# Race Layout Buildings



## Dyno Dom

I'd like to share some pics of building kits I've gotten thru the years.
I'll post additional pics as time permits & hopefully others will too!! 
Most of my kits remain unbuilt but I will try to find some that are complete
& it would be interesting to see some custom builds by HT members.
My original inspiration was to replicate a layout of "Scottsboro Raceway"
which was a feature of a special HO issue in 1967 by Car Model magazine.
This pic is the back cover of the mag. 










SR included buildings from Aurora, Atlas & Plasticville.









Many of the scenery items were RR lichen, but some plastic tree kits
by "Britian Models" were part of the build, a Dance Hall too!


----------



## beast1624

Ohh Dom. I had that magazine confiscated so stinkin' may times by my 4th and 5th grade teachers it's a miracle it survived. Have it in my nightstand now but the pages are too brittle...almost afraid to get it out! Your's looks to be in good shape. Thanks for the details on the kits.

Better get off before I get in trouble from the teacher...er..boss like I did those many years ago. Thanks again!


----------



## cwbam

*More please*

:thumbsup:

Share some more, Please ?


----------



## Thomas Hint

like this?


----------



## Thomas Hint

maybe this too?


----------



## hefer

WOW! That sure is a lot of cobblestone track in that first pic.


----------



## Rolls

I like that Scottsboro Raceway! Hadn't seen that before. Very nice.


----------



## win43

First 2 pics are a farm house that the wife built. The hanging baskets were made out of modeling clay. Third pic is my hamburger joint. Wife painted the multi-colored stones and I did the sign and other painting.


----------



## Dslot

I was happy when this thread first appeared, hoping to see more of HT members' buildings, but the thread fizzled out pretty quickly.

Maybe if I bump it up with some pics of my own, we'll get to see more from other members.










Here is my build of Aurora's curved bleachers (actually Model Motoring's repro kit). I painted the plastic parts with craft acrylics. The people are from various makers - Circus Craft spectators, model railroad figures from Life Like, Revell and Plasticville, and generic types from the eBay oriental sellers with some of their colors toned down. Some have been mildly modified (cutting off the postman's mailbag, the brakeman's lantern, professional hats and so forth). 

I started modifying figures by grinding and filling to change their clothing, but now I just do it all with paint - if there are too many longsleeve shirts, I start painting the lower sleeves flesh color. I'll paint solid colors right across ties and suit lapels, and suddenly it's casual Friday. In the crowd, it's convincing enough, even if they look a bit odd in closeup photos.










Above is the left end of the bleachers. You can see some mild weathering on the wooden end. I computer-printed the signs and flags, since the MM kit doesn't include them. I think doing the national flags was a mistake; it looks a bit grandiose for simple wooden bleachers, and the poles are too short. Regular pennants would probably have been better.

I tried to get variation into the poses, some standing, some seated. I came by a large lot of the circus spectators already painted, and their poses are all pretty much the same. Though they have different hats, it's not enough to keep it from looking like a bunch of seated robots, so breaking them up with other poses is essential.

I hate the "empty stands" syndrome that infects most HO raceways. But it's frustrating that this is a small local-track spectator stand, and furthermore, a lot of its area is taken up with walkways, but it swallows up over a hundred figures, and still looks a little sparse. If this had been a covered grandstand, I'd have moved some of the 3D figures forward and filled out the shadowy rear benches with paper cutout blocks of three to five spectators interspersed between real figures. Believe it or not, that trick works well when you can only view them from the front or a long distance away.










Here's the right end. It sure would be nice to get those delicate lamps on the flagpoles to work. Fiber optics, maybe - or tiny surface-mount LEDs? Plenty of room for batteries under the seats, but getting the lamps to light without clunkifying them would be a tricky business. For some reason, my kit was missing the loudspeaker pieces that usually fasten on the flagpoles (or else I lost them).










Clearly a hometown crowd. Le Mans, this isn't. The hot-dog vendor is a figure from that remarkably alive set of Plasticville race spectators (long OOP). The running kids are from Life Like. I have no idea why that guy has hair on only one side of his head; I'll have to get out the paintbrush and make him look less New Wave. Or not; I didn't notice it until I saw it in the picture, so probably neither will anybody else. I see that Grandma has her sun-bonnet, a remnant of her former employment as a circus spectator. I started clipping off all the sun-bonnets and painting the remnants as hair, but discovered that it didn't make much difference - in a crowd like this, they're not noticeable when you look at the bleacher model. It's only in closeup photos that they announce themselves. 

Okay, there's my contribution. :wave: Let's see some more racetrack buildings.

-- D


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Some of you have seen these, but for you new guys...
As I was trying to keep the track user friendly, I built this hang on building. Race day can play havoc on a landscaped track. This skybox can be removed as it hangs on the edge of the track wall. It's just some scrap MDF board glued, sprayed with texture type paint. The glass is just plastic with some painted in lines, for the windows...











I made the lap tower out of some scrap aluminum fence post. Just sprayed it black and set on the top cap. I cut out the traingle advertising block, then glued on some plastic strips, then some logo labels. The triangle sits on top of a dowell rod than runs through the tower, then sits on top of a display motor I picked up at a Quick Mart. Turn the power on, and the traingle revolves in slow motion. The numbers were just printed out on some sticky paper, then sized to fit...RM


----------



## tasman

Hilltop,

Love the skybox! 

I also used the same grandstand/people graphics on my layout. I found it in a link from one of the first threads I read when I discovered HT. I can't remember the site anymore. If you know the site please let me know. I would like to go back and see what other goodies might be there.


----------



## Dslot

Those are from







Zanza's site. 

He has the crowd pix and great images for track advertising signs, all in a site with good clean graphic style, cheerful writing, and the best set of links to slot sites - and he keeps it up to date.

- D


----------



## tasman

Thanks Dslot! I now have it bookmarked. I Agree with your comments about the site. Very nice!


----------



## tjd241

*Can I get some Minerals and a Hot Pie????*

Thomas... Love the Matchbox #74 Mobile Canteen you have tucked in there. Really works well with HO scale, as do a lot of the original regular wheeled Lesney vehicles. They've really puffed up quite a bit since then. This #74 was always a favorite piece back in my Matchbox days of yore. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## tjd241

*Rack at the track...*


----------



## Dslot

Bumping this thread. Let's see some more track buildings, guys - scratchbuilt stuff, conversions from RR buildings, cardboard foldups, whatever.

Anybody done anything with the old Sixties buildings from *Aurora, Atlas, Plasticville, Faller, Minic* etc.? 

I go to train shows hoping to find these at reasonable prices, but have only found one or two smaller ones, and a few "Sorry, that one's already sold" heartbreakers. If anybody has damaged examples, walls, parts or pieces of these oldies lying around, please let me know what you want for them. The prices for the full buildings or kits on eBay :freak: are a bit much for me.

-- D


----------



## Dslot

*North Fork Motor Speedway*

Sensational photos of the classic racing buildings and accessories on Robert Munthe's *North Fork Motor Speedway* site. Click *The Race* on the nav bar at top of page. Then look at all the other parts. This layout is astounding.










You might leave some feedback in the CONTACT window to encourage Bob to finish the *Layout Construction* section. Though the site has gotten a few mentions in this forum, he's only had about 5000 hits since 2010, so he could use some more publicity, too.

-- D


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

North Fork is one cool scenic layout!!! Lots of time and detail for sure!!! RM


----------



## slotcardan

i have some.

I offer many papercraft buildings on my website but these are some of my aurora ones

I have better pictures if wanted.

This is the Aurora dual garage. It was a NIB build. I got it very cheap because it had major casting errors in the plastic and was not build able without fabrication. The rear wall with the fans in the windows was very rough and needed massive amount of repair before paint. The floor was recasted and i sectioned the lifts so they fit AFX sized cars not T-jets.

I made all the decals. and there are race posters on the building.











re-purposed: The garage was a Atlas Car wash that was reimaged as a garage and storage for race cars, and it housed the administrative office for the track









The officials tower is a re-purposed Train Signal tower









The pedestrian bridge was a scratch built i first tried my hand at. i used plastic sheets and papercraft and various materials i had laying around to create it









Bobs hot dog stand is an old favorite i recolored it to match better with my other buildings on the layout









Simple papercraft was used to build this scene.









I have a grandstand and a few other pieces have to find the pics


----------



## super8man

This is a great thread - that link to North Fork is awesome. That's why I love this hobby. You can race in a serious minimalist way with fray cars AND you can enjoy modeling in an old fashioned way making use of every piece of classic scenery you care to afford to buy from the 1960s. Love love love that site.


----------



## hefer

Dslot said:


> Sensational photos of the classic racing buildings and accessories on Robert Munthe's *North Fork Motor Speedway* site. Click *The Race* on the nav bar at top of page. Then look at all the other parts. This layout is astounding.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You might leave some feedback in the CONTACT window to encourage Bob to finish the *Layout Construction* section. Though the site has gotten a few mentions in this forum, he's only had about 5000 hits since 2010, so he could use some more publicity, too.
> 
> -- D


WOW! That's some serious use of Aurora L&J single lane track. I love those single lane tracks. Sure wish they weren't so pricey. I've got the turnouts and Y-tracks, just no single lane stuff to go with them. I really like the landscaped layouts. I'm more of a collector than a racer anyway.


----------



## slotcardan

you have to think back to 1999 as well, everything was pennies compared to today.


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Good looking stuff SCD, magazine quality, IMO... :thumbsup::thumbsup: Like what ya did with the Car Wash... RM


----------



## TUFFONE

Here's a few from one of my layouts. Please excuse the dust and my lack of photography skills. It's time for a good cleaning.


----------



## TUFFONE

Here's a few more...


----------



## TUFFONE

...and a few more...


----------



## slotcarman12078

I love it Tuffone!! I was hooked from the first pictures with the toll booth and the Aurora Plant!!! Awesome!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

And there's some more cool stuff!!! I like the Aurora building and Service Center myself!!! Great looking layout...RM


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Here's one I've always liked, Dick's Body Shop by Bachman. I started redoing this one, just need to finish it up. Seems to be the right size for HO slotcars... They pop up on Ebay, just make sure it's the HO scale...RM


----------



## kiwidave

Nearly finished!


----------



## slotcarman12078

That's a gre looking station Randy!! TJet sized cars would really fit good in there!! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

The grandstands are looking sweet Dave!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## alpink

kiwidave, that IS awesome. I am impressed. very nice!


----------



## LDThomas

Nice track supports...


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Man there is a lot of cool stuff going on here. :thumbsup:

I'll just add don't forget to bust out the Legos and see what you can come up with:




























And also look around at some of the Home Depot & Menards type places and see what kind of molding strips they have . . . some of them can be used / modified for good crash walls to protect your buildings and stands:


----------



## tjd241

*Robert Munthe's Scenic Kung Fu is mighty...*

I was just on his North Fork site a few days back. His work, along with Bob Hardin's, and others like Tom of Kastleburg fame, are what I think about when I work on my own track. As this thread underscores though, dedicated race structures these days are like hen's teeth. To get and/or be able to afford them, you gotta be lucky... or be willing to get crafty.

Signage elements are key to flavoring our layout themes with auto-related subject matter. As scDan shows expertly to us, all you need is a color printer, a bit of imagination, and you can do whatever you want basically. No need to hand paint signs anymore. Cut-Paste-Print and attach... It works... and it's not hard.










Nothing wrong with using already built-ups from Woodland Scenics. Many transfer right over from the choo-choo world to ours. I have one on my layout. Cheating?.... nah, sometimes they just look too good to pass up.










Train guys got every darn thing you could ever need, but you have to look for it. They also have TONS of kits which can be less expensive than pre-builts, but be prepared to get down with painting every piece. They are usually molded in some funky grey tone. Be prepared to bash them up too. It's fun and also pretty easy if you take your time and think it through 

This one I built-up for Land HO and basically tossed away the directions. It's supposed to look like this...










... which is fine, but I had a lot less real estate available. So, naturally I had to "edit" the manufacturer's recommended footprint of the kit. I for one, could care less about the bases they put in these kits. I opt to remove them and mount right to my own existing surface. I also choose my own colors to suit the layout. Paint is cheap enough, so have at it.










Also available at certain choo-choo shops are second hand buildings from old broken up layouts. Many shops end up with these when they buyout a collector or win an estate auction that includes an existing layout. They break the layouts down to the sum of their parts, so they can re-sell the pieces in order to make back money from their investment. Usually they go for a couple bucks a piece. They only need a little rehabbing to cross over to our world. Like this one...

before.....









after.....









So give the train stuff a second look. It's usually trying to tell you something.


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Great tips.


----------



## slotcardan

here is a cute one i made.

start with a train Caravel miniature booth kit.

repaint and make all the artwork

































Made all the little flag and the inside has a full interior with slot car T-shirts, foam fingers and other fan racing stuff.


----------



## NTxSlotCars

I tend to like the weathered look. So when I find some old dusty train buildings, I leave em as is.
The more dirt and grunge, the better.










Old diecasts make great decor as well...










These are some recent tractor finds...










And this old truck has gotta go in a junkyard somewhere, or next to an old shop...


----------



## urnuts

*layout pics-*

http://s206.beta.photobucket.com/user/cmeal/library/Slot Cars

You guys have some cool stuff!


----------



## Dslot

*Wah-hoo!*



slotcarman12078 said:


> I love it Tuffone!! I was hooked from the first pictures with the toll booth and the Aurora Plant!!!


Meee too! Great fun layout, *Tuffone*! It really captures that childhood 'dream layout' sense of things. Love the tollbooth made from - what? - Tyco slot-track risers? and AHM railroad signal heads? And I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Plasticville modern factory with those slit-grille windows. So where'd you come by the blue-green '40 Lincoln? Don't think it came in that color, and it doesn't look painted. Resin? Does it have a sister?

And a _*monorail!*_ I've got one, too, but it's the Lego Lunar Monorail - wrong scale and period (and planet) for HO slots. Yours looks great. And judging from the power rails in the beam, it runs, too. Who makes it? 

Lastly, what's the red GT car in Group 3, Picture 3? Who made it, or is it a conversion?

:thumbsup:
-- D


----------



## TUFFONE

Thanks for the compliments...There is some great stuff from all the contributors here! I was going exactly for the childhood sort of dream layout that we all imagined as we endlessly poured through the slot car mags and Christmas catalogs,etc...The parts for the tollbooth are exactly what you mentioned along with the top section made out of painted balsa wood. The slate blue Lincoln is one that I put together from Road Race Replica's body and parts. The Monorail is made by a company called ER Models. I usually run it at a low speed which creates an interesting counterpoint to the greater speed of the cars. The red car is an Opel GT made by Claus Heupel and imported from Germany. There are some cool buildings on the other side of the mountains too. I will try to put up a few more pictures in the future.


----------



## sethndaddy

weathered and with a vampire out front to greet, thats the way.


----------



## slotcarman12078

Love it Ed!! I got that model, just waiting for a chance to assemble..:thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## jobobvideo

great place to park a munster mobile or dragula...just saying


----------



## Dslot

NTxSlotCars said:


> And this old truck has gotta go in a junkyard somewhere, or next to an old shop...


Oh, yeah, NTx! :thumbsup:
I love diecasts with those 'six years in the sandbox' weathering jobs. You'd have a hard time duplicating that effect with paint.

Reminds me of an old abandoned Chevy water tanker my friend Chuck and I came across while hiking in the city's greenspace some years ago. (In the photo, it's kinda hard to see where the orange paint leaves off and the rust begins, but the pattern's a lot like your Matchbox truck).

-- D


----------

