A lot of info from seeing a few first hand and mining a lot of information (TCA library for dealer literature, examining photos of of displays, etc.) Their construction techniques were "of the day": plywood postwar, wood planks/boards prewar, with little imperfections abounding (I think they used photo retouching/artistic license a LOT). And since these are fairly rare I knew I would likely never be able to collect originals and stay married (although the wife does like the displays). Now over the years I have been lucky enough to add originals as well as recreate some items I wanted but knew would never show up, and the displays and service thing are the part of the prewar Lionel I enjoy most, while most of what I have is prewar Lionel Std and O gauge with Ives transition. I think the neatest piece I have done is a tie between the Lazy susan display (which I was chasing doen details on for 10+ years) and the ferris wheel (built from pictures form scratch). Hope to get some more things underway soon, as well as get some work done on my cars!!
