Hi all ! I'm bidding on " Merchant's Row 1 " on ebay. Does anyone know if this kit is in the colors shown in the catalog and on the box, or is it un-painted ?
Candy, if the HO product is anything like the N-Scale Merchants-1 kit I received as a gift ~10 years ago, and you enjoy painting and weathering model buildings the way you visualize they ought to look, you're gonna have a blast. These are castings that could represent any downtown block in any New England town any time from the early 20s to the late 60s, i.e. before the "Urban Development" Yahoos tried to destroy our heritage. Don't worry being literal, just wander around CT and photograph some downtown area that happens to catch your eye, then create your own masterpiece onto your buildings.....:tb-cool:
Well one thing I'm good at is painting miniatures. This should be fun! Thanks Hank, I think I'll take my camera into downtown Middletown. It hasn't changed much in 80 years!! Just a few hours to go on ebay, I think it's gunna be mine! He's in America and has a 100% rating so it should be okay.
Candy, I rarely visit ebay anymore, I visit the Yahoo groups "N Scale Yard sale" or "HO Yard Sale". Look around and if you don't see a post listing what you want, leave a post saying you're looking for the item. I've almost always found what I was looking for there and no auction garbage!! 2slim
I've been thinking about this for a while. Have you considered using several individual structures such as DPM or Smalltown USA and making your own row of merchants? Depending on structure sizes you might be able to kitbash your own row and have some side walls left over for other projects.
Hi Larry... I was thinking about DPM but some guys say they are hard to build right. I guess they mean the parts need work before they fit together right. Do you know if this is true? I really like the looks of them. Candy
Hi Candy, DPM makes nice building kits. I have built several (at one time in the mid 90's I had all of their kits) of the N Scale versions of the DPM buildings. Yes they do require some work to put together. Most of it is sanding the ends of the walls to make them fit better. Really not much to it. Gary
I have assembled a number of DPM kits. Some needed more flash removal than others. Assembly has not been a problem for me. There is an excellent DVD titled "Constructing DPM Building Kits" that I got off ebay that might help. I use a sheet of sandpaper spray-glued to a flat surface to true up the walls because the edges are not square with the face so that they can pop out of the mold. I assemble the kits on a sheet of glass which is a cutting board I bought at WalMart. And I use lots of clamps to hold the joints tight. My problem is with the ones with windows and doors cast as part of the wall. My hands are not steady enough to paint the windows well. I confess that I checked what state you were from thinking "She paints miniatures. Maybe I could trade work and she could paint windows." Connecticut is a bit far from Iowa for that. :tb-biggrin:
I have row II, along with a mix of DPM, Life Like, IHC, along with other Walthers buildings, all mixed together. If you can wait a few weeks, walthers is scheduled to have them back in stock next month. http://www.walthers.com/exec/search...rds=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search
You're right, Larry, I do like painting minatures. I like the DPM town houses but I will wait on those until I have a place to put them. I have an idea on how to paint them without all the time it would take to paint all the window details. If it works out I will share my technique with you all. I just finished building two Atlas houses. They were fun to build but I almost made a big mistake. I thought the glazing was a bit dull but I tried to install them anyway, but reading the instructions again I realized that there was a thin film over the sheets. I had to dig at them with my nails to get it off. I'll have to be more carefull in the future.
I like the idea of mixing buildings. Downtown Middletown is very old and every building is different. I wouldn't want all walthers or all Life Like or all DPM, but together they look great! I just might wait because I have planty to do right now.... P.S... Yellow fire trucks? Candy
