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Mark, Nice building and requires a newly designed 4.5-volt transformer with an impressive 5,000 mA output Menards SKU# 279-4050).  Am running out of electrical outlets for your items.  Assuming future buildings will also require an Menards SKU# 279-4050). 

Are you going to have one that will accommodate multiple units as you did with previous transformers?

Last edited by Rich Melvin

Mark, if you keep coming up with all these mega-light buildings, and if several layout-builders are in the same neighborhood, I can envision the scene from Christmas Vacation when Clark finally gets the lights to work and the entire neighborhood dims-out until they kick in the auxiliary nuclear power.

Hey - that's a GREAT idea for your next building - a reactor to power all of this stuff!!

RadioRon posted:

The building looks great, for sure!  How does Menards keep coming up with these ideas?!?     That said, who will be putting any of the logos from the 20 "deceased" railroads on a structure with a Starbucks out front?  Only 2 or 3 of the "modern era" logos would seem right.  Just an observation.... which I am kinda surprised no one else has made yet.  

 

Because in my world they all still exist. 

RadioRon posted:

The building looks great, for sure!  How does Menards keep coming up with these ideas?!?     That said, who will be putting any of the logos from the 20 "deceased" railroads on a structure with a Starbucks out front?  Only 2 or 3 of the "modern era" logos would seem right.  Just an observation.... which I am kinda surprised no one else has made yet.  

 

I was wondering if say 2 or 3 stickers on each side and 3 across the front would they cover the starbucks emblem and name. If there not to big in height to do so. I was thinking like Chessie system, B&O, and Western Maryland on one side, PRR, Reading Lines and PC on the other side and like N&W, NYC , And NS on the front and if necessary the second NYC could be used. Or maybe the two NYC and N&W on front and NS on the top where it says world Headquarters. 

Nothing against Starbucks but I don't drink coffee and never have and would like to see a World headquarters of railroads. 

Just an idea. 

"This office building is the next in a series of large buildings with a small footprint."

Been very impressed with the assortment of new, "out of the box" thinking by Menards on their building designs. Hope this statement is true as I am still hoping for a large weathered coal/tipple building at some point.  I have a large assortment of empty coal hoppers screaming to be loaded with coal.........................please, please Menards, give them a job to do.

 

 

rtraincollector posted:

I was wondering if 2 or 3 stickers on each side and 3 across the front would cover the Starbucks emblem & name.  If they're not to big in height to do so.  I was thinking like Chessie system, B&O & Western Maryland on one side, PRR, Reading Lines and PC on the other side & N&W, NYC  & NS on the front &, if necessary, the second NYC could be used. Or maybe the two NYC and N&W on front and NS on the top where it says world Headquarters. 

Nothing against Starbucks but I don't drink coffee and never have and would like to see a World headquarters of railroads. 

Just an idea. 

That could work.  But, since there is light behind the sign, the Starbucks lettering may likely show thru the other stickers.  Hard to tell, but something that someone can experiment with when they're building arrives.    

The lack of vertical lines in the windows is a deal breaker for me, sorry Menards, but that is an important detail.

The “World Headquarters” sign is also a bit odd to me, I cannot recall ever seeing that as a massive sign on an office building. Tons of corporate logos, sometimes huge in scale, but never with Regional, National, or International HQ after them. 

Hope the next round of large scale releases is more like the York Hotel and less like this. 

CincinnatiWestern posted:

The lack of vertical lines in the windows is a deal breaker for me, sorry Menards, but that is an important detail.

The “World Headquarters” sign is also a bit odd to me, I cannot recall ever seeing that as a massive sign on an office building. Tons of corporate logos, sometimes huge in scale, but never with Regional, National, or International HQ after them. 

Hope the next round of large scale releases is more like the York Hotel and less like this. 

Some buildings are so well executed that they can be plopped onto a layout without modification.  Others can be treated like kits and be open for tweaking.  I think this is one that can be tweaked.   Add those vertical lines, change the sign, cut the Starbucks off.  With a little creativity, I think people will be able to make this work for a variety of purposes.

Swafford posted:

Good Day Mark the Menards Guy, 

Thank you for the office building!  Looks awesome!  

How about a hospital or bank building next!

Regards, 

Swafford

 

Geez, Frank, since Mark is listening to you about what Menards should make, ask for a brewery! Wild Mary and I keep hoping.

Actually, I have another idea: a Kwik Trip, or perhaps a convenience store that resembles a Kwik Trip, even if the La Crosse, WI, based retailer isn’t interested.

CincinnatiWestern posted:

...

The “World Headquarters” sign is also a bit odd to me, I cannot recall ever seeing that as a massive sign on an office building. Tons of corporate logos, sometimes huge in scale, but never with Regional, National, or International HQ after them. 

...

While the words "World Headquarters" appear rather large in the Menards picture, it's certainly not unheard of for corporations to have that phrase in a reasonably sized font either on their corporate HQ building or on a sign outside the building.  Saw that MANY times in my travels.  Now admittedly, I've been out of the corporate world for over a decade+ (and don't miss it one bit, by the way).  So if you're not seeing HQ signs now, it's likely more and more companies are keeping a lower profile in this crazy world we find ourselves in today.  Sadly, we've gone from corporations showing pride that a building is their corporate headquarters operation to a time we now drive by buildings that have no signs whatsoever (for security reasons).  

In any event, Menards is definitely on a roll, and this is yet another winning offering that's sure to be very popular.

David

Last edited by Rocky Mountaineer

TowDog -- The upside is if this is like the York Hotel it is very well built, the downside is being able to pull the windows and sign will either break the wooden structure into unusable scraps or require the skills of a master modeler -- well outside what most of us can do. I have upgraded / downgraded many ready made buildings for the layout, but in effect tearing this apart to remove windows and the lighted sign is more work than just scratch building would be in my view.

Rocky Mountaineer -- I agree and often see signs which reflect a building being the HQ for a company, however, that wording is generally meaningfully smaller than the corporate name / logo. On this building the corporate name / logo appears to be roughly the size of the WOR in world. I don't believe it is a comment on the state of American business, as many, many companies place their brands in huge lettering across the tops of buildings around the world, but rather one of scale used for the terms. The best example I can thing of along this line are Trump hotels, which say "Trump" 30' or more high, it can not be missed even a great distance, "international hotel" on the other hand can only be read if you're within a half a block or so away.

General comment -- On the whole I am Menards fan, they are my home improvement supplier of choice, their box cars, tankers, and wooden decked flats are an outstanding blend of detail vs value, their buildings for the most part match the rolling stock in detail to value. I know any even slightly not positive feedback is often viewed as an attack on the importer or company, that is not the case.

The World HQ building has a lot of great qualities, the detailed coffee shop by example with the glass roof is outstanding, however, a few minor at the design stage details seem to have missed the mark -- the giant WORLD HEADQUARTERS sign and the lack of vertical window lines -- both of which are minor design issues. That Mark the Menards Guy seems to read these forums, providing honest feedback is I believe a good thing.

Jim R. posted:
Swafford posted:

Good Day Mark the Menards Guy, 

Thank you for the office building!  Looks awesome!  

How about a hospital or bank building next!

Regards, 

Swafford

 

Geez, Frank, since Mark is listening to you about what Menards should make, ask for a brewery! Wild Mary and I keep hoping.

Actually, I have another idea: a Kwik Trip, or perhaps a convenience store that resembles a Kwik Trip, even if the La Crosse, WI, based retailer isn’t interested.

For you and Wild Mary

http://marketplace.trainzaucti...oke-LN%25Box-8320073

 

Panther97 posted:

The lack of lines on the windows was something that caught my attention as well.  I was waiting for some folks to post pictures on their layouts to see how they looked.

I think the problem is not that it isn't realistic, but that it looks like a lot of ugly, boring 1960s-1970s office buildings that are now being torn down or refaced.  The window lines are there, but are black and so not really visible.  I am on the fence with the building and want to really like it but am curious to see what can be done to it maybe with creative use of interior lighting.  I think it has potential, especially if it's in the backdrop and not a focal point of the layout like the York hotel would be.

towdog posted:
Panther97 posted:

The lack of lines on the windows was something that caught my attention as well.  I was waiting for some folks to post pictures on their layouts to see how they looked.

I think the problem is not that it isn't realistic, but that it looks like a lot of ugly, boring 1960s-1970s office buildings that are now being torn down or refaced.  The window lines are there, but are black and so not really visible.  I am on the fence with the building and want to really like it but am curious to see what can be done to it maybe with creative use of interior lighting.  I think it has potential, especially if it's in the backdrop and not a focal point of the layout like the York hotel would be.

I agree.  I'm on the fence as well and I'm anxiously awaiting pictures from other forum members.   I really like the larger buildings and I ordered the York building earlier today.   I decided to hold off on this one until I see a few pictures.   

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