, has much to recommend it but I wouldn't think the military camp modeule was a major attraction. The paper mill, the roller coaster at the amusement park on the layout and other features are far more memorable. In any event here's some information with respect to your query, although I am not sure exactly what you are looking for. ROCO, has been in financial difficulties over the last decade for reasons I won't go into here. Hence, they no longer have the vehicle line. I believe it is marketted by HERPA or KIBRI. If you bought their little plastic kits for 35 cents a piece years ago- be prepared for sticker shock. The amount of 'HO' WW2 military vehicles of all kinds has increased by a factor of ten since ROCO's forty or so were introduced. About half is Nazi stuff, including all the French, Czech, and other stuff they used. Another quarter of it is Russian, and the rest represents American, British, Italian, and Jap stuff. Prices range all over the price, from $1500. or so for an 'N' fabricated brass Nazi railroad gun, to some die cast tanks from toy makers that are 'HO' equivalent, and for under $5. ARTITEC, the Dutch maker of resin structures and vessels (they have a website) known to most serious model rail- roaders, has a catholic line of NAZI military trains and some vehicles. FIDELIS, has a very large vehicle line that is wide and includes many US Army tractors and trucks from Corbitt, REO, Studebaker, Diamond T, and so forth. Czech,Polish, and Russian makers have a wide assortment of vehicles and armored trains. The latter area has leaked out to the model train makers, and MÄRKLIN, and their major competitors from both within Europe and outside it (like the ChiCom toy cartel BACHMANN, under several of the brands it uses), have made military railroad equipment of all types. A benefit of this, as far as I am concerned, is that military equipment from the Great War, and earlier periods has also become available. Since I don't know where you are coming from , I will close by noting that some popular scales; like 'OO', and the military modelers 1:71, and 10MM have artifacts that can be used selectively on 'HO' model pikes with no ill effects. I hope this has been helpful. Good-Luck Peter Boylan
hi ok this is replying to a post a year ago, I started building up a train load of military but still waiting on flatcars I posted some pics in the G1 and G album, not sure if it will look correct for late 50/s to mid 60/s regards Pete
Flatcars for Transporting Military Armored Vehicles & Such Hello namesake and happy this year; I don't know from your reply what, when, and most importantly, WHERE you are setting your pike. NA/SA is easy, as except for some gargantuan heavy ordnance, we all fit armor on standard flat cars of the given twentieth century decades involved on our pikes. Nazi and all western European Rlwys required special vehicles that are available as models for competitive prices. They built much rolling stock in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland as well as in Germany, in WW2. Model costwise, the exception is armored trains that have (I think) expensive components, regardless of whether made by eastern europeans or asians, as opposed to the Dutch or Germans. The Japs, except in China where extant rolling stock could handle their relatively light armored equipment, also had to have non standard cars. The USSR made some heavy flats to handle their K's and more modern successors. Still, the bulk of their equipment (certainly the main 'T-34' battletank) could be handled on extant rolling stock. The issue of so much railroad equipment falling into Nazi hands or being destroyed in 1941-'43 by them... turned creating new rolling stock into a high priority production goal. So much of the post WW2 flats were relatively new. In the US, only the production of petroleum tank cars achieved high priority status (BRICKBAT) and an even fewer "Casing Head " reefers were built on a Presidential Executive Order. This not only made them go to the head of the production list , if you will ; but made them a "Top Secret" item, tresulting in photos of them in their designed service nonexistent, to my knowledge. Since you are Cornish, I presume you have perused pages at Hattons et al; in order to find lowest cost appropriate domestic flat car models. The situation as it relates to hauling armo(u)red vehicles around in Great Britain would have been impacted by Luftwaffe bombing, but it would have been ameliorated by US and Canadian defence department rolling stock built for use throughout the European Theatre of Operations. Indian and Australian Rlwys moved the armor used there with extant equipment, as far as I can tell. However, local reconstructions of frames and simply the production of new equipment secondary to the demand exceeding supply, would have been factors thereat. Hope this helps, Good-Luck, Peter Boylan
