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| New front wall with big door opening |
Over the last few days I've been having an email discussion with Martin about variations on AHM's Ramsey Journal Building (RJB) kit. He also sent me a few photos of applicable kits in his collection, which I've used to illustrate this post. A few posts ago I had mentioned that AHM's Rooming House, that was released in 1973, was one of those variations.
If you look closely at the Rooming House's box art, the opening for the door looks much larger than that used on the RJB. Martin sent me a photo of front wall from the Rooming House kit and noted that it's a new casting, although the other walls are identical to those in the RJB.
I think of the kits with this new front wall, and the RJB side and back walls, as: The Big Door Variations :-)
As well as a new front wall, the Rooming House includes a number of other parts for such things as the little garage out back and the roof top cistern.
When Model Power eventually got the molds, they sold this reboxing of the Rooming House as a Western Union Office. It looks like all MP did was create a new box lid and paper signs.
AHM's Fire House seems to be a little more creative Big Door Variation. I give them points for at least cooking up an attractive painting for the box art.
Given that the Fire House's kit number is AHM 5835, and the Rooming House's is AHM 5834, I'll speculate that the Fire House was also released around the same time in 1973.
Years later Tyco released a Fire House reboxing in its brown box series. Frankly, I like the old box top paintings instead of these stark photos slapped on later reboxings. Yes, the photos are more truthful regarding box contents, but they're so unartful I don't know how they inspired anyone to buy these kits. I guess photos were cheaper than paintings.Many thanks to Martin for forwarding these photos!
I agree - the Minikits artwork is far superior to a sterile photo.
ReplyDeleteWhen recently kitbashing Speedy Andrew's into Strickland's, I noticed the plastic of the walls that would have been common with Ma's Place to be a lighter shade than the large false-front wall unique to Speedy Andrew's. May give a clue, along with the observations from Martin above, as to their manufacturing process. (However, the Ma's place second smaller porch posts and roof were included in Speedy's even though they couldn't be used without altering the kit. Perhaps they knew folks would be kitmingling these?)
I think you're right that AHM knew from the beginning that kit bashing was going to be a use for these products. Over here, https://30squaresofontario.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-origins-of-ahms-e-l-moore-designed.html , Al McDuffie, a member of AHM in product development, had this to say to ELM in a Nov '72 letter informing him that Speedy Andrews' had just be released:
DeleteI have done some experimenting recently with the original Ma’s Place kit, and it certainly lends itself to kit-bashing, doesn’t it? Even saw a article in Railroad Modeler (I believe it was) where several were used to create a Boarding House - cleverly done.
I have some left over Ma's Place & Speedy Andrews parts I should have another look at to see about clues to their manufacturing.