I just received a DPM HO scale Auto parts store, well it could be any store being that it doesn't come with any signs or transfers. I thought it looked a little large, so I measured the rear passage door. It was scale 8'-6". I thought most passage doors were 6'-6" plus sill and frame = 7'. The side/rear wall windows also looked large at 5' high from sill to the top of the frame. Should the doors and windows be that large? Before posting, I did a little checking and noted that most of you like the DPM kits and module walls "as is" or for bashing, so I've been a little hesitant on asking this question.
Hi Daryl You must remember that these are vintage buildings and large doors were the normal thing back then. Take a look at this site and look at the dimensions of these vintage doors. You must go to, "entry doors and double arched doors" http://www.salvageantiques.com/arch...rched-doors/?gclid=CPC55-C93acCFYLc4Aod4CP_9A Candy
I Agree Cindy, vintage buildings used large ornate doors in front and inside in public places. They used more of a standard door on service doors. This is why I'm asking about the scale. The door is the only standard I have to measure from. The building may be to perfect scale, but the service door is larger than any other building doors I have. OK, how many of you read the post and then went and measured the doors on your layout? Daryl
Almost every structure you can buy (in any scale) is smaller than the real-life example. For instance a DPM building like say Skip's chicken and ribs, or your basic Rix Smalltown building, they're about 20'x30' in scale feet. But a more typical width would be 25', with 70 or 80 feet deep. No one makes buildings 80 scale feet deep because they'd take up an entire layout. Even something like a Walthers Cornerstone kit is going to be selectively compressed. Northern Light and Power is a scale 50'x90' but a building like that would in actuality be more like 160'x240', and probably even larger. So what I'm saying is basically almost everything you can buy for a model RR is *smaller* that it was in real life, I would be literally *blown away* if DPM was enlarging things. I think it's a safe bet that there was just an extra-tall service door on whatever prototype they used as inspiration.
Regardless of the building size, the door should be relatively right. They may omiot a window or trhree for size, but that doesn't change the window size itself. Is this the kit in question? http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/243-11600 (Not having a layout=not having a need for kits that will just fall apart in storage)that front door does look a bit tall, even for ornate vintage. I could see a rear door being enlarged for product to be unloaded into, but then, there's also usually a truck bay for that.
Flashwave, yes that is the building kit. It just looks too big. That's why I used the back door as a gauge. I tried washing it in hot water, but it wouldn't shrink. Like you, I am fairly old/new to the hobby with some inherited old Revell and Polo buildings plus rolling stock from AHM, Varney and others. My Step Father had a layout 40+ years ago. Now that I'm old, retired and grumpy, I figured it was something fun to do and I don't get all greasy. Daryl
they seem to match with other brands to me. commercial buildings from this era commomly had 10-12 or even 15 foot ceilings in the main commercial level, and 10 foot ceilings on the upper residence floors. doors and windows were scaled to match. police an fire are LL, curl up and dye, dewey -cheetum & howe are DPM, a merchants row at far left
I don't actually have any DPM kits, but from looking at the photos (with other stuff that I know the scale of, like rolling stock), I can say I think they are SPOT ON. Almost every town within a hundred miles of here has a street - usually Main Street or its otherwise-named equivalent - that looks like it was built right from the DPM catalog. And yes, as others have pointed out, the architecture of the time emphasized bigger windows and doors - and taller ceilings - than are the norm in more modern structures.
Natural light was WAY more important in the era these buildings were constructed. The first Edison powerplant didn't open until 1882 (in Manhattan), and it took quite a bit longer for electrification to spread to the hinterlands. Many a railroad town had wires that ran only as far as the telegraph office. When your only options for lighting are candles and gaslamps, big windows (and high ceilings) become an imperative. Even after electricity was introduced, these methods of construction stuck around, since building trades tend to evolve slowly. Of course by the 1940's we had flourescent lighting and air conditioning, and some very well-renowned international architects to usher in the era of glass cubes, where all commercial doors are 7' and drop ceilings are 8'4".
