Why so few O Scale Structure Kits?

Anthony, for some reason, I think the Walther’s previous O scale kits are now marketed by Atlas. That said, I don’t think they ever made the quantity that they made for HO. I know they didn’t make the overpass and retaining walls. As for myself, I’d probably scratchbuild them out of Masonite and/or foamcore and styrene.

@Artie-DL&W posted:

Anthony, for some reason, I think the Walther’s previous O scale kits are now marketed by Atlas. That said, I don’t think they ever made the quantity that they made for HO. I know they didn’t make the overpass and retaining walls. As for myself, I’d probably scratchbuild them out of Masonite and/or foamcore and styrene.

I was suspecting that there was a lot of scratchbuilding for such items.  I have to admit though, that overpass kit is really awesome.  (I might CAD it for upscaling.) I also like the fact that pretty much everything in the CornerStone series fits together.  I know it takes some of the "fun" out of modeling, but I'd probably be beset by tremors trying to build out some of those structures.

I never had the time to put a kit together. Also, I never really had the talent to do it. I preferred to buy a structure already put together,

There are way more modelers in HO to offset the costs of tooling those kits. Figure the cost of producing the kit and what it would sell for in O vs. HO. Probably not a big enough volume sales wise. Some of the larger Walters kits are pretty cool. But they require a footprint many o gaugers don’t have. What I think would sell. Is their line of 3 sided flats that can be placed up against a backdrop.

TW Trainworx. A forum sponsor makes a similar overpass in kit form.

O scale is a smaller market, and it requires a larger space commitment.  What might fit on a 4x8' in HO may not practical to use in that same space in O scale.  Additionally, because O Scale is twice the length of HO Scale, in three dimensions the same structure will have 8x the volume of the HO kit.  Now most kits are significantly hollow, so that won't necessarily mean they require 8x the material to make it, but it will be more than 2x the material, which raises the cost proportionally.   So you are spending more to make a more-expensive kit that won't sell in as high of quantities as a smaller version.  This is why so many O-gauge kits are of smaller structures, especially logging/mining/western-style buildings, often made from cheaper material like balsa wood.  The few large kits are usually limited/custom runs by guys who design and sell them more as a hobby/side gig than their primary income source.  Frankly I'm surprised someone like Menard's can even sell larger completed models for the price they do; they must have thin profit margins.

There are actually enough O scale kits still available to keep you busy for the next twenty years. Walthers/Atlas are on the easy end. Woodland Scenics and Downtown Deco are readily available. Most of the Craftsman kits were made in limited quantity, maybe 100-150 not unlike 3rd Rail models. You pretty much had to pre order to get them but many can be found on the auction sites today.

Pete

Anthony,

Let me apologize for the dissertation in advance. I believe your observation is spot on. I agree with some of the other responses you have received. With that being said, it still doesn't take away from the frustration I get with this reality. Nowadays I quickly get over it. We as O scalers simply don't have the "luxuries" as the smaller scales to get a kit and build as is or kit-bash if we choose. Their choices seem to be endless. From eras past and present, they have it! It's clearly always about money money money. If that's the case offer the kits BTO just like they do with locomotives. These type of threads have popped up several times since I have been a member so I know there are people who would jump at this option if it were available. Those are the same people that employ forumites like Alan Graziano, Joe Fauty, etc. to build for them and trust me they/we are spending some good money with this option. There are some who, just like HO/N scalers, just don't have the time or skill to scratch build everything. Most O scalers, I'm aware of, that have these wonderful layouts with unique structures are close to or in retirement age. Those people come from a time when everything wasn't so fast and "right now". They took the time to learn the craft of building and creating things if it didn't exist. In some cases, even if it did exist, they still created their own. If not in that age category, they are of another world, like Norm Charbonneau. If you're reading this Norm that's a compliment, lol.

Unfortunately, because of the many options there are today for hobbies and for people to spend disposable income, most will not dedicate the time to learn this invaluable part of the hobby. I certainly understand the mere size and cost of O scale keeps many from the scale but those of us who are in it have made a choice knowing all of that. That's why we spend more on one locomotive than an HO/N scaler spends on the basic setup of a smaller to average size layout (bench work and track). I believe one thing that will keep the hobby thriving, in this day and age, is if there are more offerings and of course price point is part of that. If a newbie looks at a layout and says I want that, if they know they can put a kit together verses scratch build it they are probably more likely to give it a try. If they have to learn to build most structures they would like on top of everything else, they may elect to go to a scale where they don't have to or move to another hobby entirely. In the end this side of the hobby becomes confined to under the Christmas tree or wonderful trains without the "stage" to go with them. Though there are many modelers in O Scale who focus on the trains themselves, there are many who like the building process. That's why some tear their layouts down and start over. This is where they get their enjoyment. So more choices in structures and kits would be right up their alleys.

Though I don't plan to leave O scale, I know that's why some of my O scale friends have. I applaud those manufacturers who are offering kits and ready made buildings/structures for O scale. However, it certainly would be nice to have companies that provide more for HO/N throw us a bone from time to time. Especially as it relates to more unique and medium to larger structures. Also, more modern era structures which will immediately attract the younger generation. As I have always said, I believe O scalers are some of the best modelers because we have to be. This is one bright side of looking at things, I guess.

Dave

Anthony,  Twenty-two years ago Walthers offered an REA Transfer Building in HO.  I contacted them and asked when we could expect it in O Scale.  They said never because they could not recoup the costs of the molds.  Using the picture on the HO kit box as a reference, I scratch built one using foam core board for the walls and roofs.  Windows and personnel doors were purchased and the overhead doors are corrogated paper.  John

I'm a bit surprised by this initial post. The O Gauge world enjoys an enormous number of structure kits... I have over thirty on my pike and am frustrated that I lack space for more. (My pike is 25' by 55').

The kits available in O Gauge are expensive... they tend to be craft models, not cast resin or shake the box. Options range from Banta Models to the exquisite kits offered by Roger M at Stony Creek Models. There is a wonderful world of O Gauge kits in between.

The barrier is that in approaching a craft kit, one needs patience and willingness to develop new skills. I have buildings for which I would like a "do over". LOL

Jan

There are a lot of O scale building kits but most of those kits are appropriate for a 1930's to 1950's theme. There is next to nothing when it comes to anything remotely modern like strip malls, Walmart's, CVS's, restaurants, gas stations, etc.

In HO scale, the diesel era is far more popular than steam so you see those types of structures in abundance. O scale leans more towards nostalgia so the types of kits and preassembled buildings reflect that. Woodland Scenics makes some really nice stuff, most recently a substation so maybe they are the best bet for more contemporary structures in O scale.

Jan,

You and another contributor to this post make excellent points. The point for me is not that there aren't choices in O scale for structures. I believe there are. However, some of the kits you built and that have been referenced are several years old. Companies just continue to offer the same kits for several years. I've even seen some kits, in O Scale, that are basically the same structure but now have a different name.

If one has been building, let's say, for the last 20 years then you have a wonderful choice from then to now.  However, my question is how many "new" structures are available every year? You also have to consider the era. Some of the companies you mentioned are for modelers who model a very specific era or part of the country. This limits those who might want to model another era, such as the modern, which is where I believe O scale is lacking. When I think of Banta I think of more of an early western theme as well as with others you have mentioned. That's great if you model that period and location. However modern diesels might be a bit out of place with that theme. That's not to say there aren't structures, they offer, that can be mixed in and look just fine. There are obviously some structures that are timeless but others are for very specific eras and parts of the country.

Additionally, I agree that it will take a bit of patience to read instructions carefully and assemble a kit. There are definitely some challenging kits out there in O scale. You have to read instructions on just about anything you do that's new to you. However coming into the hobby with no experience at all and asking someone to build something from scratch is on another level, especially if that modeler wants a certain time period on their layout. Again the post is not about the ability to read instructions but about the choices we have as O scalers. Hands down, no matter how you look at it, HO/N scales have more of them. Specifically as it relates to newer and modern structures and kits. In general, this is true for everything.

Dave

You gotta get creative. A lot of O scale kits are out there but there's some limits. Building truly large buildings in O takes over a layout. So you'd do best to build them as flats. There's a number of modular wall type kits out there (DPM, the former Pecos River now Korber cement/brick walls as well as the TT wall panels, Ameritowne walls, older kits like Crummy Products , etc) that you can do a lot with. You're not likely to see a bunch of plastic glue up kits like you see in the walthers line because there just isnt the volume. I must admit though, now with all of these laser cutters and 3D printing outfits out there, I'm shocked some of them arent willing to offer scaled up versions.  Its a matter of scaling up the file and cutting out bigger pieces.  Eventually some may come around.

There are varying grades of kits. If you never built one, start with an Ameritowne kit. Its 4 walls and a roof. If you can do that, get one of the Atlas (nee Walthers) kits. They are simple enough but have more parts. They build up very nicely and you dont have to glue most of them together unless you want to. If you like that, build a few and branch out. Some of the "simpler" wood kits like Blair Line, BTS or American Model Builders make very satisfying projects. There are lots of older outfits that no longer exist, but none the less made some neat buildings. DSL shops, Schaumburg Model Works, B/J Traction come to mind.

Building kits can be a tedious endeavor. The craftsman kits that look more geared towards the narrow gauge crowd especially. There are some really nice kits from Bar Mills, Stoney Creek and the like. Just to old for me. It takes patience and the learning of new skills. You have to be willing to mess up and figure out how to hide it sometimes. I've become a huge fan of the plaster kits like downtown deco. They build up real nicely if you take some time to practice with them (and Randy will send you new walls if you screw up, who else does that?), and you can tell the first few I built from some of the later ones as I figured it out. A lot of people dont want to take the time to do that. Pressed for time between putting the track down and running trains or building kits, a lot of people choose the former and just get the trains running. One of the nice things about O is you can SEE the details. So when you build a kit, you get to add all of these extra things that an unbox and drop building doesnt have.  To some thats the fun. To others, a building is a building. Its all how you see it. Even the prebuilt buildings can be kits.  They come apart. There have been plenty of rebuilds posted on the forum of MTH buildings and the like and they look great if you pop out the windows, repaint em and change the trim. A lot of kits look old timey, but cities arent all new.

No modern kits? Use what you can get your hands on and modify it. Take this for example. I built this Amazon warehouse from the cinderblock walls of a Downtown Deco Bus Station that I bought for cheap because the front wall was cracked.  I cut them in half vertically and flipped the tops over, sanded down the foundations on the bottom to the same height as the cornice that was formerly the "top" and glue the 4 sections together end to end. The corrugated top of the building is a sheet from the N Scale Architect (who, despite the name sells materials in all scales, including an O scale building flat kit) over an extremely basic frame of evergreen styrene squares and sheets. The sign is 3D printed from a file that I found on Thingiverse and fiddled with a little bit. Its a scale 128' wide (32") despite only being 3/8" or so thick. I guess if I had another Bus Station to waste I could make it wider, but selective compression sometimes helps. Total investment, maybe $60-65?

Brick buildings never went out of style. If you need some of the more modern stone and concrete buildings, you may have to build them, or even consider overlaying new surfaces on an existing building. Cover up windows, cut off upper floors.  Once you're done, no one would know.

Boilermaker1,

Again, I really like your Amazon flat. I think there are some who are following your advice and building what they want that is not readily available. That's honestly, what we have to do. A full size Amazon warehouse, even compressed, would be monstrous in O scale. At least for those of us with smaller to mid-size layouts. However, as mentioned above, newer gas stations, restaurants, etc. would not be. As far as the larger buildings there are a few who offer them for those with the space to use them. One such example is Altoona model works. So why can't someone make a CVS or Race Track gas station?

Your advice makes sense, however when sticking to the title of the thread, the question is asking about the lack of ready made structures, specifically more modern, that we have available in O Scale.

As you mentioned, I do hope that in this age of 3D printing we see more variety in offerings.

I guess my point has been made. I have contributed more than the author at this point, lol. I'll respectfully bow out now.

Dave

Walthers did three O-scale models.

Krazy Ken's Kar town

A Gas Station

A Feed store/mill.

Peter, the factory looks great!!!  I collected several of those kits hoping to kitbash something similar in the future. Maybe when I retire.

Bob

There's a fair amount of O scale kits available, you have to search for them. 25+ years ago, kits dominated in the magazines, and since the hobby has become more RTR, which is a good thing for those of us that it takes countless hours to glue something together. Unfortunately, there's not many RTR buildings that match the hi-rail segment, except for Woodland Scenics, which are very limited in variety. It's actually odd, Lionel puts out $2,000 highly detailed locomotives yet its building line looks like pre-school stuff, with a few exceptions.

There are a lot of O scale kits out there, but my experience is that many of the smaller manufacturer's fail at advertising and reaching a broad audience.  Far too many rely on the very few meets that cater to O scale and then many also heavily rely on Facebook, etc.  It's also been my experience is that many of the smaller manufacturer's are unresponsive to communication inquiries and attempted sales. Several that I have tried to contact in the past 3 months alone have stated that they do not (1) check their email (no phone number provided nor ordering on line) or (2) "I don't use email...) and again no phone number provided nor ordering on line.

Sadly, many of these smaller manufacturer's also produce some very useful kits that wold sell well..........if their potential customers even knew that they existed.

Great thread with lots of relevant posts:

• As Dave says, HO definitely enjoys a huge advantage in numbers and variety due to space and costs of manufacturing.
• As Martin points out, the smaller structure producers don't really market their products very well.
• There are more O scale kits out there than we might think, but their visibility and availability are limited.

That said, scratch-building and kit-bashing are your options.  I have a number of unique buildings "on the drawing board" for my layout.  Most of them are medium sized; none of them are available as kits or out of the box.  And the steel-related structures?  Forget about it.  Those will all be large and scratch built.

George

OP may want to tweak title since structure is getting misinterpreted as building because most ogr posters never read the original post.  It ain't cause they are too busy.  People just don't read.   It's an epidemic.

HO is a very large market.  Large scales - S, O, G - are all very small markets.   There's simply not enough demand to manufacture kits for things that aren't buildings.  So - Masonite is your friend.

Also - keep in mind -  most building kits - aren't to scale.  They are 1:64 in dimensions with 1:48 doors.

@Jacobpaul81 posted:

OP may want to tweak title since structure is getting misinterpreted as building because most ogr posters never read the original post.  It ain't cause they are too busy.  People just don't read.   It's an epidemic.

I suspect you're talking about me.  Yes, I've noticed that interpretation in the numerous comments thus far.  At this point, it's probably not worth the effort as most will still continue to bring up buildings.  I'm working up a reply to the comments.  I reference buildings as well but only in reference to existing comments.  Unfortunately, my reply is already several note pad pages long and will need and has already meandered into other topic territory and will need to be tweaked before I even think of posting it.

Anthony

Do l ever agree with "mwb" above!  Many? (No way to know)  manufacturers are hiding under a rock.  Betcha OGR would love to run their ads .  (Of course, the pandemic doesn't help, but this has been true for years). Carolina Craftsman garnered my attention by offering new and different kits on the net auction, where they were SEEN.   I grabbed several l liked, but they were period and fit my theme. I thought they were very creative and imaginative, but l have heard the O section was sold off, and HO won out again. Conversely, Menards has offered several contemporary buildings l can't use, as they are "modern".  This is not just structures; HO has long offered every prototype piece of powered rolling stock l desire in O three rail, but has never existed. We is outnumbered!

Anthony,

I will take the blame for misinterpreting the thread. I guess you "hit a nerve". Though much of what I said relates to your topic you were very specific in what you were asking and provided clear photos of it too. I did read it but sometimes one misinterprets what is read.

Dave

@luvindemtrains posted:

Anthony,

I will take the blame for misinterpreting the thread. I guess you "hit a nerve". Though much of what I said relates to your topic you were very specific in what you were asking and provided clear photos of it too.

Dave

Dave - You're being to hard on yourself.  It was inevitable that this topic would meander its way into building territory.  Which is fine, as I reference the comments in my own comments (should I ever get around to typing this diatribe).  Overall, the conversation in this topic has been extremely helpful and enlightening and I really do hope the conversation continues in either direction.

Anthony

P.S. - I do plan to include photos of Walthers building kits

I do agree that looking through the model rail literature for HO there is a much wider range of structure products out there.

IMHO, watch out for OGR magazine and other hobby magazines as well for articles on how to combine existing kit components into new structures.  If you don't want to freelance something, you can sometimes use OGR for step by step instructions to replicate.

I have also found you can use HO magazines and books and double the size, but of course that is if you want to scratch build which may not be your forte.

AND/OR - follow the builds on this part of the forum for some great step by step ideas to turn the available kits into something new.  Peter's (Putnam Division's) kitbash of the electrical substation is a great example which I for one have saved for another day...

Fantastic! Such a wealth of knowledge and thought in the replies thus far.  Hopefully this topic will see continued conversation.

I was debating the merits of a coherent response to the comments made thus far but I'm not sure if that's practical without ultimately ending up with a rather lengthy piece of prose.  Instead, I'll just take the path of least resistance and respond somewhat half haphazardly.

I did want to clarify some aspects of the Walthers' kits.  They are not something you can take out of the box, push together, and set on a layout.  The overpass in particular requires you to make various decisions regarding the side railing (no railing, iron railing, cement railing, the orientation of the retaining walls (straight or angular) or whether to use the other retaining walls from a separate kit.  And then there is the glueing and painting.

In regards to modern day buildings, I also purchased a UPS store.  This kit requires significant modeling work.  You are expected to apply mortar to the brick panels and paint them up.  However, they do provide very nice 3D signage.  Compare this to the Atlas O Wheeler's Auto Dealer kit (which I did purchase).  The signage is nothing more than stickers...something I detest.  (As a side note, Walthers also make an elaborate UPS warehouse with tractor/trailer bays but it is rather expensive.)

While my original focus of this thread was specific to structures, the topic of buildings has been introduced with some fervor.  I do have a fair number of the built-up Woodland Scenics O Scale Buildings.  They do seem to target a specific period in history (very nostalgic) but could be used for a historic downtown area.  I have relegated the majority of them to a future Rock Island GP-7 era layout.  @catnap - I do have the substation.  It has also been relegated to the future Rock Island layout as I peg it around 1945 to 1957.

In regards to learning and acquiring the skills needed to model and craft scenery for layouts (the "stage"), I do think it's something that the younger generation have little patience for.  In this time of mobile phones and instant gratification, who has time for cutting and painting and glueing?  I think there is a specific target group (cough, cough @Paul Kallus) who would like nothing more to take a piece of scenery out of a box and drop it on their layout.  FYI: Michael's provides a fair number of box kits with practically everything (including spatulas) to create a diorama targeting a specific type of setting.  I bought the water and pond edge kit.

Unfortunately, I seem to be missing the genes necessary for modeling scenery.  However, that being said, I'm apparently incredibly proficient in CADing up structures from photos alone.  As long as I can see it and have something in the photo as a known measurement reference, I can build a detailed 3D model of the object.  Unlike many 3D models I see, I tend to incorporate curves and bevels where appropriate.  I mention this because several people have mentioned the hope that 3D printing will help fill in the gap of lacking O Scale structures.  This seems to be the case.

In regards to scratch building a building, I do plan on constructing a replica of the CSX Queensgate Watch Tower in the very near future.  This should be an interesting endeavor even it if turns into a train wreck (no pun intended).

@mwb - If these small companies are not going to make the effort to become visible, then I'm not making the effort to track them done.  Running a business requires blood, sweat and tears.  If you're not willing to put for the effort, then you might as well not do it at all.

@Boilermaker1 - Is that a Walthers' box in the lower left hand corner of your photo?  (I just had to point that out!)

@rattler21 and (Peter) @Putnam Division - That's really great work!  It demonstrates what can be done with the basics.

@Paul Kallus - I totally agree on Lionel's buildings being very novice in look.  The only buildings from them that have any level of detail is their deluxe suburban houses (which I have two).

I think my next comment brings us to a very important point, so I'm going to place it in a separate reply...

Anthony

It has been alluded to in some of the comments and I'd like to see further comments on the matter...does the lack of certain O Scale scene related pieces curb the appeal of O Gauge/Scale to the next generation???

Anthony

@A. Wells posted:

@mwb - If these small companies are not going to make the effort to become visible, then I'm not making the effort to track them done.  Running a business requires blood, sweat and tears.  If you're not willing to put for the effort, then you might as well not do it at all.

Completely agree.  Sadly, they seem to think that what they are doing to be visible is going to work - we find their remains floating about on the secondary market - kits for all sorts of neat stuff from names you've heard of maybe once.

I think too many start a business thinking it's all fun and then find out it's work.  Having produced a handful or so number of kits, it's a real educational experience putting everything into a box, putting your name on it, and trying to sell your products.

@A. Wells posted:

It has been alluded to in some of the comments and I'd like to see further comments on the matter...does the lack of certain O Scale scene related pieces curb the appeal of O Gauge/Scale to the next generation???

Anthony

I don't think so.  In my mind - it's cost, availability, and space as much as it is anything.

As things stand - the large scales - that is S, O, and G - rely mostly on nostalgia sales and older buyers with disposable income - no student loans, no children to feed, no home loans, etc.

HO and N are much much more affordable for entry into the hobby.

At this point, Lionel / MTH are moving to limit run, built to order models - that lack of inventory will not help with long term participation in O scale.

Personally, I think the HO builders should look at moving into S and converting existing product lines.  Hook the HO buyers before the age out and either give up or start plucking off the O gauge used piles. 

@A. Wells posted:

@Boilermaker1 - Is that a Walthers' box in the lower left hand corner of your photo?  (I just had to point that out!)

Yes, its the Magic Pan Bakery. I bought it with the hopes that the storage silos and elevator would "Scale up" ok, but I dont really think it will, so at some point I plan on using it to measure and rebuild some of it in O scale. I have a few others as well.

@A. Wells posted:

It has been alluded to in some of the comments and I'd like to see further comments on the matter...does the lack of certain O Scale scene related pieces curb the appeal of O Gauge/Scale to the next generation???

Anthony

I know I said I would bow out but this is very interesting to me. I think we start this discussion with what most currently model. Most of us model what we grew up seeing, who are parents, grandparents, and great grandparents worked for, or what may have been passed down to us.  It was relevant to us. There are probably a lesser amount of us who simply have a fascination with the history of the railroads and simply do the research to create that time period on our layouts. I'm eclectic in that right, because I love the history of the railroad but the more modern railroad is what brought me into the hobby. This sometimes poses a problem with what type of infrastructure, buildings, etc. I place on my layout.

I agree that cost, availability, and space play a role in the O scale market but I also believe relatability does as well. When someone sees something they can relate to such as a CVS, Walmart, Taco Bell, Game Stop, etc. this immediately grabs their attention because it's relevant and gives them a sense of familiarity. It's nice to be with dad or granddad and they say, "That's a model of IGA. Those were great grocery stores." But can young Bobby truly relate to it? There have been several posts and responses having to do with grandpa/or dad building a layout for little Bobby. Little Bobby is fascinated at first because the enthusiasm from his most beloved was infectious. As Bobby ages and experiences more life the trains take the back burner and in many cases totally fall off the stove. Again, if you ask a beginner entering the hobby, to scratch build, research history, and spend lots of money you are not going to get very good results. We can argue that this in itself is a travesty but no need because the fact remains that this is a changing world and this aspect of the hobby has to follow those changes to continue. Please don't mix my words, I believe the manufactures are doing a great job as it relates to technological advances as it relates to the hobby. That too, is very important.

In general, the railroad is not as fascinating to the newer generation as it was to most of us. The reason for this should be obvious. There is no real connection to it because they are vanishing right before our eyes. Railroad companies going out of existence, merges. You once saw 2 track mainlines and now it's down to one and the local runs once or twice a week maybe. The newer generation simply do not see trains as often as most of us did. You all know that story better than I. So like music, education, etc. you have to make it relevant and dangle that "carrot" to have a fighting chance of its survival. HO/N are doing that. If O Scale caters to the older generation with more disposable income, what happens when they are all in a better place? Most of the youngins and newbies are readily prepared to purchase the latest video game, iPhone, jPhone, kPhone because their friends and family have them. They're not boasting that their friends have the latest Visionline Big Boy from Lionel. Shoot, train sets and equipment are not even in your local department stores like they used to be. You have to go the few LHS's that still exist or do the online thing.  I know you all understand and know this technology can get pretty expensive. People pay for what they want. So though cost is a huge factor, as a newbie, am I going to spend $1000 on the next Apple product or the latest rendition of the Lionel Big Boy (I know it's way more than $1000)? I'm not saying that adding a model of Home Depot is going to bring thousands of new people into the hobby but it will bring some and give those who currently model the modern era a little help with their model railroad endeavors. How many were excited when Menard's introduced their strip mall? Even those who said they couldn't use it commented positively. In many cases it was probably because it was something we had not seen in our scale. With some modifications or none at all that model sits on several layouts I have seen.

In closing, my question is why make the most modern diesel engine if you can't provide for the era specific surroundings?

Dave

Great post, and I agree, there arent as many for O scale. For me part of the fun is making my own from scratch or kit bashing. I have used many HO kits and "scaled them up" so to speak. Takes time which we sometimes dont have, but you learn a ton from improvising and those structurers are more special to the layout than others.

Korber Models, now owned Mr Muffin's trains, has a line of O scale structure kits that are not too difficult to build.    And the advantage is if the footprint is too big,  you can  use sides or ends to make a background building.    On some of these where the back is not visible, I have used both long sides as the front to get much longer building and made a false back our ot sheet styrene.

Anthony......yes, HO has way more kits......but don't let that stop you....repurpose the existing kits into the structures you want. Here is a Lionel Coaling station kit bashed into a factory.....scrap pieces of wood, styrene and parts from leftover kits were added....

The Lionel SubStation and Municipal Building kits share the same foot print and many parts.....here, the look I wanted was an early 20th Century factory.... It took lots of cutting; tons of glue; and, many extra pieces of scrap styrene.

Next projects:

A large coaling tower from combining Plasticville coaling towers.

An overhead crane using a Plasticville signal bridge as the starting point.

Peter

I tend to take the view that due to the limited number (vs HO) of O scale kits, it beomes an incentive to scratch build or as I like to do copy HO kits and scale them up to O scale. Yea it is slow but when you are done you have a unique structure no one else has on their layout.

In addition a lot of Walthers HO scale detail parts like their roof top details kit, electrical kit, dust collector kit etc or a lot of their tank kits look just fine on top of or along side of O scale buildings.

The thing is O has never been a big part of the market (and I'll quantify that in a second). I am sure some will point out that at one time Lionel was "it" and HO was a small thing, but that changed a long, long time ago, like by 1960's. HO and n have so much made for it that there is a huge market, and it isn't surprising. Given the constraints of O (cost isn't as much of an issue, HO and n scale equipment has gotten surprisingly expensive these days) with size and space, HO and N are more 'natural', you get a lot more done in a smaller space.

Anyway, I have been reading MR for many decades, and O has always been, if not a side project, a very small part of the market. The Walthers N and HO catalogs were huge, O was in comparison an advertising brochure practically. So what we see in this world is not new. I would hazard that 80-85% of train modelling is HO/N, and honestly has been for a long time. Manufacturers like bulk, for obvious reasons, lot easier to recoup costs and make money. It is good for the consumer because you get competition (take a look at the DCC world with command control for example).

In other words, O is what it always has been. One of the largest costs for a kit or pre built building is tooling, and given the limited market for O, it takes a lot more sales to make back costs, because while they charge a premium for O stuff, they can't charge enough to make back costs as quickly as HO.

For example, assuming the tooling costs are the same between HO and N (they aren't, though there can be common parts, an HO scale window might be a small window in an O scale structure) and let's say it takes 100 sales to break even on this cost. In HO, even being really generous to O, for every 100 structures you sell, in O you might sell 10.  They can't charge 10x for the O scale kit, so it is going to take a lot longer to recoup costs and then maybe make a profit with O. 

And these days from what I am led to believe in HO and N most people are buying ready built structures, not kits. There isn't a huge cost savings with kits these days over a comparable ready to use structure because of the way things are being produced (I am sure some envision a person sitting at a workbench putting together the kit version the same way they would; it doesn't work like that).

It is hard to compare to the past, but in HO and N I think that a lot of people back then did kits or scratchbuilt did so because they didn't have a choice, it is what you did (it was like the 1930-40's with HO , and well into the 50's, you often had to buy kits for rolling stock or even engines, it is all that was out there, RTR became a big thing by the late 50's).  These days there is such a selection of RTR that people can find what they want or they can easily modify it, so kits in general are not as big part of the market either.  I think time plays a role in this for people who are still in their working years with families and such, and the other factor is that there are simply a lot of people who don't enjoy putting together kits or scratchbuilding but in past decades would have to to get what they needed and now are happy not doing that.

In terms of the companies that are hard to reach, etc, these are not big businesses, they are hobby/cottage businesses , some person doing it out of a basement someplace. Not saying they shouldn't be more responsive, but likely this is a side business they 'get to' when not doing other things, not their livelyhood. I kind of wonder if these people are like Gibbs on NCIS, they prefer the old ways of doing things, cause these days all monitoring email requires is a cheap smart phone or a tablet, or if you have a business phone, can access voice mail anywhere or even get a written alert to your cell phone from a landline phone or whatnot *shrug*.

Regarding upscaling...you can tell I was bored today at work....

Footprint is 7.25 inches by about 15 inches for O Scale.

@A. Wells posted:

Walthers has a ton of Scenery and Structure HO kits for just about everything the mind can imagine.  I've noticed that there seems to be a lack of such kits for O Scale...or am I just misinformed?

I know there are many, many buildings available for O Scale.  I'm specifically referring to such items referenced in the attached photo.

Anthony

You are misenformed. Many small dealers-smaller than walthers- that cater to o scale have what you seek. See the scenery source list and check every vendor since its been a while since the list has been updated.

http://www.crowriverproducts.c...ndex.php?cPath=33_35

Has anyone modified an Atlas Ice House kit?  Photos?  John

So if you limit the field you shrink the availability of the pool. I have 45 O scale structures on my layout and the problem is not finding one but choosing those that have the right "look" and acceptable footprint. My layout is divided into a downtown, industrial area, warehouse section, and neighborhoods where people live. I am going to add a seaport and a farm in the country. I can think of a half a dozen Menards structures that I would add tomorrow given the space. They are also quite a few from SW that I would like to have. I do have 4 or 5 scratch built factory facades as well. MTH and Lionel made a few good ones. I don't really see a problem but I will admit that I am NOT at the "professional" level as many of you are. Great stuff out there!