I have looked at some of the HO scale buildings on the internet and they look a lot like the N scale stuff. Although, I haven't tried it yet, I have a feeling that the HO stuff might work on my N scale layout. Not to just give prospective of distance but actually placed right next to N scale buildings. Has anyone out there tried this yet and agree/disagree that it would look OK? Thanks!
IMO some of the really selectively-compressed HO scale "large scale industry" buildings such as the Walthers Recovery Boiler House or the Walthers Kraft Mill can, with some modification, be made to represent very large N-scale industries - particularly if you approach them as boxes of kit-bashing parts as opposed to "must follow assembly directions to a t" building kits. I seem to recall that in the past some such kits of indeterminate scale (notably with large, featureless walls with minimal windows/doors) came with such doors/windows parts to model in either N or HO, but of course I can't find examples.
OTOH, I must disagree with Joe, as smaller HO scale buildings with readily identifible human scale elements such as one-story stores or single family homes will look VERY odd on an N-scale module/layout. (The reverse as mentioned before, using N scale buildings and details for background forced perspective, is pretty common and can be made to work very well).
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Many of the Walthers items relating to the steel industry are undesized. I suspect HO scale models could be adapted successfully to an N scale layout. The blast furnace and the Hullett Unloader seem like good candidates.
Tom was thinking right along the same lines as I was. Walthers did compress the blast furnace to closer to 1:160 scale. The Hulett unloaders, however are scaled very close, if not spot-on, to the real monsters.
I'm a bit of a rivet counter so I'd generally say no but...it depends. What specific model are you thinking about? Some advertisements use photos of different scale models of the same structure/loco/rolling stock just to show what's available from that manufacturer (look for any small print stating something like " *HO Scale model shown.").
I can usually spot an out of scale structure because something just doesn't look right...other times the modeler has done a superb job of kitbashing/disguising the 'wrong' scale that I can't tell. It all depends on the specific model and the specific situation on your layout.
Personally, I am always on the lookout for O buildings for my S scale layout. Many O gauge buildings for use with 3 rail O gauge are undersized to save space. You modify the doors and perhaps a couple of other features to get an S scale building.
The trouble with looking at a picture on the internet is that there is seldom any way to make an accurate size comparison. Now, a side-by-side display of two or three models of the same building in different scales would give a much better idea.
Any true HO or 1:96 scale building will look grossly oversize if used in close proximity to N scale trains - even if the building is a country outhouse. Likewise, smaller buildings used to force perspective have to be set well back from the foreground rails. The suggestion to use an HO building as a source of kitbashing parts is valid, but there is still the problem that a brick wall in HO becomes a red cinder block wall in N, while a standard personnel door is suddenly twelve feet high and five feet wide.
I agree with others, an HO building would look totally out of scale on an N scale layout. It's fairly common practice to use N-scale buildings in the background on HO layouts for "forced perspective" and that can be done successfully. The opposite, I can't see how.
When you do that, you're going to have, as was mentioned, bricks that may not be the exact scale size. However...when you look at many of the older AHM/Pola, Tyco/Model Power kits, many of them had bricks that were huge for HO scale and that didn't seem to stop many people from using them. And many early N scale kits had huge bricks too. So I think it's more a matter of where you are using the buildings, what the structures are and how you modify or paint them.
Some part of this hobby comes down to "You can't always find what you want in a prebuilt kit". I would say HO has an over-abundance of nice stuff, but having to scratchbuild the buildings you want at some point is pretty much a given.
I know how long it takes to build something like this, but frankly it just seems to make good sense to me to learn how to build what's obviously missing from your goals ather than make some half-way attempt at what you want with shortcuts, then trying to convince yourself it looks better than it really does. Lying to yourself is the pits.
It is not as hard to scratchbuild these days, what with materials like Gatorfoam and Foamcore, and computer software that can print out siding and windows and signage. And we now have 3-D printing available.
The MTH buildings come with no directions but have a loose red wire and a black wire, there are two clips on the bottom of the building (one is a ground I believe)......which wire goes where and how do you attach them? Does anyone have a picture of what it should look like?
I just ran mine to a terminal block and connected that to an MTH Z-1000 transformer to supply the power. With the controller, I was able to dial in as much power as I wanted, and it gave me the ability to dim the lights to various levels.
What you want to do is run a "buss" - that's a pair of wires connected to an accessory transformer or the accessory tap of a large transformer. Red is AC (hot). Black is Ground (or Common). The buss should travel around under the layout to the locations of buildings.
When you reach a building, you want to run a pair of feeder wires from the buss to the building. You can use a terminal strip to do that (per the diagram) or wirenuts or "suitcase" connectors. The terminal strip and wirenuts approaches have the advantage of allowing you to easily disconnect the building feeder wires.
Agreed, Larry. Now, not to hijack the thread, but I have a question pertaining to this also. Is this something you can run from say an AIU? If you are powering them directly from a transformer/power source, is there a fixed voltage that should be set for the buildings? What would the common practice be?
I can't reply on the use with a AIU. On my set up I have a separate transformer that goes to various terminal strips and I have another transformer that goes to other various terminal strips. One transformer is set to 12 or so volts and the other is set to 14 to 18 volts. The reason I personally do that is that some accessories I don't want to overpower. I understand it helps pro long bulb life and sometimes I don't want the bulbs so bright, especially some of the LED lights I'm playing with. So with two separate transformers used only for accessories I can decide which power source I want to connect each accessories to. Probably a overkill but it keeps it simple to me. My track power is completely separate and has absolutely nothing to do with any accessory.
I have scaled out most of my postwar Lionel O27 and find it is very close if not spot on to S scale (1/64). Me thinks I might go with S scale buildings, cars, people, trees...etc. rather than O scale. I have seen pictures and videos of O27 equipment running on O scale layouts with full O scale structures, and the trains look awfully small. Was wondering if anyone else has had the same "bright" thought I have. I also, I admit to owning a number of S scale structure kits from my Sn3 days. Has anyone tried this on their O27 layout?
Well actually if you put some of the smaller items like the Lionel plug door box car next to some thing from AF, S Scale Helper or American Models, you'll see while they are in the "neighborhood" as far as size, they are still large.
Likewise, taking an AF car and putting Lionel trucks on it, it is obviously smaller than the typical 027 train car. I know K-Line took their early production 027 cars and put S gauge trucks on them... I don't think that was a big hit for them. I do know other of other 027 guys including myself, who got them and put regular Lionel trucks on them... the K-Line S gauge PRR and NH box cars were nicer paint jobs than many of the marketed 027 cars.
It's really a matter of taste Edstrains. The Plasticville buildings for example, were a little small for true 0 scale, and a little large for true S... and I've seen them used with both types of trains.
If you had a larger sized layout, with an elevated section, the smaller buildings and cars could certainly be used to help created the illusion of distance.But then again, most folks I know that are into 027 is because they don't have the space to do a big layout. And while there are limitations to 027, you can do more on a small layout with 027 track and trains.
The only Lionel O27 car that is just about spot-on with no chopping and channeling in all three dimensions for S Scale is the cars derived from the old "Scout" double door boxcar. Here are some comparisons of a redetailed Scout boxcar (left) vs. Flyer, American Models, Pacific Rail Shops and S Helper Service S Scale cars.
If you have S scale buildings, I would use them, put them in the back and away from a full scale building. On real railroads, especially in past years, there were rail cars of all sizes being used. Have a mixed freight rolling down the tracks and no one would notice. I have compared Lionel O and Scout, Marx and AF.
Except for a few kits, there are no "S" buildings. Plasticville is a bit large for "S", but it "works". For my small "S" layout I have found that a few "HO" Woodland Scenics Ready-Built structures work well. Members of a "S" modular group once told me that they add larger doors to "HO" city buildings.
Ertl made a building set called the Farm Country Ranch that included several old west style building that would be perfect for your O27 project. They are listed as 1/64 but seem to be just a little big for S. There are other buildings in the series, but I've not seen them in person. 152ee80cbc
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