Build Your Own O Gauge Circus Train --- Circus Craft and Wardie-Jay kits More!

I built one of those....turned it into a early piggy back car. 

Nice work!! 

Are you interested in more circus kits I have half a tub?

What happened to the circus craft figure moulds , anyone making them now? as I bought 2 bags of 100 unpainted & they were just the right size for the MTH coaches & just right period 1950's.

James

Circus Craft Kit  G scale Lion Wagon

Here are the wardie jay kits I mentioned. I think they'd complement your flat car nicely I think there are 6 stock car kits 2 flat car kits and 6 wagon kits. All are complete. 

Do you have any more of the G scale scale kits, or at the very least the instructions to the g scale kits?

It would be nice if either Lionel, MTH or Menards would make circus cars. Flat cars and stock cars would be super.

Update on circus train. Found some Wardie-Jay circus kits at our local train club meet (AGTTA).
These kits are older than the Circus Craft Kits, the instruction sheets are dated July 6, 1945. The instructions are limited consisting of diagrams and a photo.The kits have more cast metal parts. some of the wagons have metal spoke wheels and some have rubber tires.The kits fit together well. Photos of some of the finished kits.

Latest Wardie-Jay circus kits built. Ticket wagon and Water Wagon.

I had one of those Circus Craft kits - added to my first train set - the Lionel 'Ballyhoo' circus train

@bigolddogs posted:

Latest Wardie-Jay circus kits built. Ticket wagon and Water Wagon.

I always like the water wagon. Someday I’ll build mine. Both wagons you built look great

Build complete on two Wardie Jay circus train kits , lion cage wagon and calliope. Kits are dated 1945 on instructions and have metal and wood parts.  Instructions are not very extensive, but kits go together easy .

These bring back some memories. It is hard to believe that our grandkids won’t know what Ringling Brothers Barney and Bailey was.

I agree, Bill. It's better for the animals, but the memories are wonderful.

@Alibatwomble posted:

What happened to the circus craft figure moulds , anyone making them now? as I bought 2 bags of 100 unpainted & they were just the right size for the MTH coaches & just right period 1950's.

James

I know this question was asked quite a while ago, but I was told by a reliable source that the molds are pretty much worn out to the point of being useless.

When I can find them, I pick up packs and bags of their seated children figures.  I intend to paint them in bright pajama schemes and use them to populate my scale Polar Express coaches.

Circus Craft did make some great stuff.

Andy

Good News, bad New, Ringling will be back starting September 2023, completely new style of show (no animals, one ring?, no train, even new logo).

The man that produced Wardie-jay kits is still in business and is at York, used to set up at at the TCA Museum Open House during York week and says he has no interest in doing the Circus kits) is into lighting kits for trains now, if I remember correctly.

Would like some Circus people also, maybe some Circus modelers can chime in with the info.

Redball342   

Several years ago Westerfield Models offered an urethane casting of a Warren(?)  flat car in O scale.  They have since dropped their O scale offerings.

Jan

Back in 1975, I tore my left knee apart playing basketball. I began putting several Circus Craft kits together for something to do.

Hot outside , so built another Wardie Jay circus train kit with the help of my wife who attended to the fine detail painting , This kit was the Band Wagon. The kit was old ? 1940s or 1950s ? I have had good luck with old decals before , but this time the decals fell apart in water. Fortunately , I scanned them before use , So printed them out with a color printer. The wagon is finished and ready to add to the circus train,
And it is still hot outside!

If anyone is looking for any K Line Circus train cars, some new in box contact Nassau Hobby Center they have a bunch.

Wardie Jay and Circus Craft are both out of business correct?

Wardie Jay and Circus Craft are both out of business . Circus Craft went out of business by the end of 1990s ,might have sold their stock out to some one else.  They had a large barn/garage in La Mesa ,Ca full of lumber where they put the kits together.

The Wardie Jay kits I have are from 1940s/1950s ,they have been out of business for a long time.

Anybody with more info , Please post, history of these companies would be interesting,

Photo

Thank you bigolddogs.

Another O scale circus wagon kit completed. Generator wagon kit by Wardie Jay Hobbylines Clark Summit, Pa dates from the 1940s. Original sales price $1.95. The pot metal generator was sold as a separate kit for 95 cents.

The circus needed one or more generator wagons to keep the lights on.

@bigolddogs posted:

Hot outside , so built another Wardie Jay circus train kit with the help of my wife who attended to the fine detail painting , This kit was the Band Wagon. The kit was old ? 1940s or 1950s ? I have had good luck with old decals before , but this time the decals fell apart in water. Fortunately , I scanned them before use , So printed them out with a color printer. The wagon is finished and ready to add to the circus train,
And it is still hot outside!

Where did the band figures come from? Were they a part of the wagon kit?

The figures did not come with the kit, I picked them up with some horses at our local swap meet couple years ago. They were unpainted. Most are plastic some metal. Finally found a use for them and got finished painting the figures.
Unfortunately ,I do not know the manufacture.

Latest Wardie-Jay circus kit built. Cage wagon kit dated 1945.
Decals did not hold up from age, so had to use color printer copy.

This is our circus train, it includes 5 flatcars: 1 original Wardie-Jay kit and 4 scratchbuilt flatcars based off of the original kit, 1 Elephant car (another original Wardie-Jay kit), 2 scratchbuilt horse cars, and a coach. Some of the Wagons are scratchbuilt, others are K-line or Wardie-Jay Kits.The whole trainOriginal Wardie Jay Kit on the left, scratchbuilt flat on the rightOriginal Wardie Jay horse car kit (converted to an elephant car) on the left, scratchbuilt horse car on the rightflatcar with 3d printed crawler, scratchbuilt canvas wagon, and scratchbuilt ticket wagonscratchbuilt flatcar with scratchbuilt pole wagon

Very nice! Keep the circus trains rolling.