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 Posted - January 06 2015 : 4:17:31 PM
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Tycoholics:
I love vintage art deco buildings, so imagine my delight to open up a copy of the Model Craftsman from Nov 1938 and find this wonderful little HO-scale printed 'taxpayer strip' commercial block peering back at me:
(Reduced image, links to full size image at end of post)
Model Craftsman / RMC have been good at publishing various printed structures over the years, some of which have been colorized and/or collected in books, but as far as I know, this one never reappeared. A long time ago, I emailed Hal Carsten and received permission to put some of their earlier cutout structures up on my website, so hopefully the late publisher would be equally OK with the sharing of this obscure content here.
What was once a boon to low-budget builders of the late Depression era can again decorate the layouts of our era...
Full-size HO image links here:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8644/16028904428_42c03a54c1_o.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8612/15596562013_146e9104f5_o.jpg
This represents a taxpayer strip - a block of single-story stores designed to provide some minimal profit from a property being held (originally) for speculation purposes. These are common in the old trolley strips and inner-ring suburbs. Designed for background use, this block is about one inch deep - enough to provide space for window displays and inset storefronts - and its detailing is as historically authentic as being a literal steam-era product can make it. I suspect the author of being an architect; who else would include an architect's office in the mix? 
Originally, these were printed in black & white, but I've colorized them for convenience. The accompanying article included coloring instructions, which I've followed. I was surprised at some of the colors which were suggested. Not such a black-and-white world as it appears in the photos! The overall shade is actually the off-white hue of the magazine's darkened pages. 
To assemble these, print them out in color on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Deselect 'fit to page' if using Windows. Glue the parts to cardboard, glue together the halves of the store block, and the base halves. Cut out the windows and doors as needed. Bend back the short end walls at the dashed lines, and add a back and roof of cardboard or foam-core. Assemble the store fronts by folding and assembling the window bases, building whatever interior detail or store displays you like atop the bases, and adding display windows and door panels of 'celluloid'.
I'm working on building mine, and will post it here when done.
Edited by - Autobus Prime on January 06 2015 4:21:30 PM
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Posted - January 06 2015 : 11:23:53 PM
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Very cool, Autobus!  There are some very impressive cardboard structure templates floating around the internet, some more detailed than modern plastic buildings. These vintage templates are awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing them completed.
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Posted - January 07 2015 : 09:38:21 AM
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Dang, I've seen these types of things all over the place, actually.For example, one time I was working with a guy cutting wood in an old railroad storage building for a window to help restore an old railroad depot and there was a box filled with model railroad magazines, some of them dating back to the 1950's. And when I picked one of the 1950's magazines up, the first thing I saw on the back was an ad for Varney kits. And the reason I'm talking about this is because either in that specific one or another (I can't remember which), I saw some cut-outs of a barn and a couple of other structures. I believe that magazine was dated around 1955-1957. Can't remember which.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - January 08 2015 : 8:30:38 PM
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| Yes Autobuss, those are pretty intriguing. I'd be interested in seeing them in use somehow.
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Posted - January 09 2015 : 01:38:05 AM
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Pretty cool to find an old magazine with the little giveaways still in it
Reminds me of my December 1940 Model Railroader - I found a stack of old MR's, 1938-40, at one of my usual haunts - and lo and behold, a cardboard insert. "Merry Christmas" from Red Ball kits, have a free pair of car sides for an ATSF dry ice car, and you can send for the rest of the kit. The car sides were still there. Since I collect dry ice cars, I kind of wanted to use them, but I couldn't bear damaging something that had managed to stay intact so long. Lucky for me, the next time I returned to the place I got the magazine... there they were waiting for me, another pair of the same car sides, already affixed to a reefer-sized wooden block, waiting for me to build the rest car myself. Sometimes the universe works like that.
When I get a moment I'll scan it in and then you can all have free 75-year-old car sides  I dare someone else to actually try building a new cardboard-sided car, I don't think anyone has but me in about 50 years
--CRC
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Posted - January 09 2015 : 09:31:30 AM
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quote:Pretty cool to find an old magazine with the little giveaways still in it
Reminds me of my December 1940 Model Railroader - I found a stack of old MR's, 1938-40, at one of my usual haunts - and lo and behold, a cardboard insert. "Merry Christmas" from Red Ball kits, have a free pair of car sides for an ATSF dry ice car, and you can send for the rest of the kit. The car sides were still there. Since I collect dry ice cars, I kind of wanted to use them, but I couldn't bear damaging something that had managed to stay intact so long. Lucky for me, the next time I returned to the place I got the magazine... there they were waiting for me, another pair of the same car sides, already affixed to a reefer-sized wooden block, waiting for me to build the rest car myself. Sometimes the universe works like that.
When I get a moment I'll scan it in and then you can all have free 75-year-old car sides I dare someone else to actually try building a new cardboard-sided car, I don't think anyone has but me in about 50 years
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â January 09 2015Â :Â 01:38:05 AM
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Um, look at Barry's stuff. He makes cardboard cars all the time it seems.I definitely look forward to seeing you post those, though. Would make an interesting project. In that case, what materials do you need to print those things out on?
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
Edited by - kovacste000 on January 09 2015 09:33:10 AM
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Posted - January 09 2015 : 2:22:33 PM
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quote:Pretty cool to find an old magazine with the little giveaways still in it
Reminds me of my December 1940 Model Railroader - I found a stack of old MR's, 1938-40, at one of my usual haunts - and lo and behold, a cardboard insert. "Merry Christmas" from Red Ball kits, have a free pair of car sides for an ATSF dry ice car, and you can send for the rest of the kit. The car sides were still there. Since I collect dry ice cars, I kind of wanted to use them, but I couldn't bear damaging something that had managed to stay intact so long. Lucky for me, the next time I returned to the place I got the magazine... there they were waiting for me, another pair of the same car sides, already affixed to a reefer-sized wooden block, waiting for me to build the rest car myself. Sometimes the universe works like that.
When I get a moment I'll scan it in and then you can all have free 75-year-old car sides I dare someone else to actually try building a new cardboard-sided car, I don't think anyone has but me in about 50 years
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â January 09 2015Â :Â 01:38:05 AM
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Do it! I'd love to build that. For some reason, cardboard is just a very appealing material to me.
It always makes me happy to see somebody else getting into the early magazines and old techniques. I was about your age too when I got into them, and if anything they were even more 'outdated' then. The local library had great old books, and that got me started, and the hobby shop had stacks of used magazines, $1, that sometimes had very old Model Craftsman. Nobody but me ever seemed to want them, but there is so much great stuff there.
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Posted - January 09 2015 : 5:17:26 PM
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quote: quote:Pretty cool to find an old magazine with the little giveaways still in it
Reminds me of my December 1940 Model Railroader - I found a stack of old MR's, 1938-40, at one of my usual haunts - and lo and behold, a cardboard insert. "Merry Christmas" from Red Ball kits, have a free pair of car sides for an ATSF dry ice car, and you can send for the rest of the kit. The car sides were still there. Since I collect dry ice cars, I kind of wanted to use them, but I couldn't bear damaging something that had managed to stay intact so long. Lucky for me, the next time I returned to the place I got the magazine... there they were waiting for me, another pair of the same car sides, already affixed to a reefer-sized wooden block, waiting for me to build the rest car myself. Sometimes the universe works like that.
When I get a moment I'll scan it in and then you can all have free 75-year-old car sides I dare someone else to actually try building a new cardboard-sided car, I don't think anyone has but me in about 50 years
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â January 09 2015Â :Â 01:38:05 AM
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Do it! I'd love to build that. For some reason, cardboard is just a very appealing material to me.
It always makes me happy to see somebody else getting into the early magazines and old techniques. I was about your age too when I got into them, and if anything they were even more 'outdated' then. The local library had great old books, and that got me started, and the hobby shop had stacks of used magazines, $1, that sometimes had very old Model Craftsman. Nobody but me ever seemed to want them, but there is so much great stuff there.
Originally posted by Autobus Prime - January 09 2015 : 2:22:33 PM
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I wouldn't mind seeing progress photos of an ol' s'kool build like that. It's something that I never considered, but maybe I should try it out after I clean up the projects that I have at hand.
~ Dave
~ Dave
They're ALL toys
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