Walthers Life-Like National Oil Co. 433-1331 HO Scale Model Railroad - Structure Kit

Having been a model railroader for more years than I care to state, I usually construct craftsman-level wooden structures. On my layout (the Monks Island Railway), I needed a small fuel oil distributer to complete a scene. I priced the 'advanced' kits and found them to be just too expensive. Life Like has always produced kits that appeal to the 'beginning modeler' - and at a much lower price. OK, I thought I'd give this kit a try... I quickly realized that I didn't have the layout space for this model as it is supposed to be constructed. I assembled the 2 tanks, and the 'office' separately. This is definitely a 'shake the box' type of assembly - going together quickly and easily. As with any kit, it is the FINISH that makes a great structure. Take you time with painting and weathering. Another suggestion (even if you intend to assemble the kit as per the directions) is to discard the 'ground plate'. I would use the 'ground plate' [I don't know what to call it] as a template or assembly...but don't glue any of the structure to it. Oh, I distressed, and weathered, the included power/telephone poles in another part of the layout (I strung them with EZ Line from Berkshire Junction).

ho BUILD

nice kit

What and where do all the small yellow pieces go?

Terrible fit for the tanks and some other parts. Power poles too thick for mounting holes and too much flashing to remove in some cases. The decal stickers had to glued on and the instructions are vague.

I'm assuming you have a picture of the completed kit to look at.The main minuses in the kit sent to me include (in the order encountered following the directions):(1) the front long railing of the "wooden" platforms at the top of the platform support for each oil tank did not match the diagram; each lacked a 2nd full-length vertical post as shown in the picture & the assembly diagram.Also, the horizontal railing bar was too long to fit properly against the short railing it was supposed to fit against. (2) Each oil tank came in 2 halves (upper & lower), the fit of which was supposed to be guided accurately by pins molded into one half fitting into sockets molded into the other half. But for one of the tanks, the pins on one half did not produce a proper fit when pushed intp the sockets. I had to file the pins off to mate the two halves properly.(3) The pre-printed stick-on decals do not stick on the plastic of the tanks. I had to use a glue stick instead (not sure how long it will hold). The circular decals for the ends of the tank are fitted on a curved surface and can't be completely flattened without wrinkling. Also, there were only 2 decals for the 2 tanks, not one for each of 4 ends.(4) There's no apparatus for supplying the storage tanks from railroad tank cars and no tanker-truck filling apparatus so that the oil can be distributed the gas stations etc.Pluses:(1) The price is low (<$20) for a HO scale kit.(2) Each tank is mounted on an individual base (and the tiny office can be mounted on a separate base too). This allows several different arrangements to fit different shaped areas on a layout.(3) There are a number of power/phoneline poles, call boxes, barrels, tools, lumber stacks, and pipe sections that can be distributed around the setting, if desired.

i am happy

the oil tanks fit right in with my brewery railroad town, they add to the service station i purchased earlier