O Scale Wooden Building Kits

http://www.branchline-trains.com/

Excellent and beautiful structures, easy to build.

Gandy

Bar Mills kits -- http://www.barmillsmodels.com/

Much better value, lots of detail, "not difficult" but not easy either. I used a half dozen and would use more if I had places for them.

I like the diner, and it's a good kit for beginners.

http://twinwhistle.com/whistlestopdiner.aspx

I am just starting on a kit of a Conoco gas station from Scale University.  There are and have been a lot of O scale structure kits offered over time (sadly, a miniscule

fraction of the HO kits that have been offered).  To find what appeals to you takes a lot of searching, on the net and through the magazines.  Almost no local hobby shops stock much/anything in O structure kits.  You often have to order from OGR's and other ads, and many kit makers rarely advertise, so you may be lucky to find out about them.

Branchline Trains cited above did not appear to offer that much in O, which is not

unique.  I often find an appealing model kit photo in HO and scratchbuild an O

scale version.  I have not had success in getting HO kit makers to even sell me the

plans.

Campbell Scale Models is one kit manufacturer that sells the complete set of kit instructions and drawings:

http://www.campbellscalemodelsonline.com/Default.asp

Matt

Evergreen Hill Designs, has some great buildings. 

A few miles up the road from me......B.T.S......nice stuff!!

Built the HO Suydam Combination Station back in the day, my only "wood-like" structure kit, but right now I got the hots for this O scale beauty:

http://altoonamodelworks.net/P...0Signal%20Tower.html

Pete

This Bar Mills kit is unique, not too tough to build, comes with great instructions and lots of white metal details:

This one comes with an outhouse and a newstand:

BTS Kit Elliott and Sons Supply.

BTS Kit Cabin Creek Coal Tipple.

Carpenter's shack/maintenance building/post office Ministructs (TM) Hyde Systems, Inc.

COme to think of it - I confused BTS with Branch Line - my mistake.

Mike, I just saw your Elliott and Sons building so beautifully crafted for me.

Thank you so much. Eliot with one "L", please.

Gorgeous job !! 

Eliot

LOL

What the Munoz Lines really needs is a "Spider's"

Eliot:   Sorry, You may have to alter the sign.   Talk to Bill Wade at BTS.   The kit is still available.  Elliott and Sons Supply  Click on the underlined phrase to link. 

Detail parts, pallets, crates, saw horses, and small equipment are also BTS.

I do a yearly public display at a local McDonalds, Beaver, PA.  There is a glass display case.  The item's pictured are on display for the next two months with other items. Gives me a chance to finish the diorama, and maybe, just maybe finish the layout.

Best wishes

Mike

The Valley Model Trains' website will give you a good overview of what's available.  They stock kits from many manufacturers both small and smaller.

http://valleymodeltrains.com/catalog/

Jan

Just a thought from earlier threads...

If you see an HO kit that is particularly nice...plastic OR wood..., consider buying the kit, copying the plans, re-selling the kit after you've gleaned whatever knowledge/info you need to create an O scale facsimile.

Not necessarily expensive.  If you have any HO modeling friends, it's often quite easy to find a buyer locally.  Even if you 'lose' a few dollars in the process, it's worth it to have a set of plans otherwise not obtainable. 

But, here's something else to look for at those hobby flea markets.  We often focus on items only of the scale we model.  Whereas, if you adjust your search perspective, you can often find GREAT deals on kits of other scales which have the necessary plans/info necessary to build in your own scale.  You can even take photos of the kit parts to see how they created sub-assemblies, tab-slot arrangements for alignment, etc.  You just have to think 'outside the box' on this sort of thing.

Another source of plans for old kits are any pack-rat HO friends.  I have two that come to mind immediately that I KNOW with 100% certainty save ALL of their kit plans after they're done building the kit.  They quickly dismiss any query as to 'Why?', but it could be a treasure trove to someone looking to create a facsimile in another scale!

In copying HO/N plans, I've occasionally carefully enlarged them to O scale for three reasons.  First, it gives me a more realistic feel for the finished structure size in my scale.  Second, sometimes I'll cut out the plan views, spray glue bond them to foam core, and assemble a quickie structure to try-fit to the layout...or, after a bit of coloring with pencils and pens, make a scene more (temporarily) complete for the interim.  And, thirdly and most obviously, it makes fabrication of walls, doors, windows, etc. much easier if you can reference the actual size drawings/plans.

If you're really into scratchbuilding following this sort of strategy, CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You're helping to revive a set of skills quickly disappearing from this hobby in all scales.  More power to you!!  Attaboy!!  Go for it!!

BTW, I'm transitioning out of HO into O3R.  It's been a slow process over the last 10 years or so.  But, before I part with an old HO structure kit, I consider whether it's something I could use on the O layout style-wise.  If so, I do as above...then peddle it.

KD 

I really appreciate all the suggestions everyone has provided.   After looking through a lot of the alternatives that were suggested, I'm thinking that the Bar Mills Shack Pack might be good project to start with.   Has anyone built these before?

dkdkrd:  I have a couple of HO kits here, one of which I have already begun the O

scale model from...the Red Mountain Mine, but I talked to an architect/kit maker who worked on restoring the prototype, and he says neither HO kit that exists is accurate, so have put that on hold, until I can get to the back of the building.  It

was a sea of mud when I was there and I couldn't see climbing the steep slope to

get up behind the structure, as I should have.

Above I mentioned working on Scale University's Conoco gas station kit, which I just began this evening.  This is the fastest assembling kit I've ever built!  I am well along and putting on roofing.  Just two problems...peel and stick roofing shingles are not 3 diminensional, so I may replace those, and all the photos provided show a red trimmed station, while instructions say these were all trimmed in green by Conoco (I'm doing mine in green).  All the tabs fit all the slots on this laser kit, so I'd definitely recommend it to a beginner.  The window "glass" is even cut to size and prepunched.