1960's era vs. 2007 era gas station....

[John Murphy]

2 short questions:  Did the 1960's era Plasticville Gas Station have a clock and a top piece on it over the roof?
        How come the new Plasticville Gas Station decals have the Esso Tiger and catch-phrase "Happy Motoring" yet omits the Esso Logo?  (or am I the only one who has caught this?)
John Murphy

[lvrr325]

Surprised no one replied.

At some point in the 60s or 70s the clock tower was eliminated from the gas station dies.  Originals can be found at shows if you poke around, they're hard to find but easier than the Tyco gas station.

The reason for the omission is simply to avoid paying the rights to use the trademarked name in the kit.  It should be a fairly simple matter to find an old magazine with an Esso ad and use a color photcopier to reproduce and re-size the logo to the right scale to use on the building.

One other interesting thing about the gas station; the pumps (1940s-50s era) are really too big.  They shouldn't stand very much taller than the roof of a car.   What I think this was a result of is using the O-scale pumps with both the HO and O kits.  The N pumps are more the right size for HO, being scaled down from the pump in the HO kit rather than being sized for N-scale. 

[Paul M.]

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Surprised no one replied.

At some point in the 60s or 70s the clock tower was eliminated from the gas station dies.  Originals can be found at shows if you poke around, they're hard to find but easier than the Tyco gas station.

The reason for the omission is simply to avoid paying the rights to use the trademarked name in the kit.  It should be a fairly simple matter to find an old magazine with an Esso ad and use a color photcopier to reproduce and re-size the logo to the right scale to use on the building.

One other interesting thing about the gas station; the pumps (1940s-50s era) are really too big.  They shouldn't stand very much taller than the roof of a car.   What I think this was a result of is using the O-scale pumps with both the HO and O kits.  The N pumps are more the right size for HO, being scaled down from the pump in the HO kit rather than being sized for N-scale. 

I've had one of the old stations with the tower since I was a very small boy. When I look at the back of my station, the doors look so large that I swear my kit must have included the back wall from the O-scale kit.

[John Murphy]

Surprised no one replied.

At some point in the 60s or 70s the clock tower was eliminated from the gas station dies.  Originals can be found at shows if you poke around, they're hard to find but easier than the Tyco gas station.

The reason for the omission is simply to avoid paying the rights to use the trademarked name in the kit.  It should be a fairly simple matter to find an old magazine with an Esso ad and use a color photcopier to reproduce and re-size the logo to the right scale to use on the building.

One other interesting thing about the gas station; the pumps (1940s-50s era) are really too big.  They shouldn't stand very much taller than the roof of a car.   What I think this was a result of is using the O-scale pumps with both the HO and O kits.  The N pumps are more the right size for HO, being scaled down from the pump in the HO kit rather than being sized for N-scale. 

Thanks, Ivrr325.  I was hoping I hadn't remembered wrong.  I had the old clocktower version when I had a "simple" HO 4x8 two loop rr in the 1960's.  Also, thanks for the tip about fuel pumps -- that helps more than I can tell you.  Sorry for taking so long, but I've just recovered from a severe illness.

John Murphy