Tall Buildings Tuesday

Downtown "scrapers"

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Downtown "scrapers"

Wow, Arnold. Incredible scene. I grew up in New York City and worked in Manhattan for 38 years - I remember any number of places where I’d come up from the subway and you could barely see any sky due to all the tall “scrapers”. I wish I had the real estate and ceiling height to have a scene like this!!!

You know when it comes to structures I think Alan, Arnold for skyscrapers, Graziano for industrial.

Wood great job on Banff Springs.

Dave thanks for sharing the pics of NJHR.  They definitely have lots of candidates for TBT.

Thanks Coach.

The American Skyline products are a joy to work with. Now that we're back into this thread i found three more sets.

The picture only shows two because I received the new one just last night

This is a kit bashed building.  Alex Malliae built the original building.  I received the remnants when the layout was taken down. It's three stories high and sides with the elevated track passenger stop.

@Wood posted:

WOW Wood!! That is one impressive building and scene. But even better is how you were able to enlist the littles to help with the project. Great memories for all I’m sure!

I agree, pete. I think that's my favorite scene on Wood's layout.

By contrast, here’s the tallest building on my layout. It's the Dept. 56 Old Chelsea Mansion. Not very tall, but I have a very low-rise village.

Though not as tall as the buildings on some of your great layouts, The Empire State Building dominates the skyline in the city of Christopolis.

Built, 2011, by the Great Northeastern Railway's (GNR) Chief Architect and train operator, Chris Harrison.

All projects were completed under the close supervision and sometimes, assistance of the GNR's former Chairman of the "Bored", the now late Chaz Harrison

Another Skyline building on the layout....thousands of pieces in the construction of this one!

@Randy Harrison posted:

Though not as tall as the buildings on some of your great layouts, The Empire State Building dominates the skyline in the city of Christopolis.

Built, 2011, by the Great Northeastern Railway's (GNR) Chief Architect and train operator, Chris Harrison.

All projects were completed under the close supervision and sometimes, assistance of the GNR's former Chairman of the "Bored", the now late Chaz Harrison

@Randy Harrison,  OOOOH my golly.  That is a terrific building.  Your Chief Architect with his curious kitty did a wonderful job.  It was so nice to have our kids and grandchildren help with some projects.  I miss them, they moved into their teens and have different things to play with now.  They do come back and have proud feelings about their accomplishments.

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Another Skyline building on the layout....thousands of pieces in the construction of this one!

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER

Yikes, that's a big skyscraper Alan.  I better start looking for some more Skyline kit parts.

This is my next project.  The prudential building in Boston.  It will take a while to figure out and complete.  I'll start after Christmas.

@Wood posted:

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER

Yikes, that's a big skyscraper Alan.  I better start looking for some more Skyline kit parts.

This is my next project.  The prudential building in Boston.  It will take a while to figure out and complete.  I'll start after Christmas.

That will be a perfect project for the Skyline pieces.  I bought many number 96 kits each having almost 2,000 pieces.  The picture that I posted above is one of the smaller Skyline buildings I have on the layout.  I'll post more of them here over the next few weeks.

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

And...one more showing some Skyline kit buildings...

Hi Alan,

Thanks for turning me on to American Skyline, being born in 1963 I never saw them until you mentioned them here. I picked up a bunch of sets over the past few years and as soon as I finish my Union Station:

@Guitarmike posted:

Hi Alan,

Thanks for turning me on to American Skyline, being born in 1963 I never saw them until you mentioned them here. I picked up a bunch of sets over the past few years and as soon as I finish my Union Station:

WOW...what a great scene!

@coach joe posted:

You know when it comes to structures I think Alan, Arnold for skyscrapers, Graziano for industrial.

Wood great job on Banff Springs.

Dave thanks for sharing the pics of NJHR.  They definitely have lots of candidates for TBT.

Coach, yeah they do have a bunch of great candidates there. All my pictures were taking in one shot, well, several shots at one event. OGR AND THE NEW JERSEY HI-RAILERS HAD THE PARTY AND YOU WERE INVITED.....!!!....AND MANY OF YOU CAME!!!

That was the 50th Anniversary Party. I was glad I could make it. Some good pictures over there, but that is mainly the party people, those who aren't with us any more, and those we still have.

Well, let's see what else I can dig up from the 50th Anniversary Party.

Here's a recently completed tall building that I am getting ready to install on the layout, about a year of putting together from what was becoming a basket-case project (working off and on as hobby time permits).  Made from mostly DPM modules with cornices and seem fillers, all of which were painted (mixed orange and red latex paint to get final decent color) and mortared using Robert's Brick Mortar prior to gluing onto a wooden frame. Added lights the other day and will install steps and loading dock after placing on layout. I think this will make a nice addition to my otherwise MTH structure-dominated city.

Exceptional!!!  Thanks so much for posting the photos and providing details.

Agreed. That is exceptional! Nicely done and thanks for the info on the build. Very nice job.

Show some pics when you get them installed.

Wood

Here is my York hotel building, modified to include a tower made of American Skyline parts.   We also added some gold trim, additional lighting, a new sign out front, and improved flags:

After viewing this thread numerous times over the last few years, I joined OGR just so I could post on Tall Building Tuesday. Today I’m posting some pix of the temporary layout my buddy, John Paddle (also a member) and I assemble a few times a year at train shows in Southern Ontario, Canada. These pix are from the latest show in Woodstock Ontario.

Our “club”, GT3 (Greater Toronto Toy Trains) exists for the sole purpose of setting up this layout at venues and sharing our love of O gauge trains with as many people as possible. We’re in our tenth year doing this, and as you can see we’ve almost maxed out the potential for what can be accomplished on a temporary layout. Keep in mind, we’re limited by: a) the space in our transportation vehicle, b) the 3.5 hour time limit for setting up the layout.

I hope Alan Arnold sees this post, as we gleaned many insights from observing his layout photos, especially his use of toy building kits. In the photos below you’ll see Elgo American Skyline, Girder and Panel, Kenstruct, Bilt E Z, and Uberstix, all products Alan has successfully integrated into his layout. Ours is a “toy train” layout, so we’re not aiming for realism, just a sense of fun and imagination, and the “toy building” premise does a great job at creating that!

Because we set up the layout on the spot every time, we like to switch it up a bit for each showing, which has led to a continually improved layout. After nine years of doing this, we have certain aspects of the process down pat, so this allows us to try something new or better each time, or include more of what works.

I hope you enjoy the photos. Click here to watch the Youtube video.

One sure way that Alan would see this is this way,

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER

Hey Alan, take a look above this post. Pretty darn cool I must say.

@Darrell Martin posted:

@Darrell Martin

Darrell:

Your layout is fabulous!!! I love tall buildings! I am particularly interested in your Empire State Building. Is that a kit? Where did you get it?

Thank you.

@Randy Harrison That is one of the UberArc sets from Uberstix. Although this building could be made with any of the Uberstix materials, this set comes with the special colouring you see here. There are sets on eBay right now ranging from $62-$125. I know, its not anywhere near HO scale like the rest of the buildings. Probably closer to ZZ scale (1:300). Same with the CN Tower, which is also made from Uberstix (no kit, my own design). But it all seems to work together.

@Darrell Martin posted:

@Randy Harrison That is one of the UberArc sets from Uberstix. Although this building could be made with any of the Uberstix materials, this set comes with the special colouring you see here. There are sets on eBay right now ranging from $62-$125. I know, its not anywhere near HO scale like the rest of the buildings. Probably closer to ZZ scale (1:300). Same with the CN Tower, which is also made from Uberstix (no kit, my own design). But it all seems to work together.

Thanks for this. I have been looking for models that do not require me to paint and aren't too technical. These look like a lot of fun to put together.

Time for some more of the NJ HighRailers Layout from the OGR 50th Anniversary Party. A nice close up of the Twin Towers Tribute. BTW, those are huge.

@Darrell Martin posted:

After viewing this thread numerous times over the last few years, I joined OGR just so I could post on Tall Building Tuesday. Today I’m posting some pix of the temporary layout my buddy, John Paddle (also a member) and I assemble a few times a year at train shows in Southern Ontario, Canada. These pix are from the latest show in Woodstock Ontario.

Our “club”, GT3 (Greater Toronto Toy Trains) exists for the sole purpose of setting up this layout at venues and sharing our love of O gauge trains with as many people as possible. We’re in our tenth year doing this, and as you can see we’ve almost maxed out the potential for what can be accomplished on a temporary layout. Keep in mind, we’re limited by: a) the space in our transportation vehicle, b) the 3.5 hour time limit for setting up the layout.

I hope Alan Arnold sees this post, as we gleaned many insights from observing his layout photos, especially his use of toy building kits. In the photos below you’ll see Elgo American Skyline, Girder and Panel, Kenstruct, Bilt E Z, and Uberstix, all products Alan has successfully integrated into his layout. Ours is a “toy train” layout, so we’re not aiming for realism, just a sense of fun and imagination, and the “toy building” premise does a great job at creating that!

Because we set up the layout on the spot every time, we like to switch it up a bit for each showing, which has led to a continually improved layout. After nine years of doing this, we have certain aspects of the process down pat, so this allows us to try something new or better each time, or include more of what works.

I hope you enjoy the photos. Click here to watch the Youtube video.

Darrell, this is a magnificent layout and I am humbled and honored by your comments.  You and John have created a wonderful display that certainly will inspire others to join the hobby.  My hat is off to you guys!!

@Randy Harrison posted:

@Darrell Martin

Darrell:

Your layout is fabulous!!! I love tall buildings! I am particularly interested in your Empire State Building. Is that a kit? Where did you get it?

Thank you.

Randy....here are pictures of a building I built using Uberarch building sets which resembles the ESB.  This one is about 6 feet tall.

@Darrell Martin

Darrell:

Here are some photos of the Empire State Building in our home layout. It was a 3D jigsaw puzzle that my son (now 27 years of age) assembled when he was about 13 years old. You are right about the scale being quite small. A true 1/4" = 1' scale of the building would probably touch the ceiling of the hall in which you are running your layout and the footprint would be enormous! But the smaller size is OK because I use it as sort of a background building that towers above other buildings that are closer to O scale in front of it.

Thank you for your kind reply.

As you may be able to see in the following photo, the Empire State Building has also been joined by the Chrysler building that is to its right in the photo below. This is another of my son's 3D jigsaw puzzle creations. We like both buildings, no matter what their scale is.

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Darrell, this is a magnificent layout and I am humbled and honored by your comments.  You and John have created a wonderful display that certainly will inspire others to join the hobby.  My hat is off to you guys!!

Alan, we're very grateful for the accolades. Thanks for taking the time to digest my wordy post. Hopefully future ones will be less so.

@Randy Harrison posted:

@Darrell Martin

Darrell:

Here are some photos of the Empire State Building in our home layout. It was a 3D jigsaw puzzle that my son (now 27 years of age) assembled when he was about 13 years old. You are right about the scale being quite small. A true 1/4" = 1' scale of the building would probably touch the ceiling of the hall in which you are running your layout and the footprint would be enormous! But the smaller size is OK because I use it as sort of a background building that towers above other buildings that are closer to O scale in front of it.

Thank you for your kind reply.

As you may be able to see in the following photo, the Empire State Building has also been joined by the Chrysler building that is to its right in the photo below. This is another of my son's 3D jigsaw puzzle creations. We like both buildings, no matter what their scale is.

Randy, you're right, the smaller scale buildings work wonderfully as a background element. I've also found that in certain situations, the scales can be mixed even within the same plane. In ours, it doesn't seem to bother people that the CN Tower and ESB are about 1/5th the size they should be if they were the same HO scale as the other buildings, or that the buildings themselves are all HO in an O gauge setting. Or look at the post above from @Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 showing the twin towers, a bit smaller than scale I believe, in the foreground. But it works! In my humble opinion, I find its all about painting an impression rather than being too caught up in proper scale.

On another note, you mentioned the Chrysler Building. Below is a version made from the Elgo American Skyline toy, using a 3D printed lamp for the top. I'll post more on this another week.

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Randy....here are pictures of a building I built using Uberarch building sets which resembles the ESB.  This one is about 6 feet tall.

Alan, here's another structure I made using Uberstix. I was looking for something with a bit more bulk and height than the ESB, so I fashioned this building from images I found online that were part of a 3D architectural modeling contest (search D2 Challenge: Hugh Ferriss in case you want an eyeful). Its just over 4' tall.

@Darrell Martin posted:

Alan, here's another structure I made using Uberstix. I was looking for something with a bit more bulk and height than the ESB, so I fashioned this building from images I found online that were part of a 3D architectural modeling contest (search D2 Challenge: Hugh Ferriss in case you want an eyeful). Its just over 4' tall.

Darrell....The Uberstix / Uberarc parts and sets can make some really impressive structures even though most of them have a more modern look (which I like!).  Take a look at these two shots and you will see not only a very large building in the center of the city made up of Uberarc sets (this one is about 7 feet tall) but you will also see Girder and Panel as well as American Skyline.  These all are mixed in with completely scratch built structures giving a convincing O scale downtown.  You can click on the picture to enlarge them to see details.

@Darrell Martin posted:

Randy, you're right, the smaller scale buildings work wonderfully as a background element. I've also found that in certain situations, the scales can be mixed even within the same plane. In ours, it doesn't seem to bother people that the CN Tower and ESB are about 1/5th the size they should be if they were the same HO scale as the other buildings, or that the buildings themselves are all HO in an O gauge setting. Or look at the post above from @Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 showing the twin towers, a bit smaller than scale I believe, in the foreground. But it works! In my humble opinion, I find its all about painting an impression rather than being too caught up in proper scale.

On another note, you mentioned the Chrysler Building. Below is a version made from the Elgo American Skyline toy, using a 3D printed lamp for the top. I'll post more on this another week.

@Darrell Martin

Darrell:

I love your Chrysler Building!!!!! Bravo on you GREAT work and creativity!

@Darrell Martin, yes, the Twin Towers are a bit shorter than what they are supposed to be. The NJ HiRailers have somewhere on here the work that it took to build them, I don't remember if it was linked here earlier in the topic or not. I'll have to have a look about when I get home so you will be able to get the full story from Ben as he had posted about it.

They work that they put into doing the tribute to the Towers is just as awe inspiring as seeing them in person. I am really glad I was told a out the 50th Anniversary party for OGR, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten all the shots I took.

Darrell, the layout looks fantastic.  Would you have any close up photos of the buildings on the layout?  I agree with the others when I say your Empire State and Chrysler Buildings are incredible.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

@Darrell Martin, yes, the Twin Towers are a bit shorter than what they are supposed to be. The NJ HiRailers have somewhere on here the work that it took to build them, I don't remember if it was linked here earlier in the topic or not. I'll have to have a look about when I get home so you will be able to get the full story from Ben as he had posted about it.

They work that they put into doing the tribute to the Towers is just as awe inspiring as seeing them in person. I am really glad I was told a out the 50th Anniversary party for OGR, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten all the shots I took.

Well, I tried locating the topic I was talking about(Ben did post earlier here), but not what I was talking about. Ben had posted somewhere on the forum about the construction to the Twin Towers, and I know I saw that topic. Unfortunately it was not anywhere in my inbox under what I searched for. I did find the "Urban Renewal" topic that was posted by Ben, but that was the addition of the new Empire State Building to the layout. They had a smaller version which was by where they built the Towers, but that wasn't the topic on them.

As we all know, trying to search a topic sometimes leads us to dead ends because of how common the word or words are in the search. World Trade Center brought up a ton of trade topics for people trading items, and Twin Towers brought up a bunch of twin hopper topics to really stretch my mind to the limit. I think I went through about 25-30 pages collectively on them. The only thing I can think of is messaging Ben or asking him to lead us to that topic. Maybe that will wait until Tuesday.

It's not Tuesday but I do have an update to my layout. I was unhappy with the backdrop I had on one part of my downtown area and replaced it with what you see here. I am using old Lionel #47 crossing gates with MTH flashing signals, other than the solenoid buzz I really like the way they work together.

@coach joe posted:

Darrell, the layout looks fantastic.  Would you have any close up photos of the buildings on the layout?  I agree with the others when I say your Empire State and Chrysler Buildings are incredible.

Joe, thank you very much for the comments. I do have some individual photos which I'll post in upcoming weeks. Gotta take some more though.

I was reading Dr. Frank Heynick’s article about building the Matteawan station in the latest edition of OGR magazine (great issue BTW)  and he mentioned his prior article concerning his Gotham layout in run 296. Fortunately, as a digital subscriber, I was able to go back and read that fantastic article, which contained a little tease about going on YouTube to view Dr. Heynick’s unique video.  Well, going there to view it was a no brainer after reading his article, but what shocked me when I pulled it up was how cool that video really was.  I haven’t gone back through all pages of this thread, so forgive me if someone already posted this, but Frank’s video highlights one of the best tall building layouts out there. (next to Alan Arnold’s layout). I’m not sure I could sit back and let my layout it get damaged the way he did, but it makes for some fabulous viewing. Check it out below -

I’ll try and imbed it, but here is the link in case things don’t work out - https://www.youtube.com/@dr.frankheynick5582/featured