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White Castle Window Scene on Gregor Moe's HO Layout

A Happy Little (Structure Detail) Accident

Gregor Moe's Salt Creek and Western/Chicago Great Western HO scale model railroad is filled with hundreds of beautiful structures and miniature scenes. Unfortunately, he accidently broke the window in his Dubuque White Castle while handling the model. Instead of just replacing the gla...
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Woodland Scenics HO Scale Dugan's Paint Store

Woodland Scenics HO Scale Dugan’s Paint Store

Woodland Scenics HO Scale Dugan's Paint Store is the latest addition to my collection of pre-assembled buildings. A warm white LED illuminates the first floor showroom featuring a nice pre-printed interior. Perfect for almost any era, the dripping paint bucket sign, architectural deta...
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Menard's HO Scale Lighted Hobby Shop

Menard’s HO Scale Lighted Hobby Shop

Preassembled model railroad structures have gained in popularity with more and more modelers as a way to scenic layouts faster. Menard's Hobby Shop is a nice addition to any town scene....
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Woodland Scenics Lighted HO Scale Emilio's Italian Restaurant

Woodland Scenics Lighted HO Scale Emilio’s Italian Restaurant

Woodland Scenics Emilio’s Italian Restaurant models a family style restaurant typical of what you would see from the steam era through today. This beautiful structure is the first of their Built-&-Ready® Landmark Structures® to feature their new Just Plug™ Lighting System....
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Woodland Scenics Frank's IGA Grocery HO Scale Store

Woodland Scenics Frank’s IGA Grocery HO Scale Store

Small, family-owned IGA grocery stores are a part of small town main streets across the United States. Woodland Scenics has perfectly captured this type of store with their J. Frank's IGA grocery model....
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1949 Morgan Auto Sales HO Scale Diorama

Dave Roeder’s “Morgan Auto Sales 1949” HO Scale Diorama

Dave Roeder's "Morgan Auto Sales 1949" diorama won Best of Show at the 2015 Gateway Division NMRA model contest. Most of the structure details and finishes were created on an inkjet printer. Here are seven photos of that diorama....
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Gateway Division Paper Diorama Contest Carty

Gateway Division Paper Diorama Contest Results

The first annual Gateway Division Paper Diorama Contest concluded at the January 21, 2014 division meeting. Tom Trotter, Tim Stout, and John Carty describe the construction of their contest winning models....
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Ray Jones, 1st Place, Expert

Gateway NMRA 2013 Kitbashing Contest

The “Grandt Line Reese Street Row House” kit was the starting point for the 2013 kitbashing contest. The only restriction placed on the contest model was that the base could not be more than one square foot in area. Here are photos of all the models entered in the contest, and the con...
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Building Rix’s Smalltown USA “Helen’s Country Kitchen”

Building Rix’s Smalltown USA “Helen’s Country Kitchen” Assembly Tips and Techniques

Step-by-step instructions to prepare, assemble, paint and weather Rix’s Smalltown USA “Helen’s Country Kitchen” kit....
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DPM “Front Street” Building Assembly Tips and Techniques

DPM “Front Street” Building Assembly Tips and Techniques

Preparation, assembly, painting, weathering and detailing the DPM “Front Street” model kit, including adding a custom interior....
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Bachmann Spectrum “Ambassador Hotel” Assembly Tips and Techniques

Bachmann Spectrum “Ambassador Hotel” Assembly Tips and Techniques

Tips and techniques for assembling and finishing the HO scale Bachmann Spectrum "Ambassador Hotel" 160-88002....
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