Plasticville Motel Kitbash w/ Custom Paper Interiors now with Lighting and Accessories

I'll second what CBQ Bill said. Very inspirational. This thread shows that realism doesn't necessarily have to translate to precise 1:48 scale.

I've noticed this thread in the "recent posts" box for a few days now and thought it probably referred to the one-dimension cardstock printouts that came with some of the original Plasticville buildings.

Boy, was I wrong on that thought! And at the same time, pleasantly surprised. Kudos to Stephen Sharpe and everyone else who has contributed to this.

These sorts of threads are amongst the most enjoyable for me on this forum. Nearly everyone has (or has had at one time) Plasticville buildings on their layout. Therefore we can all relate to these.

So it's a real treat to see these ordinary products turned into something extraordinary!

@Stephen Sharpe posted:

The signs are homemade.I did one to rebrand my diner and it turned out so well I started going crazy on my whole town.

I've been making blade signs to rebrand my woodland scenic buildings as well.

To make them first I create the sign in photoshop then I duplicate it and flip the words so I can make it double-sided. Then I print them on heavy matte photo paper on my inkjet. Then I cut the signs out of the matte paper to shape with a hobby knife. Next, I  glue them with white glue to 1/4 foam core board. Then I cut the paper off each side of the foam core with a hobby knife. Finally, I cut the foam away leaving a sign cut to shape.

It's pretty good at that point then but the edges are too rough to paint. So to complete it I fill the edges with lightweight spackle. After it dries I can sand the edges and paint them with Acrylic paint to match the face color. It makes a pretty good facsimile of a two-sided metal sign.

Once you get the hang of it you can make just about anything in photoshop...

Stephen,

I gotta try this technique - thanks for sharing

@David Nissen posted:

Another possible source for a Motel Office.

The Plasticville motel and apartment came fron Littletown by Banner in about 1955. The 1956/1057 Littletown catalog described item LT400 Motel Office and two Motels. The office is the same as the first floor of the apartment house. This set can be put together from later Plasticville parts. Attached is a copy of page 12 of the catalog. Sorry the quality is not better but you can see the results.

I didn't know that these buildings originated from Littletown, David. I looks like they were encouraging exactly what we've been doing here.

Thanks for posting this.

Thanks for the kind comments Craig, Bobby D, and Stephen.

I LOVE this thread - so much to learn

John

Unique Plasticville Buildings (warrenvillerailroad.com)

@Steve Tyler posted:

First of all, very nice work on the motel!

I have very limited experience creating or installing interiors, but one of the 'upgrades' I recently did involved creating a cardstock interior to cover the well lighted but completely blank white OEM interior on an MTH operating McDonalds. Basically, I did something along the line you did: I first used pictures of McDonalds service counters (here's a sample)

I then cut and pasted them together virtually, and printed them in the appropriate scale on cardstock to fit the space available. I also covered the floor with a Clever Models texture file print, then 3D printed, painted and installed some booth benches to fit the available space, and fabricated a couple of tables to match. I also printed a picture of my late mother (an inveterate McD's fan!) and me, which was originally taken at a local McD's, and added it to the customer counter array:

I don't have any good hi-res pics of the interior view at hand, but here's a screen grab from one of the videos I did of the upgrade (the figures by the entrance are intended as representations of me, my eldest son, and one of my great-grandsons):

So, while there may be prepared interiors available for kitbashing projects, with a little creativity IMHO it's not too hard to "roll your own", and you can also easily add personal touches that may be more meaningful on your layout than a (perhaps technically better but generic) commercial offering! Good luck!

I did something similar with my interior here, Steve.

The Making of "Karen's Trackside Diner" (warrenvillerailroad.com)

Great stuff all around here!!!!!,

Peter

Wow, some outstanding work by all on this project!

I had all but given up using Plasticville after Woodland Scenics buildings appeared.

Now I see with some very fine creativity (and a 3D printer ) their buildings can come back.

Painted and installed. The railings are great! I had to trim off the bottom step and post foot, (because of my bad vertical measurement). The next step is office interior and lights (and to put in the window I forgot.) I'll shoot some pictures with it apart when I do that part. 

The coke machine, ice machine and umbrellas are all inkjet images printed on heavy matte photo paper. If anybody wants them, I'll post the files.

@Stephen Sharpe posted:

Painted and installed. The railings are great! I had to trim off the bottom step and post foot, (because of my bad vertical measurement). The next step is office interior and lights (and to put in the window I forgot.) I'll shoot some pictures with it apart when I do that part.

The coke machine, ice machine and umbrellas are all inkjet images printed on heavy matte photo paper. If anybody wants them, I'll post the files.

I love it Stephen. Great job

Incredible! Kudos to Stephen and Alan.

@Lionelski posted:

Stephen,

I gotta try this technique - thanks for sharing

nice work, 3d printer seems a real help and I love upgrading old lionel type stuff

I've added an office interior, lighting in the rooms, signs and accessories to my 1963 desert motel.

The pool is quite popular with guests...

Yes that's a quicky wedding chapel on the same property as the no-tel Flamingo Motel.

Well done!

Peter

love the pool light

I just saw this thread today.  That is a really great looking motel, Stephen and Alan! 

@Stephen Sharpe posted:

I've added an office interior, lighting in the rooms, signs and accessories to my 1963 desert motel.

The pool is quite popular with guests...

Yes that's a quicky wedding chapel on the same property as the no-tel Flamingo Motel.

@Stephen Sharpe

Stephen:

That is VERY nicely done. I always considered the Plasticville motel to be one of their lesser appealing models. You, combining the motel with the WPLA TV Station, have turned it into something really great!

Thanks everyone for the compliments. Thanks to Alanrail for going above and beyond to keep my guests from falling off the second floor

GREAT JOB to the both of you !!!