# Can you help me find TALL O-scale buildings?



## MohawkMike (Jan 29, 2018)

I have three tallish buildings on my layout. The Susquehanna hat company, Menard's York Hotel, and a 14 story Cancer Center made for me on commission. I am looking for other tall buildings with footprints as small as possible to add. I would remove some of my one or two story structures in favor of a bigger city look. I wouldn't want to live there but LOVE the way they look on a layout. Your suggestions and/or pictures would be appreciated.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

You may have to get more made on commission.....don't know of any ready buildings/kits that tall made by an O scale manufacturer.....


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## J.C. (Dec 24, 2016)

try these. https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/OScaleModularSystem


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*DPM buildings*



MohawkMike said:


> I have three tallish buildings on my layout. The Susquehanna hat company, Menard's York Hotel, and a 14 story Cancer Center made for me on commission. I am looking for other tall buildings with footprints as small as possible to add. I would remove some of my one or two story structures in favor of a bigger city look. I wouldn't want to live there but LOVE the way they look on a layout. Your suggestions and/or pictures would be appreciated.


MohawkMike;

Looking at the response from JC regarding the Woodland Senics wall sections reminded me of those made by Design Preservation Models. They have a variety of wall sections, and complete short building kits, in N and HO scales. I'm not sure if they make O-scale walls or buildings, but it would be worth checking on. Woodland senics makes some nice stuff, but their prices are very high. DPM is a lot more reasonable on price.
Another possibility, if you want modern, high rise, buildings, is to make a tall, rectangular, inner core of plexiglass, and add styrene strips over it to make up the walls between the "windows" (blank plexiglass rectangles left by you) This makes a very strong structure, relatively inexpensive, but it looks very modern.
Model Power makes a kit they call the General Electric Building. It can be made taller than its original five stories quite simply. The kit is constructed so that another kit will fit right on top, to make a taller structure. Again, I don't know if they make an O-scale version I have the N-scale one, and I've seen it in HO-scale.

good luck;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:

The structure in the photo below was made with kitbashed DPM structure walls and their separate wall sections.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

J.C. said:


> try these. https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/OScaleModularSystem


Well, at $10.00 a piece, building a tall high-rise would be EXPENSIVE!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Try kitbashing a tall building. You can get several buildings like the Menard's Hotel and build a taller building out of the two.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Or scratch build them. That's how Rod Stewart got his.


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## MohawkMike (Jan 29, 2018)

Looked at some basic MTH buildings. I am convinced that I can buy two, and by cutting at the right place, stack them. MAYBE even three.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

Mike,
wish I'd seen your post earlier.
I just listed the Strawbridge and Clothier 6 story building on Ebay.
And it's right here in your back yard.

ebay listing;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/232696922551?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649


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## MohawkMike (Jan 29, 2018)

cole226 said:


> Mike,
> wish I'd seen your post earlier.
> I just listed the Strawbridge and Clothier 6 story building on Ebay.
> And it's right here in your back yard.
> ...


And so you are - just one town up!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

traction fan said:


> Looking at the response from JC regarding the Woodland Senics wall sections reminded me of those made by Design Preservation Models.


Just noticed this -- DPM is a trademark of Woodland Scenics. They were acquired about a dozen years ago or so. This accounts for the cross-pollination.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

There is the Menards York Hotel, which is taller than the Hat factory.

Also, note, you can buy *extra floors *for many MTH buildings, including the Susquehanna Hat Factory. The process to add them is fairly simple: remove the bottom floor screws from below, unclip the power cord, and stick the extra floor(s) in, reclip the power leads for the lights and screw it back together. You can add one to eight more floors (maybe more, but that is all I ever added).

I did this several times, although in my case, I bought several Susq Hat factories. I took them apart and re-assembled them as single- or two-story buildings (just the bottom floor and the top roof portion, and used all the addition floors on the third.

I no longer have the taller buildings on the layout - they were two tall for the look I wanted and I gave them away. Here, however, is picture of one of the two story "remains" which is still on the layout - it shows that they look perfectly good when floors are added or removed. All of its upper floors went to that really tall one.


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## MohawkMike (Jan 29, 2018)

J.C. said:


> try these. https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/category/OScaleModularSystem


Consider this; each panel cost approximately $10. That is $40 for each story of the building. Hence, a 10 story building would cost $400 not including lights. An MTH 6 story building could be had for about $90. (I am using general figures for all of this here) So if I bought 2, and cut it off at the second story I could stack them to make an 11 story high structure for under $200 with wiring in place to connect the lights. 

I saw some really nice tall buildings at YORK but they were priced at $700 and up.

I do APPRECIATE your suggestion. And, I will study it a little more. I do use some of the OGR structures for facades.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

MohawkMike said:


> Consider this; each panel cost approximately $10. That is $40 for each story of the building. Hence, a 10 story building would cost $400 not including lights. An MTH 6 story building could be had for about $90. (I am using general figures for all of this here) So if I bought 2, and cut it off at the second story I could stack them to make an 11 story high structure for under $200 with wiring in place to connect the lights.


Actually, no. Each kit contains TWO wall sections and 3 pilasters, so your building cost would be about $200. Not grossly out of whack with your kitbash option.

Modular construction, though, offers advantages over mashing two built-up models together, and may yield a better finished product.

Only you can say which approach suits you better, but cost shouldn't ever be the sole consideration.


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## MohawkMike (Jan 29, 2018)

CTValleyRR said:


> Actually, no. Each kit contains TWO wall sections and 3 pilasters, so your building cost would be about $200. Not grossly out of whack with your kitbash option.
> 
> Modular construction, though, offers advantages over mashing two built-up models together, and may yield a better finished product.
> 
> Only you can say which approach suits you better, but cost shouldn't ever be the sole consideration.


Thanks for your response. I wonder if some dealers might repackage the kits?


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

MohawkMike said:


> Thanks for your response. I wonder if some dealers might repackage the kits?


Not legally.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

The idea of bashing the Menards Hotel has occurred to me, and could result in a really good big building. But I agree with others that the cost would be about the same overall for that or a higher MTH building - if you shop wisely for the additional floors. 

The MTH would be easier to build, though, although the Menards, while more work, might be cooler looking in the end.


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