Plasticville Town Hall

railsider · January 16, 2011, 04:37:46 PM

Plasticville's "Town Hall" is, I'm told, modeled on Philadelphia's Independence Hall. I plan to put one on a "Historic USA" On30 layout, as its original self. I am looking for a source for the statue of Benjamin Franklin that stands in front of the building. Of course, it needs to be fairly close to O scale. Any suggestions?

Railsider

Johnson Bar Jeff · January 17, 2011, 05:25:27 PM

Quote from: railsider on January 16, 2011, 04:37:46 PM
Plasticville's "Town Hall" is, I'm told, modeled on Philadelphia's Independence Hall. I plan to put one on a "Historic USA" On30 layout, as its original self. I am looking for a source for the statue of Benjamin Franklin that stands in front of the building. Of course, it needs to be fairly close to O scale. Any suggestions?

Railsider

The statue in front of Independence Hall is George Washington. The statue in the park behind Independence Hall (on the tower side of the building) is Commodore John Barry of the Continental Navy.

If you were looking for HO scale, I would suggest checking Classic Toy Soldiers, where you could probably get some Revolutionary War military figures (they might be a tad "larger than life" for HO), but I'm not sure about O scale.

railsider · January 20, 2011, 01:56:43 PM

Jeff, you're exactly right ... don't know where I got the misinformation, but I've updated my brain.

I also found out that the stature itself is 8 feet high, on a 6'8" plinth. So that would mean a mini in about the 2-inch range would do the job. The search is on.

Thanks............................................................

Johnson Bar Jeff · January 21, 2011, 12:27:34 PM

Quote from: railsider on January 20, 2011, 01:56:43 PM
Jeff, you're exactly right ... don't know where I got the misinformation, but I've updated my brain.

I also found out that the stature itself is 8 feet high, on a 6'8" plinth. So that would mean a mini in about the 2-inch range would do the job. The search is on.

Thanks............................................................

Sure enough! Good luck finding what you need.

And I think what you want to do is a neat idea. If I ever incoporate my Independence Hall into an actual layout, I may even attempt it myself. Thanks for the good idea!

trains2brown · March 03, 2012, 12:45:52 AM

I am an HO modeler. Some of the plasticville buildings are available in both O and HO scale. I have always admired this building but this one is currently only available in O scale. Would Bachmann consider making an HO scale version of this building? I would buy it in a heartbeat.

lirrman · March 06, 2012, 07:04:34 PM

By coincidence I was looking on e-Bay yesterday (3/5/12) and found two "Independence Halls". One was yellow brick and the other was red brick but otherwise identical. When I zoomed in on the pictures there was the yellow one with "Plasticville Town Hall" on the front wall while the red one said "Independence Hall". I hadn't realized Bachmann made two "different/identical" kits. Both were 'O' scale. Too bad for me.

Johnson Bar Jeff · March 07, 2012, 10:56:33 AM

Quote from: lirrman on March 06, 2012, 07:04:34 PM
By coincidence I was looking on e-Bay yesterday (3/5/12) and found two "Independence Halls". One was yellow brick and the other was red brick but otherwise identical. When I zoomed in on the pictures there was the yellow one with "Plasticville Town Hall" on the front wall while the red one said "Independence Hall". I hadn't realized Bachmann made two "different/identical" kits. Both were 'O' scale. Too bad for me.

Keep looking. You never know when one might turn up. Mine is a "vintage" HO version issued as far back as the Bicentennial.

lirrman · March 07, 2012, 03:57:12 PM

Here's a wild thought for "trains2brown". When I bought a used roundhouse it was missing several doors and windows. I color copied an existing door and window pasted the copies (on both sides for open doors) on card stock (index cards worked great) cut them out and glued them in place. Even up close, doors and windows looked surprisingly good. If you have an original Independence Hall in "O" scale try copying the walls at 50% for HO scale then do a little kit bashing for the roof and roof railings using Plastruct parts. It's gonna be a lot more difficult than doors and windows, but what the heck, it may be fun to try.

TrainmanGene · October 08, 2012, 12:45:50 AM

If you look at photos of the real Independence Hall and notice the size of the people by the doors, windows etc you will notice when you see o scale people in front of the Plasticville version that is is about HO scale. In the 60s when HO ruled I bought the one with Town Hall in a box marked HO and still have it and it is the same size kit as todays O & S version. It still looks at home with O,S or HO. Ironically the Lionel Hell Gate Bridge originally produced for standard gauge in the 1920s was approximately HO scale except for the length which was too short for HO.

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Plasticville Town Hall