City 'block' building recommendations

[sirenwerks]

Any recommendations for 19th century-built 'block' buildings for a small to mid-size city?

I'm talking commercial structures, historically similar to DPM and Walthers releases, but architecturally consistent across the facade of a sizable portion, if not all of a whole city block (at least one street of the block from corner to corner - not necessarily within the perimeter of four streets). Generally, 'block' structures are subdivided at street level into multiple storefronts and the upper stories are offices, but the building facade has a consistent design. And they regularly have the "Block" in the building name. From personal experience, I've seen these regularly in New England and the Pacific NW but, aside from DPM's hotel kit (which is about the mass I am looking for), I haven't seen anything else in N scale that matches this type of architecture.


Something like this:


While there are options in HO and I can wish all I want that some of those manufacturers will recognize the market potential of N scale before I die, the N scale kits and 3D prints I find now are East Coast or middle America in nature and made to feature alleys between them or be butted into each other. Walthers city blocks are not what I am looking for either, they're just DPM-sized structures butted together whether you like it or not. I know I can cut down the DPM hotel kit, but its heavy masonry design is not common in smaller cities or 'block' buildings, which are usually brick face or cast-iron (I've seen wood ones too in northern California and southern Oregon). Plus it's street level is a one-tenant design. Other DPM kits in multiple could probably be hacked into a decent configuration but those vertical seams are hard to hide on a storefront without staggering, which messes up the consistent flat facade 'block' ideal. Not too mention DPM kits just look like all the other DPM kits on everyone else's layout no matter how you hack them. Some Euro kits might have potential too, I don't really look at them much.

So, has anyone run across what I am looking for in their internet or LHS browsing?

[Mark5]

A few ideas:

https://www.cmrtrain.com/product/n-masonic-temple/165?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=3

https://www.cmrtrain.com/product/N-Donaldsons-Department-Store/73?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=3

[Ed Kapuscinski]

There are a bunch of cool options on eBay and Etsy.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HDCustomDesign

https://www.ebay.com/str/aaa3ddesign/N-Scale-Trains-1-160/_i.html?store_cat=32570065018&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l161211

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ScaleModelHQ

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MrCraftStructures

There's another thread about the HD Custom stuff: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55873.0

[nickelplate759]

The HDCustom Design Etsy page has one of my pet peeves w.r.t. 3d-printed model vendors - they use the SAME print to illustrate the model in all scales.
For example, with  their "Illinois Bank" model, it's clearly the same print & photos for the S, HO, N and Z scale listings.  Same for their Signal Tower.  There's no indication of the scale of the print, so there's no way to judge whether the print will look OK in n-scale.

Look at the close-ups, one can see that this is clearly done on a filament printer, and the brick work is pretty course, which is too bad because the 3D modeling is pretty darned good!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've got a bunch of them. They're great.

They're not perfect but when you're trying to build a city scene that doesn't look like it fell out of a DPM ad, they're the best you're gonna do.

[chuck geiger]

Lunde Studios

[Roger Holmes]

Search these words on ebay

 The Courtyard " Hollow City Building - N Scale - 1:160 - No Assembly Required!

I can echo the kudos for HD kits.  I built two of the Sears houses and the Belleville, IL school.  I really like that the Sears houses are not one single casting which makes painting easier and they assemble very precisely.   Nearby Carlinville, IL has the largest grouping of Sears Houses still standing anywhere.  Standard Oil owned a coal mine there and built a company town out of them.  Google "Standard Addition Carlinville, Illinois" if you want to see the wide variety of Sears houses. 

Also a big fan of CMR acrylic kits.

[eja]

Search these words on ebay

 The Courtyard " Hollow City Building - N Scale - 1:160 - No Assembly Required!

I did and they look nice. Do you know if they have a base that is detachable so you do something to not have them see through and floorless?

[thomasjmdavis]

The HDCustom Design Etsy page has one of my pet peeves w.r.t. 3d-printed model vendors - they use the SAME print to illustrate the model in all scales.
For example, with  their "Illinois Bank" model, it's clearly the same print & photos for the S, HO, N and Z scale listings.  Same for their Signal Tower.  There's no indication of the scale of the print, so there's no way to judge whether the print will look OK in n-scale.

Look at the close-ups, one can see that this is clearly done on a filament printer, and the brick work is pretty course, which is too bad because the 3D modeling is pretty darned good!

I don't have any idea what printer was used, but I certainly did not find the print I received to be "course"- here's my version of the HD N scale corner tavern after light sanding, assembly, paint and detail (keep in mind, the photo is blown up several times from N scale if viewed on a PC monitor)-

[Roger Holmes]

I haven't purchased the Courtyard Building because I have run out of space for additional buildings.  The 3D buildings I have purchased are to replace old Bachmann and AHM stuff but I'm currently happy with my retail areas.  It does look like you will have to create an insert with the floors and some viewblocks.  That's easy enough to do with some Evergreen sheets and strips.  The same eBay seller has another version which has solid blanks in the windows.  While it is a little cheaper I think it would be tough to make the windows look decent.

[sirenwerks]

Search these words on ebay

 The Courtyard " Hollow City Building - N Scale - 1:160 - No Assembly Required!
[/quote


Roger, I looked at the result of the search and came to the conclusion it has little to no surface texture on the walls. The little I could see seemed like layer lines from printing. I'm looking for something with the 19th century look.


As for the HDCustom Design, they seem really nice, but as someone who grew up in Maryland, its models scream 'Pennsylvania' to me. I'm modeling central western Oregon, which doesn't have what I refer to as that colonial vibe. Pacific NW communities grew up much later than East Coast and its architecture reflects that. While many imagine the swinging saloon door west. That got washed or burned away pretty quick and the PNW started more with what was then contemporary robber baron wealth architectural vibe, and its devoid of any noticeable domestic or commercial Colonial, Italianate, Greek Revival, or Federal style architecture, which is so dominant from the US middle East to the Midwest. Military bases in the West are about the only exception to that which I've noticed.

[NSEGeorge]

Lunde Studios exhibit every year at the National N Scale Convention, and I always end up bringong something BBBBIIGGGG home.  Check them out-

https://lundestudios.com/

[sirenwerks]

Thanks George. Lunde has one model of interest to me but most are way too big. I’m trying to model the feel of an area of 1970s Salem Oregon, where anything over three stories would be out of place. I’m not looking to model a municipal downtown. Plus I’m not a fan of how Lunde mixes and matches basic models to create ‘new’ models.


I’ve been trying to find one of Maguson’s Victoria Falls hotel, which I could cut down and make work but that hasn’t happened yet.

[NSEGeorge]

I get you on the mix and match. My builds are going into a deco downtown, so it isn't as critical to me.

Have you seen this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297534709762

[OldEastRR]

I, too, was looking for "small downtown type" buildings for my layout. 3 or 4 stories, no Gotham skyscrapers. Kitbashed some DPM stuff, by adding section of another of the same kit you can get 3-4 story buildings, but they all are the same style. To mix things up I bought a Japanese bank building - 2 stories, and granite block exterior, and cut off a floor and the elaborate top facade on a Lunde "Park Place" for a 6- story bldg that's narrow so not overwhelming the scene. There's also some 3D printed bldgs on the internet, to get a dfifferent wall type and window shapes,  buy two of the same kind lets you saw the top story off a 2-story and put it on top of another complete building.
Don't forget the buildings with a plain store front and no facade, windows on the front wall the same as on the other walls. You can make those out of the side and back walls of DPMs. 
We'e got little buildings  (a lot of wooden wall ones), and huge buildings, but nothing for the midrange. Considering there are layouts with mid-sized towns you think there'd be a market for the mid-size structures.