So, even though the Grusom Casket kit is one of the Original 9, one might argue that it's actually the first of the derivative kits.
Here's my case.
Take a look at this letter dated 17 January 1968 from Peter Van Dore, then AHM's kit development guy, to E. L. Moore.
At that time, AHM had already produced the Schaefer Brewing Company, and I guess sales were good, because now they're interested in adding Ma's Place, The Ramsey Journal Building, and the Gruesome [sic] Casket Company.
I speculate that AHM decided to do Ramsey and Grusom at the same time because they realized Ramsey's size and shape was a close approximation to Grusom's two-storey building, thereby reducing tooling costs on Grusom.
Here's what E. L. Moore had to say in response:
19 January '68
Pete Van Dore,
Associated Hobby Manufacturers,
Philadelphia, Penn.
Dear Mr. Van Dore . . .
I suppose you know just what you want but damned if you didn't pick three that are scattered. I have the Grusom Casket Company model here but #1 Ma's Place is on display in a hobby shop up in Raleigh and #2 (didn't Carstens tell you) I gave him that model and he has it. So you'd have to get that one from him.
I can have Mr. Collier of North Hills Hobby Shop in Raleigh send you Ma's Place and can ship the one I have which can do soon as I hear from you.
Only thing I'd like would be a kit of each one you produce -- including the one you've already produced -- the Schaefer Brewery. I never like to build a second model but built three of Schaefer's and still don't have one for myself.
Here's two, three photos from countless ones I have lying around.
alleyoop . . . .
signed E. L. Moore
E. L. Moore
525 Oakland Ave., Apt 3
Charlotte, N. C.
I don't have copies of the photos he's referring to, but I did at one time see his Ma's Place model.
So, maybe Grusom's is the first in a long line of derivatives to follow, but it's clearly more than a simple re-boxing with some minor details changed.
I've never put the Ramsey kit next to their Rooming House kit, but I always suspected they were from similar heritage.
ReplyDeleteI was never interested in either kit until I found the original ELM article on how he scratchbuilt his. I was in the midst of building his other brick downtown Main St. style buildings and this one fit right in. I connected them all into one building block: Nixon Drugs, Ramsey Journal, firehouse with the barbershop around the corner from Nixon's. Next to that, I put another brick store from the Enskale & Hoentee project. All in N scale.
I hope in your searches you uncover the b/w unstapled AHM kit catalogue from the early 70s. I believe it had a note thanking ELM for his cooperation in the building designs. I think this catalogue came in my first train set but I have since lost it. The catalogue, that is. LOL
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the AHM catalogs on this page,
Deletehttps://hoseeker.net/ahmmiscellaneous.html
So far these are the only ones I've found online.
If I dug deep, I think I might still have a page or two from the b/w catalogue. It was small, maybe the size of an index card, printed on white, nonglossy paper and featured photos of their building kits. I believe it came inside my diesel dancer set found on pg 2 of the '72 train catalogue. Mine was a blue B&O Plymouth switcher, black composite gondola, white tank car, green NYC caboose. My engine still exists and (I think) runs, the others were lost, kitbashed, repainted... but eventually replaced with train show duplicates.
DeleteIf you can find those pages, please send me a scan!
DeleteWill do.
Delete