Plasticville: customs, paint, bashes, etc.

Hi John!

While these are not really "customized", I find many Plasticville buildings fit very well in to a "scale" setting. These buildings have been very lightly weathered with an airbrush and then received a coat of Testors Dullcote.

Working on the layout... I’m still figuring where I want to place items.  All I did was thin down some Testors flat tan and rust colored paints and brush them on.  It takes the “plasticyness” away from the barn, shack and water tower.  

Some background fronts. The Firehouse was not only split in half and both sides used to double its size, but so was the fire truck!

Storefront Church (oops, I didn't notice until after I looked at this pic,but it looks like a worshiper passed out from the heat - gotta get her up and well) and a typical urban area "apartments over stores" Main Street type building.

RosevilleRR is right, a little paint goes a long way with these plastic buildings. Here is a factory totally transformed with some primer rattle can spray.

I found a forlorn looking Plasticville chapel at a train meet, wrapped up in a plastic baggie, with yellow glue stains near the windows and magic marker writing on the roof, calling up to me, "Hey, Pat, I'm beat up, but I could look great someday on your layout."  Yeah, $7.00 later, the chapel went home with me.

I ran an utility knife along the window and door edges to separate the windows and door from the chapel walls, then cleaned up the openings to remove old glue scraps.  I also cleaned up the windows and doors in a similar manner.  I washed the walls, door, windows, roof pieces and steeple pieces in some dish detergent, then rinsed and dried them.  A few days later, I sprayed the walls and steeple pieces with Rustoleum's Stone Texture Spray Paint in a pink quartz color.  I sprayed the roof pieces with Rustoleum's American Accents Stone Spray Paint in a slate color and the door with some brown paint I had on the workbench.  The end result was a chapel that looked like it had pink stucco walls and steeple with a slate roof.

Here's how it looked on my last layout.

I customized a Plasticville or Bachman 7-11 store using light up vending machines inside, a Miller Engineering Mr. Peanuts sign and a "cannon" type of light on the store's rooftop sign.  Like the customized Plasticville chapel, I placed the 7-11 on the back of the layout so the scale size would work with the other buildings.  Here's how the 7-11 looked on my last layout.

Mr. Peanuts sign on side of building and the "cannon" light on roof to illuminate 7-11 sign helped to bring the building and scene to life.

Rooftop view showing how the LifeLike cannon light illuminated the 7-11 sign, although it tended to create "light pollution" behind the sign!

Front view with light up vending machines.  Ooooh--I didn't notice that until just know that the wiring crept up in view over the years.  My "counter" originally hid that mess!  The small Cooper and the back of the layout location helped with the scale - perspective situation so the building didn't look tiny in relation to the other buildings and the trains on the layout.

I gotta get some of that stone textured spray for future junk box projects, Pat.

Looks great, a super save.

Sergeant Pat - I love the way you "redeemed" that old Chapel.

I'd have a hard time focusing on the sermon if I worshipped there!

I used to have one of those Chapels when I was young, glue stains and all. Thank goodness mine was white!!!

@Lionelski posted:

I gotta get some of that stone textured spray for future junk box projects, Pat.

Looks great, a super save.

I’ve used that Rustoleum textured stone spray on retaining walls and bridge piers with great success.
Alan

Pat! “ Coral “church has been resurrected!
nice work with stone rust oleum.

Pat, the chapel has been reincarnated.

Coaling station converted to coal mine:

Jim

Plasticville church, painted and lights added (Evans Design).  The statue of Mary was donated by my daughter.

Mountain cabin under construction.

Lionelski

Thanks for starting this topic.  You know I love to modify and kitbash Plasticville kits and I love seeing what others have done with them.

Kitbashing the Plasticville Bachmann 1975 Coal Station

The Plasticville Bachmann Coal Station, number 1975, is a good kitbashing kit.

My first kit-bash was was to make a raised roof, (which had a conveyor to spread coal), on the the Coal Station to replace the 1975 flat roof.  I always liked the looks of that style coal station.  I used 1/8 inch tempered Masonite with one smooth side.  The smooth sides were scored with a knife to look like siding.  Windows were cut out and made and installed in the top section.  The parts were glued with Elmer's glue.  A sheet metal roof, obtained at a train show, was installed.

Finished Coaling Station

View of the under side of the new roof.

Charlie

Wife and I did these years ago....

A barn...

A couple gas stations...

A couple churches...

A car dealership...

A freight station

A library...

A couple motels...

A theater...

A gateman's elevated shanty...

...and others, all of which made good use of an accumulation of P-ville parts...which has continued to grow faster than creative time and energy can consume.

It was all fun....like everything else about this hobby.

KD

John - sometimes it looks great right out of the box!

I have kitbashed the Coaling tower in two projects. The basic kit always struck ne as two modest for a railroad so i did a project to put two of these structures together to make a more substantial railroad coaling tower. This one hasn't quite found the perfect layout spot but these two photos gives you an idea of the modified structure.

The second project was more complex modifying these structures into a retail coal dealer. I followed an article written a while back by Art Curran who had a keen vision on kitbashing structures. This one turned out rather well i thought.

Here’s a few of my Plasticville bashes...

Made this houseboat out of a Plasticville trailer:

Made these two trailers more detailed, and gave them an interior:

Added some lights to the coaling tower:

These towers are some of the first buildings I’ve done:

This pool, with actual depth and a light:

Former Frosty Bar:

Skyscraper made from 8 Plasticville hospitals, plus the radio tower on top of the adjacent building:

Enhanced K-line 7-11:

@Former Member posted:

Working on the layout... I’m still figuring where I want to place items.  All I did was thin down some Testors flat tan and rust colored paints and brush them on.  It takes the “plasticyness” away from the barn, shack and water tower.  

I did a couple of additions... added some signage and fruit crates.  I also sent the cows to slaughter.  They were too big.  I think they were from Life-Like.  Those of you who are eagle-eyed might recognize that signage from the MTH Rail King fruit stand.  Eventually I’ll add much more detail to this scene, rusty old tractors, etc.  I’m starting to like Plasticville’s smaller size.  The Rail King fruit stand I had took up too much room and didn’t have the charm.  I also need to pull up that O22 switch and flip the motor to the opposite side to allow more room.

Double  Plasticville Coal Tower.

Well, you can jam at Joe's Garage...

Or take the Last Train to Clarksville...

Mitch

A Plasticville depot re-imagined.

S. Islander

You win the Most Creative award KD. Thanks for sharing.

I'm now incentivized to go through my Plasticville parts stash, and the buildings already on  Warrenville, and. following your leads, see what I can create.

Looks great S. Islander. I know that I have one of these on the layout that now needs dressing up following your lead

frizzinbee,

I guess that a 2nd Most Creative award has to go to you.

That houseboat - WOW, really thinking out of the box

Thanks for sharing. You certainly upped the ante in creating fantastic buildings from humble beginnings

LIRR steamer,

Another winner of the award!

Thanks for sharing

@Don Winslow posted:

John - sometimes it looks great right out of the box!

I agree Don.

Mine was warped and beat up, so work it needed

Plasticville trailers, a little detail work, lights and you have a trailer park. Don

Log Cabin

The only Plasticville I have is a custom paint job of my old Switch Tower.

Dustin that's more fabulous kit bashing with Plasticville in addition to your skyscrapers.  I really like the houseboat.  What did you use for a hull? The pool is great too.

I was thinking of doing a lemonade stand using one of those Realemon squeeze bottles shaped like a lemon.  You beat to it.

Mitch, what kind of time machine you got running down Main Street between the Monkeymobile and the Batmobile?

"Union Station" - one of my favorites and I have always wanted to treat it like a model and not a toy.

Hardly a "Union Station" in size, these buildings, however, make very plausible suburban stations or even prosperous-area rural stations. One thing in their favor is that the platforms and steps and doors and windows are 1:48 size. The doors and platforms in particular are quite O-gauge/O-scale friendly.

Good tooling, too. This model could be far more detailed and weathered than I have done.

This was simply painted with hardware-store spray paint, and the platforms arranged/attached for my space. It is of course glued together as well as painted; this is new production, not a "collectible".

Parking-lot entrance side (building has been relocated just for the photograph). Roof is glued-on "gravel".

frizzinbee's house boat. Oh, yeah.

Plus - it gives me an idea for a barge towboat - I don't have to actually build the superstructure!

John, Joe, D500,

Thanks!   The houseboat is a personal favorite, and was one of the easier conversions to do.

Joe,

The hull is made from an O-scale barge kit I got off of ebay.  Steering wheel/console is from a 1:38 VW bus, railing is Plastruct, steps are from a Tichy fire escape, and misc detail parts are from a PT boat kit.

Couple of mine .....