Ready Built Structures

Cannonball, have you...

...tried a local hobby shop where they might sell consignments, etc. I happen to be blessed with several good LHSs and one of them actually sells built, pre-owned buildings. Most of them look like crap and need a good going over. Dismantle as far as you can, re-paint, glue etc. They can be had for a buck or three. All N scale and all prime real estate as far as I'm concerned. Most of these kits cost more than a few cans of cat food when they came new outta the box. I also see quite a few built up buildings very often on ebay.

Maybe you're looking for love in all the wrong places.

Mark
 
Cannonball said:
I still haven't found any houses in the Walthers stuff yet. :(
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Kato offers some American styled brick houses.

2258 Seaver Lane - Kato 23-404B - (eBay item 6009801616 end time Sep-21-07 06:14:35 PDT)

909 Jefferson Street - Kato 23-404A - (eBay item 6010234089 end time Sep-23-07 01:21:34 PDT)

630 E. Liberty Street - Kato 23-403B - (eBay item 110051494009 end time Sep-29-07 00:04:41 PDT)

These might be imported by Kato to the US.

And yes, they do include the trees and landscaping you see. It is in place when you open the box.
 
Thanks everyone.
I'm still not quite finding what I'm looking for.
I want to keep this very rural Midwest.
I come from a town of 250 people and an abandoned short line.

Here's some historical pics.
The town actually hasn't changed a lot since.

Early Stockport Iowa Photos
 
Cannonball said:
Thanks everyone.
I'm still not quite finding what I'm looking for.
I want to keep this very rural Midwest.
I come from a town of 250 people and an abandoned short line.

Here's some historical pics.
The town actually hasn't changed a lot since.

Early Stockport Iowa Photos
Click to expand...

Maybe you can find something at a web site like Hobbyinc

Model Trains Buildings N Scale

Some models formerly offered by Walthers are now available from Heljan, who actually made the kits offered by Walthers.
 
Cannonball,

After seeing your Iowa photos you might take a look at the line of Liberty Falls resin collectibles. They are small enough for N scale. I have seen they used on modular layouts with pretty good results when set back in the scenery with plenty of trees. They are no longer made but you can still find the on that well known auction site under the following category:

Collectibles > Decorative Collectibles > Liberty Falls

George
 
atlas or check r.r. magazines for listings of model builders and scratch builders some will build detail and weather your kits you send them.hope this helps.
 
ARGH said:
Here's another source of inexpensive ready to plant US bldgs.
IMEX Train Buildings
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I think my idea of inexpensive and the model market's idea of inexpensive are two different things. At $16-$20 apiece, I'm looking at over $200 to make the town I have in my head. And that's if I can find one collection with all the buildings and stores that I want.

Honestly, I think I'm going for the unpainted resin houses at Table Top Towns Main Page I've got most everything I'm looking for there and kept it down to about $150. I'll just have to buckle down and paint.
 
The prices you see on the Imex site are MSRP. Street prices are considerably less. Hobbylinc.com is one source that has pretty good discounts. Prices range from 6.59 to about 10.00.
 
I just looked at the Table Top site and noticed that the structures are the ones produced by Musket Miniatures . They have a lot of detail parts such as people, cowboys, animals, etc. A few years back I bought some of their structures and a ton of details. Some of the stuctures required a lot of filling, sanding and cleaning before priming and painting. It was a lot of work but they were the only early 19th century buildings available at the time. I messed up painting the first few buildings but just stripped the paint off and did em again. Unless you have perfect vision, an optivisor is a must. The first one is the most painful and may result in the use of such terms as heck and darn.
 
ARGH said:
Some of the stuctures required a lot of filling, sanding and cleaning before priming and painting.
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This was the part I was afraid of hearing. I've been reading up on painting resin models and a lot of them go into great detail about the prep time for this. I can kind of see why the painted ones are almost double the price now.
 
M'kay.....
After looking around on eBay a bit and combining Bachmann and Imex, I can get almost everything I want into my little hick town and keep it around $180 with shipping. That's still way more than I wanted to spend. Unfortunately, it's about the least expensive route I'm gonna find unless I just break down and buy the Scenic Ridge Town & Factory set. The big drawback there- No houses and no train depot! :cry:

I'm still not gonna get my grain elevator either. :(
 
Looks like your best and cheapest bet is to bite the bullet and become a scratchbuilder. For a grain elevator, scribed wood or styrene and an N scale plan would get you started. There aren't many windows or doors and you can buy them ready made in cast metal or plastic.
 
Jim Krause said:
Looks like your best and cheapest bet is to bite the bullet and become a scratchbuilder. For a grain elevator, scribed wood or styrene and an N scale plan would get you started. There aren't many windows or doors and you can buy them ready made in cast metal or plastic.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that.
I bought a used copy of "Easy To Build Model Railroad Structures" from Amazon but it's not real helpful when it comes to N gauge stuff. It's more geared towards HO and O.

I tried to build a cereal box house but I got my dimensions wrong since I was trying to do it with no plan.

Then again, if I can't put these silly little kits together, I don't know what makes me think I could scratch build either.

Any ideas are on indefinite hold now anyway.
I just found out last night that I may be laid off for the whole month of October.
Anything we don't absolutely have to have is getting cut from the budget. :(
 
You can do it. Maybe the first effort won't be all you expect it to be but just consider it a learning experience. Buy yourself a N scale ruler and lay out some wall dimensions on a cereal box, pencil in some windows and cut your walls out with scissors then stick them together with glue. This will give you a sense of proportion for your buildings without spending a bunch of time and energy on a real model.
There is a company called "Underground Railway Press" that has plans for many old buildings. In a few years when you are an expert on old buildings you will be out measuring them and drawing up your own plans.
 
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