Why did Modulars die?

[OldEastRR]

Both the DPM and the Walthers building sections. They seemed like a good idea, but they're long gone.

[peteski]

In my opinion the DPM ones looked odd - too much brick wall and not enough (too small) windows.  The Walthers ones were good looking, but way too expensive.

[thomasjmdavis]

I didn't realize that the DPM ones had gone out of production. I would have answered the opposite of Peteski- I think the Walthers windows are too big.  And for that matter, the Walthers brick looks bigger to me as well.  But that said, I've worked with both and got good results.

From my point of view, the marketing of modulars by both companies was poor.

In both cases, probably the single biggest issue in the early days (before internet sales really took over), was inventory on the street.  The first time I read about Walthers modulars, I went to the local hobby shop, which had just got them in a week or two earlier.   And was already sold out of the "columns."  There was another customer who had bought several packs the day before who had not realized that without the columns, he could not put a wall together.  The columns, apparently, sold out quickly to scratchbuilders, who used them with brick sheet to make cheaper, customized buildings.  In point of fact, I never saw a package of columns in a hobby shop until 2 years ago, when I found a couple on the back shelf of a shop I stopped in while traveling. You could use strip plastic to create a "concrete" column, but the window arch says "pre-1930" while concrete beams say "after WWII." I did discover that some of the modular building kits had a lot of spare parts, and so that became my main source of Walthers modulars. Their "3 in 1" #1 was probably the best deal going, it contained more than any 3 individual modular packs (for the same price) and you could get a pretty impressive building by combining 2 of them.  The missing part (or, maybe I should say, if they made it, I never saw it) was a blank wall. 

DPM had the same sort of issue, but at least they packaged the wall columns with the walls- so you could build a building without having to wait for a custom order of wall columns to come in.  Here, I think, if they had reproduced more of the HO line in N they would have been more successful- they needed more window variations- everything you build from them looks the same, so it limits how many buildings you can make.  And I wish they had produced "residential" wall sections- something that could be used to make a reasonable 3 flat apartment building, or could be stacked up to make a downtown hotel.  And perhaps to a lesser degree than Walthers, it seemed that dealers had a hard time keeping everything in stock- if you were building a freight house, they were out of dock height doors, if you were building a frozen food warehouse, all they had were window walls. As near as I can tell from looking at a "Woods Furniture" kit that I bought recently, it is a big collection of modular parts and a bag of details, and so appears to be rather like the Walthers "3 in 1" and overall probably a better deal than the individually packaged parts.

I will miss the modulars- I really like the concept, just wish that they had solved the stocking issues, and that there had been greater selection in terms of window styles and sizes.  I bought lots of them and would have bought more if there had been more styles available.

As luck would have it, I recently did a test on hydrocal casting from a master made from DPM modulars, and given it was my first plaster casting since my HO days (early 70s) I am pleased with the test result- so I think I have a viable option if I run short of modulars.

[MichaelWinicki]

I like and use both.

One big challenge with the Walthers' product line was the fit... They did not fit very well.  You would put them together and get all these gaps.

I do agree that a lack of differing window sizes/styles was/is a big negative and that the Walthers suggested retail initially for their product line was way too ambitious.

[pdx1955]

I didn't know that DPM's were long out of production - had bought a big bag full from an online retailer recently. I guess there is a lot of stale old stock out there. The biggest issue is the lack of variety in window styles. I was in a HO club around the turn of the century and we must have used tons of these as we built a cityscape 20+ feet long with buildings anywhere from 6 to 15 stories. They had enough variety that it didn't look like you were repeating. DPM released at least a few styles initially which gave the line traction. But in N, you can only go so far with one style. If you can't use any more you don't buy anymore and without repeat buyers there won't be any incentive to expand the line and so forth until it dies (Atlas's signal system is the same way in N - great idea but too limited). I wish the windows weren't molded in as it makes it a lot easier to finish if they can be painted separately.

I had looked at the Walthers, but the modular packages just looked like they took a building kit and broke it up into different sets that if put together would be really expensive. One idea of modular is that it offers some sort of economy over the standard kit. To really use the parts in a custom structure one would have to cut things apart further (cornices, foundation walls) so it really didn't have the feel of a true modular line.  The only Modular's that I have is a couple sets of the roof details - I can use those anywhere. I do wish now that I had picked up one of those huge multi-building sets when they were blowing them out.

[Mark5]

DPM is not long out of production, no idea where you got that info!

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/NScaleModular

https://www.walthers.com/search/scale/n-scale/manufacturer-name/design-preservation-models?q=modular

Mark

[Dave V]

The other issue with the Walters modulars (besides fit) was their wonky scale.  When placed next to properly-scaled N scale structures they looked like they must have had 12' ceilings or something.

[C855B]

... they looked like they must have had 12' ceilings or something.

If they are to represent buildings from the early 1900s, then 12' ceilings were definitely "a thing". The building we're restoring now has 12' ceilings, as do most of the old commercial structures in our downtown.

[mplsjct]

The Walthers packaging doesn't allow you to see what you're buying, so that definitely didn't help their cause. I agree with the limited amount of window styles on the DPM stuff, also, I can't count how many times I heard mentioned or read on the internet how they needed a more modern loading dock door style(s).

That said, I have plenty of DPM stuff on my layout, Walthers too.

[nkalanaga]

A lot of the old buildings had high ceilings for ventilation.  They were built before air conditioning was common, and were designed to let the hot air rise, then be carried off with fans, or simply blown out through vents by natural circulation.

A lot of stores also had the high ceilings so they could have larger windows, important before electric lighting was cheap.  The sunlight could reach further into the store, cutting down on the number of bulbs needed.  Once fluorescents became common, windows could become smaller, and with better electric fans, and then AC, ceilings lower.

[C855B]

Interesting to know. Makes sense. But trust me, there will be A/C.

[peteski]

Don't forger that the high ceilings in mills were also needed for the line shafts to drive the machinery.

[OldEastRR]

DPM is not long out of production, no idea where you got that info!

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/NScaleModular

https://www.walthers.com/search/scale/n-scale/manufacturer-name/design-preservation-models?q=modular

Mark

oops! Thought I searched the Walthers site but obviously missed them. Good to know!

Maybe we should start writing to woodlandScenics about making different window (and door) styles in N, like they have in HO. HOLY CRAP!! They've got TONS of variations in the HO stuff! UNFAIR!UNFAIR!
When will N scalers stop being treated like second-class modelers??

[peteski]

I didn't realize that the DPM ones had gone out of production. I would have answered the opposite of Peteski- I think the Walthers windows are too big.  And for that matter, the Walthers brick looks bigger to me as well.  But that said, I've worked with both and got good results.

I live in New England. When I think of mills, here is what my mind wants to see.









http://ntcicfunds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Harmony_Mills_Cohoes_NY.jpg



While buildings with smaller windows and more brick area probably exist, the DPM stuff just doesn't have the right look to me.


The Walthers modular look much closer to what looks like mill buildings to me.

[OldEastRR]

Except for those pilasters   .... I'm going to make a mill building like that first picture and the DPM windows and spacing are okay but that mill has no pilasters! There was a Walthers mods part that has the 4 windows and no pilasters, but you'd need a bunch of them to make a huge wall. As for my DPM mill, it looks that if I cut a window in the pilaster groove it winds up spaced exactly between the two stock windows. And I'm cutting up the window from  Walthers Union Crane/Dayton Machine buildings to make the multi=paned windows. Gonna need a lot of those buildings....