Work-In-Progress: AHM kit list

I'm pulling together the information Vince and I have found out about AHM's miniature building and structure kits. One goal is to identify all the E. L. Moore derivative kits; another is to figure out - if possible - whose designs the kits are based on.

The table below is a work-in-progress, and already I see it should probably be split into a few sub-tables. For example, one for 'classic' AHM kits, one for masterpiece series items, and another for N scale items. Right now it's just based on kit number.   

No doubt someone may have already made such a table. If you have a link to it, or see things that are wrong or need to be added to the one below, please let me know. I plan to make updates to the table as I learn more.

[16 March: general updates]
[Updated afternoon of 15 March: divided into smaller tables]

MinikitS

Kit No.	Kit Name	Designer	Source	Notes
5801	Three Houses Under Construction with “John”
5802	Operating Coal Station
5804	Engine House
5806	Coal Mine
5809	Narrow Gauge Engine Shed
5810	Bridge and Tunnel Set for HO and HO Narrow Gauge Layouts			“The HO Line True to Blueprint” is stenciled on box-top painting
5811	old Time Factory
5812	Small Town Station & Freight Depot
5813	Brewery	E. L. Moore	F & M Schaefer Brewery; RMC March 1967
5814	Rico Station			MR ran plans for Rico Station in Oct ’62
5815	Repair Shop
5816	Operating Water Mill
5817	Operating Coal Station
5818	Rolling Bridge
5819	Ramsey Journal Building	E. L. Moore	Ramsey Journal Bldg; RMC December 1967
5820	Grusom Casket	E. L. Moore	Grusom Casket Company; RMC July 1967	Two storey wing is based on kit #5819 Ramsey Journal Building
5821	Signal Tower	Bill Stokes	Classic signal tower on the Central of Georgia; MR April 1966
5822	Ma’s Place	E. L. Moore	build Ma’s Place; RMC January 1967
5823	Arlee Station	Rob Corriston	Arlee Station, RMC, Oct ’67
5824	“Ruby Basin” Timber Trestle Bridge
5825	Interlocking Tower
5826	Service Station
5827	Sand House
5828	Molases [sic] Mine	E. L. Moore	Molasses Mine & Factory; RMC February 1969
5831	Freight Station	Rob Corriston	Nostalgic Warehouse; RMC May 1972
5833	Coaling Tower
5834	Rooming House	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of kit #5819 Ramsey Journal Building
5835	Fire House
5836	Water Tower	James E. Findley	Branchline Water Tank; MR October 1965	Appears similar to Finescale Miniatures kit #25, Branchline Water Tower
5837	Saw Mill
5838	Church
5839	Machine Shop	based on an E. L. Moore design		One storey wing from kit #5820, Grusom Casket
5840	Bungalow with swimming pool
5841	Bungalow with garage
5851 B	Mill Street			Includes: Grusome Casket; Arlee Station; Water Tower; Interlocking Tower; Crossing Gate;
5861	Uncle Al’s United Grocery Store
5865	Pedestrian Overpass
5867	Plastic Factory with Silos
5871	W. E. Snatchem Undertaker	E. L. Moore	W. E. Snatchem - Undertaker; RMC November 1967
5872	Village Blacksmith	E. L. Moore	under the green lichen tree . . . THE VILLAGE SMITHY STANDS; RMC September 1967
5873	Speedy Andrew’s Repairshop	based on an E. L. Moore design		derivative of kit #5822, Ma’s Place; later sold by Model Power as Billy’s Auto Body
5877	Maintenance Group
5878	Busy Bee Department Store	E. L. Moore	Three Store Fronts and a Shop; RMC December 1969
5879	Emporium Department Store	E. L. Moore	Three Store Fronts and a Shop; RMC December 1969
5883	F. C. Rode Hardware Store	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of kit #5871 W. E. Snatchem Undertaker
5885	Aunt Millie’s House	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of kit #5871 W. E. Snatchem Undertaker

Re-labelled Revell kits

Kit No.	Kit Name	Designer	Source	Notes
5842 380	Small Town Station
5844	4 Farm Buildings
5858 498	Superior Bakery

Masterpiece Series

Kit No.	Kit Name	Designer	Source	Notes
5739	Lastop Funeral Home w/Hearse			Looks like it uses hearse and canopy from 5820
15403	7UP Bottling Plant
15501	Ice Cream Parlor & Boarding House	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of either 5878 or 5879; Lighted Masterpiece Series
15502	General Store & Billiard Parlor	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of either 5878 or 5879; Lighted Masterpiece Series
15503	Service Station			Lighted Masterpiece Series
15504	Three Story House with Garage			Lighted Masterpiece Series
15806	Herald Star Newspaper
15813	Kaboom Powder Factory	based on an E. L. Moore design		reboxing of kit #5828 Molases Mine
15814	Automobile Showroom

N scale

Kit No.	Kit Name	Designer	Source	Notes
N 5830	Chemical Plant
N 5832 / 398	Modern Station
N 5841	Rockville Station
5926	Exxon Station

Mr. Rogers meets E. L. Moore at the Ramsey Journal Building

Double stacked Ramsey Journal Buildings with a custom roof

Last night I watched A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. Although on the surface one might think this is some sort of Mr. Rogers biopic, Mr. Rogers isn't always the lead, but is often secondary as we learn about his character through his interactions with, and impact on, fictional Esquire writer Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys. Overall, a good movie and worth watching.

Ok, but this is 30 Squares, so you probably know what's next. The movie makes extensive use of large, beautiful dioramas of New York and Pittsburg, as well as Mr. Rogers neighbourhood, to bridge various scenes. If that's all you watch the movie to see, that in itself is well worth it if you're into miniature buildings and special effects. (Take note: If you're watching just for the miniatures, make sure you watch all the end credits too because about midway through they've inserted some outtakes showing how the dioramas were used to shoot a number of scenes).

Ok, but here's what grabbed my attention right off the bat, in the opening sequence - a panning shot through Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood - what do I see but a tall brick building made from two E. L. Moore Ramsey Journal Building kits - or possibly, the two storey part of the Grusom Casket Co., which is a repurposed Ramsey Journal Building. In the lead photo, in the upper right corner, you can also see a building with the cupola from the Ramsey Journal kit.

On the DVD is a special feature on building Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood from HO scale plastic kits, and how the miniatures team built those excellent models of New York and Pittsburg. The photo on the right is a snap from that special feature. Those two buildings in the foreground are clearly the Ramsey Journal Building.

That little house at the end of the road is Mr. Rogers'. You see that grey building to the right and across the street? That looks like another Ramsey Journal building, or at least the walls from one.

This is another view of the same scene, from above Mr. Rogers' house looking back down the street. You can see that it's a Ramsey Journal kit. So, Mr. Rogers lived across the street from a building designed by E. L. Moore :-)

There are many well known kits in the neighbourhood from the cheap-and-cheerful era. In this photo, that little yellow bungalow is a very old non E. L. Moore Bachmann kit, which I think dates from the '50s - I have 3 of those stashed away.

In the photo on the right I recognize that split level house in the centre, but I can't quite place the manufacturer. Although, look behind it, that's the classic Revell Superior Bakery kit.

No doubt, an observer more diligent than me could identify the heritage of all the buildings in Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader :-)

Subway Entrance: Construction, Excavation & Installation

There is no TTC subway station called Mortimer, but there is on the OPL.

This was a surprisingly pleasant little project, and one solution to the PortaCabin Problem. 

I could have built a subway entrance that simply sat on the sidewalk with a perspective view of stairs down to a non-existent subway platform painted on its base.

But no, I went whole hog and built a flight of 20 stairs down to a fictional corridor that lead would be riders to a fictional subway station. I thought that the alternative would look too fake.

The subway entrance is simply a built-up box with side walls cut from 0.020" sheet styrene. 

Some strips of 0.010" styrene were glued on at the base of the entry box, and along the edge where the stairs attach.

Here are the pieces a little more completed. I'll note the weathering with powdered pastels is little on the heavy side and I knocked it back with a gum eraser after taking this photo.

That black square on the right piece is the opening to the fictional corridor down to the platform.

The tiles are just paper sheets printed on my computer. The hand rails are bent from some thin wire. They should have more intermediate supports, but that seemed a little too fiddly given their hard-to-see location.

The ground level box that surrounds the staircase was built up from pieces of 0.020" and 0.010" styrene to give it thickness and surface shape.

The back wall at the bottom of the stairs is not glued to the main structure, but just taped in place. This was done so that I could take the wall off and shoot photos up the staircase. I'm not sure if I'll use that feature much, but I'm in a frame of mind where I want to have as many pieces on the layout removable so I can take pictures from a variety of locations. 

There's an example, but it looks like there's a stray glue thread - or maybe a giant spider web ! - in the way. I need to clean that up. But, ok, it does give the impression of looking up the stairs into street-side daylight.

I should note that there was some bending and twisting required of the photographer under the layout to get this shot, but no pain, no gain they say :-)

Once the entrance box was all glued together, a hole was cut into the layout to receive it. No photos of the action, but it took much longer than I thought it would, and required a variety of Dremel cutting and grinding attachments, as well as saws, knifes, and sanding sticks.

But, after the cuttin' was done, it fit quite well in the hole. All that was left to do was repave the remaining hole in the sidewalk and do some painting.

I read that the TTC was, and maybe still is, experimenting with colourful mosaics printed on the road in the safety zone where passengers get on and off streetcars. Auto drivers don't always stop when the streetcar does, and it can be a little dicey getting off a streetcar if a driver is texting instead of paying attention. I decided to create my own safety zone with a custom decal - count the squares if you must :-)

In the studio with Amy Bennett

While browsing recently I came across the work of artist Amy Bennett who uses HO scale miniatures in the same way that other artists use fruit, flowers, and other small items as models for paintings. I particularly like how she has fused miniature work, painting, and narrative. Some of her paintings often remind me of the work of Edward Hopper. I also enjoyed seeing her studio in this video as it seems like a version of the Gallery-Studio place I had in mind back when I was thinking about the Museum-Gallery-Studio classification scheme.

Colourizing E. L. Moore's Molasses Mine

I was rummaging around the internet and came across Algorithma's Colorization page. I've wanted to try colourizing E. L. Moore's old photos so I gave it a try with some scans of his old B&W photos. Over there shows how the algorithm colourized the Molasses Mine. And down below is my photo of the Molasses Mine when I saw it up close and personal.

The colourization doesn't look too bad if one doesn't know what the original looked like. Although, it makes me wonder if the algorithm could be calibrated using photos of the actual models, maybe it could colourize the old, E. L. Moore photos to a state more like they actually were. Another thing I need to look into.