New Product - Quonset Hut

These were everywhere when I was a kid, often a small town store with a new,

false front facade, but they were developed in WWII, so can't be used for pre-war

modeling, worse luck.  I think I even saw an article on one as a movie theater.  Saw them on farm suppliers, around grain elevators, feed mills, and as auto repair shops with gas pumps out front.

Thanks for producing these. I will need to a few.

 

Bob

 I've seen these in person, they are really nice

 

 

Alex

You're right about them being used as movie theaters. As a kid growing up in Middleton, WI, (outside Madison) in the 1950's, the Middleton theater was a Quonset hut. We'd ride our bikes there on Saturday afternoons to watch the matinee - two movies for a nickel, if I remember correctly.

Thanks, interesting kit.  I'm glad I know about it.  They seemed to be everywhere in the '50s.

I wonder what the prototype is for the siding direction shown as assembled on the kit?

 

Can the siding included be curved so the corrugations are parallel with each end of the Quonset Hut?

 

All of the images and real Quonset Huts that I have seen have the corrugated siding running in the same direction as the arc of the hut.

 

I need two Quonset Huts and would buy the kits instead of scratch-building them if the siding was flexible enough to be orientated in any direction.

 

Andrew

Andrew, When I checked the originals they had many 4x8 sheets running horizontal similar to this model. Google Quonset hut and pick images and you find about half and half on the direction. The material is pretty flexible, you may need one extra bracing (1/4"sq stock) Rich

Thanks for the information.

 

Andrew

As In understand it the original Quonset hut concept was to use the metal with the ribs running parallel to the ground.  The standard design and build-plan during WWII/Korean war period was horizontal.  Apparently, it t was only later and when larger ones were made that folks started run the ribs vertical. the Naval Historical Center has a good article on it and wikipedia talks about them and the forerunner, the British Nissan hut.  

Not to shoot Rich's wonderful model, but I saw this years ago and thought it was great.

 

 

Alex don't forget that they are really big too.

Very nice.