John, Totally agree that there is a lot of great stuff out there, I am personally very fond of RSLaser's Z Scale Bricks (with backing and without backing). Love that stuff! Never seen Paw of a Bear's brick. Folks need to explore more kitbashing. Might be a good Ztrains segment. John
I really do think that as more kits get built, we in Z will get a little more comfortable building and maybe more adventurous and do more kitbashing. Buy a kit, slice and dice it... if you make mistakes they can ALWAYS be fixed! There's just so much great stuff now available that we simply didn't have a few short years ago. Here's an example of some of Paw of a Bear's brickwork: Ztrains: Z Build Corner: Paw Of A Bear: Article 1 Impressive for any scale! John Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
Thanks Joe. I'm a big fan of trying different things. Worst thing that can happen is I screw up a kit. When that does happen I'd have learned some good building lessons which would hopefully make me a better model builder. John Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
John, Those are some nice kits from Paw of a Bear. When are they going to release those kits cause it doesn't say on their web site? Nice brickwork, is Paw of a Bear going to release brick sheets? John
I like that little retail store (looks like a DPM building) from Paw of a Bear, but it isn't available on their website. Does anyone know where I can get one?
Paw of Bear If I recall correctly, Paw of Bear will come out with a new kit every now and then. When they do, they made "X" amount of kits. When "X" amount of kits are sold, would probably have to be a pretty good want list for them to make more kits. They just came out with the new Paddle shop. Not sure how many they made, but you might want to get one now for they might not be there tomorrow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now to comment on the theme of this topic of GCLaser Modulars. I personally model modern everything. If ever I need an old industry brick building I will most likely have to scratchbuild it myself. Having said that I really don't have the background to comment here, but I will anyways. I think the idea of modular buildings in Z scale, similar to what Walther's has done, should either be 100% full speed ahead, or just cut losses and get out. Appears most modelers commenting here like the looks of brickwork. I agree, it looks good! If I understand correctly, GCLaser is using WOOD to make the buildings. I hear so much from the West CoasterZ who use the Laser board and almost discontinued use of the wood. Why can't GCLaser use Laserboard for stone/brick/cinderblock/concrete buildings? Wood for wood and laser board for all other! What say you who laser all those outstanding Z products? Hobo Tim
Tim, GCLaser uses architectural grade cardstock for these buildings: As far as adding a brick pattern to these, while I can't speak for GCLaser or any other manufacturer, I imagine cost / laser time is always an issue. These buildings cost about $7.20 for the pair... about $3.10 per building! This includes walls, window and door detail, acetate sheet for the windows and roof details. I think it makes a lot of sense to take something from each manufacturer for layout kits, give things a lot more flavor in my view. While I also like brick work, there are some buildings that just wouldn't have been made of brick so these kits definitely fill a need. Again I think a layout with all concrete or all brick buildings wouldn't look quite right, I think when there's a good mix of surfaces and textures you get real depth to a scene. John Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
Stand Corrected John, I stand corrected. The card stock does reduce the cost greatly, but I think GCLaser should look into the brick aspect. Test runs!!! Hobo Tim
Tim, I'd suggest dropping them an email with any suggestion. Of course I'm a big one for writing directly to manufacturers as most of them will consider users suggestions. Tom Las is the person I deal with and he's a good guy! John Ztrains: Z Scale (1:220) Model Railroading Information
