Structures Question

[SAZ]

I'm in the planning phase of a new HO layout, and I have been looking at the Walthers on-line catalog to get ideas of structure kit dimensions and availability.

A number of Walthers brand kits have great pictures, and reasonable cost - seem like a good value. Its really impossible to tell the quality of a kit from looking at pictures of the completed project on the internet (at least it is for me). Anyone care to comment on how the finished products look, and if they would recommend the Walthers brand kits?

Thank you

 

[Glen Haasdyk]

The walthers Cornerstone kits are pretty good. But there are a few exceptions. I've heard yhat the fit on some of the larger structures (the cement plant silos for example) leave a little to be desired. Some of the kits like my American millwork building are made from european company's tooling and recylced (the millwork building was oringinally an enginehouse kit)

Overall they are a fairly good deal but I think the best bang-for-the-buck is the Design preservation buildings which require a bit more work such as hand painting the windows and adding signs but they are considerably cheaper

 

[santafewillie]

It depends on what you're looking for. Walthers makes some impressive kits that are large enough to justify rail traffic. As Glen mentioned, the concrete silos used in Medusa Cement and the ADM grain elevator are not a good fit. It can be remedied with putty and sanding if your skill level is up to that. The decals provided with some kits, notably the Sunrise Feed Mill, do not fit anywhere on the structure, but you can cut them up and freelance if you want to use them. I just used leftovers from a different kit. The background buildings are nice but you can get more for your money by purchasing complete kits and spreading them out. I've built 12 of them so far and I am pleased with most of them. The DPM kits Glen referred to are also a good bargain and I have lots of them too. The DPM modular wall sections are great to build with for free-lanced buildings. As to how good they look, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I always weather mine and add extra details, signs, and LPB's. It's all about what you prefer and how much extra you want to do. I usually end up adding additional details about a year or two after I "plant" them, especially after seeing other's work in the photo section of The Gauge.

 

[ed acosta]

Walthers Buildings

Trying not to repeat what others have said, I have had good and bad experiences with Walthers. An early 'Cornerstone' kit was cast of a certain plastic that was impossible to glue using plastic cement and I wound up having to use epoxy to hold the parts together and that wasn't easy since the walls were warped. Recently, I have had good luck with Walthers kits. I do caution you to look at the footprint for the specific kit and determine if it is going to be the right size for you. Many of the Walthers structures use up a lot of valuable real estate because they are so deep. Height and width are most important for effect on some model railroads, but depth is seldom a desired feature. DPM and others are not quite as deep and can give you the appearance of large town and not use up much space.


Yours trolley,
Ed