I picked up this Marx crossdock building many years ago at a Barn sale that featured real deal farm equipment for auction. No other train stuff in the barn, bid $5 and won it.
Just picked up this American Flyer station off eBay for $10.77 (including shipping and tax) - still in transit to me. These are the seller's pics.
The lithograph walls are in fairly good condition. The roof and base will get sand blasted and new paint. I'll add some benches, people and LED lighting under the eaves ...
The thing I like most about tinplate buildings, you can easily replicate the design onto a TIFF, or JPG files, Print them to cardstock or paper, the cut out 1/8" cardboard walls and roof, then glue the paper printed walls to the cardboard walls. once the glue has all dried you can coat the buildings with semi gloss lacquer. they look EXACTLY like the originals. It is also a very easy way to design your own buildings.
Here is the front wall of a train station I did. Very easy, and you can save the designs and place windows etc. onto designs of your own.
I also added a blank brick wall. Add your own whatever.
It occurred to me that the smaller gift boxes in my dollar store could make the perfect "frame" to attach the printouts. They're machine manufactured with perfectly straight sides and crisp corners.
I have also made large decals of Marx building art. For example the Roof to the Glendale Depot. Once I get the tin roof stripped and smooth, I apply the decal and the roof appears as new.
It takes about 1/2 sheet of decal paper, but they don't make these roofs anymore.
I went through several PROTOTYPES of this design until I was happy with the PRODUCTION VERSION.:cheeky4:
I love old tinplate buildings! Out of curiosity, do y'all like American Flyer tinplate or Marx or Lionel? Which one should I collect? Should I start with all 3?
I go for new and shiny. Therefore I own many Lionel/MTH reproductions. However, I picked up an old litho Flyer station for $15 at a train show and I really like it. I don't own any Marx yet but after Bill posted that freight terminal, I'm looking for one.
All things being equal regarding condition, I really like the Flyer buildings for the litho. But Lionel had more products and bigger stuff like the 840 Power Station and terraces for the passenger stations. The size of those makes an impact.
Thank you for the input! You know something, I hae never seen an original Lionel Power Station. I see that you are in to Std. Gauge, do you have a Blue Comet? That is my favorite tinplate train.
Yes but again, I only dabble in repros. I have an MTH version of the 400E w/ nickel trim and the 390E with brass trim. Also, I have an 840 Power Station on the old Christmas tree layout this year. Here are a few pics.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Model Train Forum
883.8K posts
32.2K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to model train owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about brands, various scales, repairs, storage, displays, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!