TownBuilder System February kit

[Mark5]

Nice 

[wm3798]

This looks a little too vanilla for me... don't bother taking it to N, DPM has already beaten the "typical" to death.  I'd like to see some designs that are still pretty common, but with a bit more flare. 


If it's within your manufacturing limits, it would be great to see more arches and a little bit more variety in the trim department.  Some 4-5 story buildings would be welcome also.

Lee

[DKS]

I'd like to see some designs that are still pretty common, but with a bit more flare.

Are you suggesting we put high-intensity lighting in our kits? Could be just a tad dangerous.

But seriously, your suggestions are duly noted... along with the 4,223 others we've received.

As for not taking it to N, that makes no sense. If it's not of interest to you, don't buy it (I believe the appropriate emoticon for this occasion would be ). Meanwhile, judging from the other responses in this thread, we'll be selling as many as we can make.

[Sokramiketes]

This looks a little too vanilla for me... don't bother taking it to N, DPM has already beaten the "typical" to death.  I'd like to see some designs that are still pretty common, but with a bit more flare. 


If it's within your manufacturing limits, it would be great to see more arches and a little bit more variety in the trim department.  Some 4-5 story buildings would be welcome also.

Lee

But you really need the typical, and in large quantities, before you can worry about flare.  A whole block of flair is going to look odd. 

[Ian MacMillan]

As for not taking it to N, that makes no sense. If it's not of interest to you, don't buy it (I believe the appropriate emoticon for this occasion would be ). Meanwhile, judging from the other responses in this thread, we'll be selling as many as we can make.

Bring em to N... I know where you live.

[wm3798]

But you really need the typical, and in large quantities, before you can worry about flare.  A whole block of flair is going to look odd.

But if all you have is typical, that's all you have...  Here in the part of the country that actually has a history, pretty much every town of 10 or 20K population went through boom times in the post civil war era that produced some pretty cool architecture.  My little town sports a fair amount of typical, but it also has some real gems... At one time there were 5 movie houses, a couple of good size furniture and department stores... Cumberland, Hagerstown, Harrisburg, York, and any number of towns up and down the Mid Atlantic have some outstanding examples from this era...

In other words, around these parts, the flare IS the typical, at least in a few key downtown blocks pretty much anywhere..

I'm not talking about onion domes and turrets...  Just some architectural features that spruce up those work-a-day brick facades that DPM, Walthers, Downtown Deco, et al, have flogged to death!

At the very least, give us some different cornices, or some other add-ons that provide some variety.  There are still manufacturers of tin features that produce full catalogs of the stuff for consumption by renovators and restoration contractors.

Lee

[DKS]

At the very least, give us some different cornices, or some other add-ons that provide some variety.

Did you happen to see any of the other TBS releases? For example...



Not especially ornate, but not overly plain, either.

Our intention is to cover a reasonably broad spectrum of styles, which includes flair as well as typical, hopefully in a believable balance.
Since we are only on Kit #4, the depth of variety isn't especially pronounced yet; please allow us a little time before declaring we have too many of this or not enough of that. OK?

Incidentally, unlike the other kits, which so far are DPM-type "blending" of styles, this one is based on a real structure. Scroll down this page to an image of H.J. Gelzer's Furniture Store.
This photographer's site is a great resource for architectural images, not to mention lots of train pics as well. Start here.

[wazzou]

Here in the part of the country that actually has a history...
Lee

Really???

[wm3798]

Hey, how many National Anthems are written about your town?

David, I agree, the furniture store is the type of facade I'm looking for.  The long shot of Hillsdale's downtown demonstrates what I'm getting at...  Out of that whole block, there's one, possibly two buildings that are DPM vanilla.  All the others feature some arches, some interesting window arrangements, and even some ugly post modern renovations.

The one type of building that bears the repetition of DPM's architectural style is the urban rowhouse, which sadly, they don't produce.  Custom Model Railroads does a fair job of this, but as I noted elsewhere, they lack the proper proportions.  And even in this highly repetitive style, there are a gazillion variants.

I'm surprised that as anal as you guys get about the number of ribs on a boxcar, or the proper spacing of ladder rungs that model architecture is so acceptable to you.  To me, this element is as important in setting the time and place of a layout as the trains are.

[davefoxx]

Hey, how many National Anthems are written about your town?

http://movieclips.com/TFDkq-the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad-movie-national-anthem/0/76.8

[DKS]

Lee, I appreciate your concerns. But as you well know, we're all influenced by where we grew up/live. And I must argue the flipside to your point, simply because the areas I've roamed in my years pursuing trains are predominantly miles and miles of "DPM vanilla." Let's take a random example, downtown Elizabeth, NJ: http://binged.it/zkbtau

Not much flair to be found there. In fact, I've tried to find some and it's a challenge; but there's certainly no end of DPM vanilla. And that's the way it is in many of the towns I'm used to seeing. All of which point to two facts: there are indeed many towns virtually devoid of the kind of architecture you seek; and we have starkly different modeling needs. Trying to satisfy both with a line of structures is demanding, and I can see why DPM was successful, despite their lack of "flair."