cant find modern buildings

[gandy dancer#1]

HI: after looking at 177 pages ofe-bay, I count find but one modern day building,it happened to be a home depot. No wal mart, no sonic drive in, very e  i think 2 microwave towers really hihg dollar, and no modern day  wind turbines. Can any one steer me in this direction, or am i going to have to build my own???

[jonathan]

GD.

There is a company who produces a CVS Pharmacy, Denny's, Taco Bell and one other.  I can't recall the name right now.  Let me see if I can find the info.  Be prepared.  They are not cheap.

Oh, from time to time, Walther's has a Burger King in stock.  They are usually sold out of it.

I once was planning a modern era layout, but plans changes.

You won't find too many choices for modern era structures.  My guess is the copyrights are too expensive to economically produce a Home Depot or WalMart.

Scratchbuilding modern structures shouldn't be too difficult, especially if the are part of the transition to the backdrop.

Regards,

Jonathan

P.S.

Try these guys:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Summit-USA-HO-Scale-s/2555.htm

[OldTimer]

Several companies make modern structures.  Walthers has a few.  A company called Pikestuff has modern warehouses, office buildings, etc.  Here's the Pikestuff link:

http://www.rixproducts.com/pikestuff_listing.htm

Scroll down to the HO section.

Faller has your wind turbine. 

Hope this helps.
OldTimer

[Jhanecker2]

Wallmart's and Sam's Club's as well as  many "modern" super stores are serviced primarily by semi-trailers. Most modern industrial and commercial buildings are enormous in size and would overwhelm most layouts. That said ,  Walther's does have a good deal of smaller older buildings in there  reference Catalogs . 2011 Catalog should be out around the End of January .

[jbsmith]

Vollmer makes a model of Burger King
http://www.historicrail.com/product_info.po?ID=22691&product=Models+and+Kits&category=activities&subcategory=Modeling

Life Like KFC
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Like-Trains-Scale-Building-Drive/dp/B000VZBF5I

I Second Jonathan's recommendation of  Summit USA
http://www.summit-customcuts.com/homeproducts/buildingshoscale.html

Oldtimer already linked to RIX,,good call there too

Walthers has recently come out with an Ethanol Plant
http://www.walthers.com/exec/page/ethanol

[gandy dancer#1]

HI: many of your suggestions were of a great help and thanksto all!! my wife says i'm asking too much, that her take is most model railroaders are interested in the olden days. Well i realize im 60, but i have moved on to modern times and fully intend to go another 60 and hopefully see some wonderous things, so guess imjaded the modelindustry needs to catch up

[BradKT]

Check the website for Hobbylinc.com.  Look under model trains and select the right scale and look under buildings.  They have hundreds of structures by dozens of manufacturers from all eras. They usually list the dimensions of the structures, too.  That will give you a really good opportunity to see what is out there.  Hobbylinc is an excellent site and has a good reputation.  Most of their stuff is listed  at well below the manufacturer's suggested retail price.  If you can't find exactly what you want there, it's probably not made.  The Walthers website has some good stuff, too, but their stuff is more expensive.

It's easy to adapt a modern building and make it into something else.  All it takes it a little imagination, the right paint colors, a few signs and/or logos that can be found on the internet and scaled down to size, a computer, some photo and decal paper and a color inkjet printer.

A modern warehouse can be turned into a Home Depot, for example.  A modern gas station can be made into one for any oil/gasoline company.  A salvage yard building can be turned into a construction equipment rental company, etc.

Add some HO scale car and trucks (Model Power make great ones and I got some great ones cheaply from China on eBay) and some pedestrians you can make up anything you want from any era.

That's how I did it on my model RR layout, which represents a 1970s-era industrial park in California.  It can be quite a project, but it is a very rewarding one if you want to spend the time doing so.

I am assuming that you are talking about HO scale.

Depending on how much money you want to spend, Walthers has several modern buildings.  Pikestuff has some interesting kits, but be advised that you have to cut out the windows and doors.  You'll need the right tools for that.  Hobbylinc carries all the tools and paints that you would need, too.

When I want to find something, I usually look it up on the Hobbylinc site and then check Blue Ridge Hobbies to see if they carry it.  Blue Ridge Hobbies is the cheapest that I have found so far.  Internet Hobbies is also an excellent site.  Internet Hobbies and Hobbylinc has the fastest delivery time, but I have made purchases from these three vendors many times and I am very satisfied with all three of them.

[Atlantic Central]

Gandydancer #1,

Glad you are 60 and doing well, and if you are interested in modeling present day, that's fine. But keep this in mind, except in the "bosom of sprawling suburbia" most of the country is filled with a variety of structures from all eras.

It is 2011, I live in the Mid Atlantic region of the US, and I live in a 1901 Queen Anne style house. And most of the buildings in my neighborhood were built before 1920.

In the nearest town, there is the "big box suburb era" and also the "200 year old small town" area - still intact.

So while you should have a some "modern" structures to "mark" your time period, almost anything available may find a logical home on a modern layout.

And, older buildings often get renovated - learn some kit bashing skills and "modernize" a few older buildings to reflect what has likely been done in yor own twon.

Sheldon

[railsider]

Part of the problem may be simply that in the modern day and age, along with all the Walmart Superstores and McDonald's, this society flies and occasionally takes a bus -- but no trains. The era of wide-spread rail travel is, unfortunately, tied in with the past of about half a century ago.

I have toyed with the idea of creating a "universe" in which society developed otherwise, and trains -- albeit modernized -- continue to be the preferred mode of getting from Point A to Point B. Perhaps, to create a storyline, aviation foundered because of too many accidents, or maybe noise pollution proved to be too objectionable, or maybe (like me), everybody got awful earaches and resented the cattle-car aspect of contemporary airline practices -- and oil prices make driving everywhere too expensive as well. Anyway, in this imagined world (a sort of Ray-Bradbury-science-fiction situation, if you will), people still go places by train. Everything else is like it really is today. Or, if your imagination is particularly fertile, you can toss in other "improvements" and make it your universe.

That's the beauty of this wonderful hobby: we can remake the world closer to our hearts' desire, as the poet said, and nobody can stop us from doing it!

Railsider

[Jhanecker2]

With the rise in fuel prices and the congestion on our highways , your universe may be coming to fruition shortly .  It makes much more sense to have freight moved longer distances by rail than to have our highways clogged with long haul semi- s . Also highspeed rail makes more sense than jet aircraft from an energy standpoint . However my favorite transportation in science fiction was Robert Anson Heileins "Tunnel in the Sky "  Combining that system with trains would be my personal favorite .  You could use any era train depending on the tech level of the colony you are linking. J2

[gandy dancer#1]

HI TO ALL:First , I am really appreciative of all the responses, ideas i get from all of you,its like having someone looking over my shoulder and teaching me!!! I shuld have made my self a little clearer, i want to build in the era of 50, 60 an 70 and a little bit from now. So have decided i am going to attempt to scratch build, taking encouragement from all of you I am currently assembling all the tools i will need, already had a bunch in my little shop and didnt know it,will attempt to post pics as i go along. My first 2 projects will be the original "SNOW AIRCRAFT" hanger where i was raised in OLNEY, Texas, and a copy of the Drilling rig I worked on "MEGARGEL DRILLING CO" I think this will be my greatest chalenge, so all you guys keep your fingers crossed for me ya hear