Birthplace of Basketball (Springfield, MA) Shadowboxes and Buildings

Great, I love any and all things sports-related on model train layouts. That's a terrific looking building, Douglas. Arnold

Doug;

I am also interested in a 6” building - do you have pricing for it???

Paul-

For the first run, the base price will be the same as the D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co. building, $275.00. The Birthplace of Basketball building will be 6" deep and will have a total of 12 individually lit rooms. As with our other products, you will now be able to choose clear, translucent or Roscolux Grey glazing. If you choose the Roscolux Grey glazing with translucent behind the upcharge will be $25.00.

We have a backlog of about three weeks right now so I anticipate having the first run available in mid-November. I have already begun development of the prototype. 

We plan to make five buildings in the first run. Two are spoken for- please confirm that you are one of those two. 

@Todds Architectural Models posted:

Paul-

For the first run, the base price will be the same as the D.F. Stauffer Biscuit Co. building, $275.00. The Birthplace of Basketball building will be 6" deep and will have a total of 12 individually lit rooms. As with our other products, you will now be able to choose clear, translucent or Roscolux Grey glazing. If you choose the Roscolux Grey glazing with translucent behind the upcharge will be $25.00.

We have a backlog of about three weeks right now so I anticipate having the first run available in mid-November. I have already begun development of the prototype. 

We plan to make five buildings in the first run. Two are spoken for- please confirm that you are one of those two. 

Doug;

I am definitely in for one. Send me an invoice!!!

P.S. what is Roscolux Gray glazing???

Paul-

Short story, told long. When I first brought shadowboxes to York the windows were made from two layers of laser cut .030" acrylic, scrap around the shop, and I handed out samples of "what is to come" at the OGR meeting under the grandstand. The samples were 2-story flats and the windows were glazed with .030" clear or tinted acrylic, backpainted with various colors. (It is amazing what color options are available with tinted acrylic and backpainting!). The issue with that method was that 1. .030" clear acrylic runs about $12/SF and 2. three layers of .030" is thicker than the 1/16" Taskboard that we developed the shadowbox structure with. Enter Laserboard and clear acetate glazing and that issue was solved. The acetate also gives each pane in a window a slight flicker.

So I go to my first York a year later as an exhibitor with StreetScape Series 1 and the UP Trackside Warehouse shadowboxes. Before any sale is made, the first thing I hear is "can you make them taller", referring to the UP Trackside Warehouses. Thanks to everyone's support, we have evolved the original design up to six-stories, built one as long as eight interlocking 12" sections, added an optional canopy, developed the laser cut letter sets and built Rooftop Building Billboard Signs. We have even done custom orders with lit gooseneck lamps over each door, shadowboxes that go around obstructions, and combinations with other building elements. The StreetScape Series 1 buildings were also received well and I sold just about all of the run of 10 sets that week. The next issue became the clear glazing.

Some folks did not want to see into any of the shadowboxes because they did not want to decorate the interiors/see the back wall. The immediate solution was to use translucent material instead of clear glazing. Seeing in issues were resolved and it looked great when lit, a warm white glow. But I found that when you put a lot of our translucent-glazed shadowboxes next to each other, unlit, the windows started being the focal point of the vision, rather than the overall architectural variety. So we went to the shop drawer with gel coats that had been used in previous architectural model projects and selected the darker Roscolux Grey. Result- it looked very realistic as an unlit window and added a viable third option for glazing a streetscape. Issue- when you light the shadowbox or building, you can now see into it and you are back to the top of the flow chart. Immediate and successful solution, put a layer of translucent behind the Roscolux Grey and you have dark grey tint unlit and warm white with slight grey tint when lit. Hence the markup as we are glazing windows twice.

The Roscolux Grey and translucent glazing window options for the Birthplace of Basketball are shown below. I don't have a clear upper-level close-up as the two that we made were sold at Springfield in January. We only made 10 in the first run. Four of the 10 are built-up but unglazed so the buyer still has the glazing option. All will have the clear 1st floor glazing as we needed to use .060" clear acrylic to maintain the  rigidity of glazing to create the door under insert.

Hey Paul! Wake up!!!

Doug;

First and foremost, if I want an annoying wake up call, I’ll use the alarm clock   

Definitely don’t care for the translucent...  while the Roscolux Grey is interesting, I can’t visualize how it will look lit (it looks great unlit in your photo). So, since I plan to have this 6” building in close proximity to my Stauffer building, I think I’ll stick with the clear glazing. And if anyone comments on the lack of interior detail, I’ll have them charged as a Peeping Tom!!!

P.S. I didn’t see the 6” building on the website - did I miss it or will you just send me an invoice???

Thanks for the support of the Birthplace of Basketball project. Four of the five buildings of the 1st run have been spoken for. If you have any questions, I'll be in the shop over the Labor Day weekend, generally 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

To clarify, the building will have 12 individually lit sections, three on each floor for all four floors. The shadowbox may be ordered unlit, lighting on each of four floors or lighting in all 12 sections. The building orders are being taken through email or over the telephone.

@Apples55 posted:

Doug;

First and foremost, if I want an annoying wake up call, I’ll use the alarm clock   

Definitely don’t care for the translucent...  while the Roscolux Grey is interesting, I can’t visualize how it will look lit (it looks great unlit in your photo). So, since I plan to have this 6” building in close proximity to my Stauffer building, I think I’ll stick with the clear glazing. And if anyone comments on the lack of interior detail, I’ll have them charged as a Peeping Tom!!!

P.S. I didn’t see the 6” building on the website - did I miss it or will you just send me an invoice???

Paul-

The first floor was operated as a pharmacy. I am guessing that the upper floors in the front would have been classrooms. The gym where basketball was first played was in the rear of the building, which was actually more square in shape.