# Buildings for sale? Let's pretend....



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

My brother-in-law has gotten this bug in his ear that he thinks he can make a little money constructing handmade wood large scale buildings. I 'splained that the only way to make a small fortune in any hobby sector is to start with a large one, but he won't be deterred. So now he wants me to suggest an unfilled niche. I suggested


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

I have sent you a personal message. Regards, Dennis.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By DennisB on 19 Sep 2011 04:53 PM 
I have sent you a personal message. Regards, Dennis. 
't hasn't arrived... yet.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Just show him the cost of his competition.
K's Wood Buildings


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

It's a pretty catalog, but what has he sold? There are quite a few that believe that G scalers have deep pockets. Just look at the number of large scale suppliers that are folding up. Sorry to be so critical. dennis.


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## Ron Hill (Sep 25, 2008)

I just got thru scratch building a farm house to go along with my barn. It took 8 months to build the house. I wish your brother-in-law luck in his endavor. I build my own buildings as much as possible because 1) I do find buildings I like and 2) the ones I do, I cannot afford. This house actually cost more than a Aristo-Craft house, but theirs do not look half as good. 
Ron


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

I just cant see how anyone can stay in business selling g scale structures for $100-200. I would never spend more then $50 on a structure. But thats me and I also cant see spending a lot on something im going to leave outside year round.. I understand a lot goes into making a buildings especially the larger more detailed ones. 
Mik like I stated on LSC he should start with smaller buildings found on most railroads and build stuff that can be used for more then one thing.


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## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Here goes a crack at a short business plan. 

Materials Scrap lumber, detail parts, paint..........$10/ building

Labor $20/hour 


Can you crank out a simple small building in an hour? Materials + Labor = Minimum $30

A complex detailed building..... 8 hours Materials + Labor = $170 


Investment in tools........Hundreds perhaps thousands. 


How much "profit" do you want to make? ???????

Show tables, transportation, accommodations, meals, marketing....... $300/ show. 


*BOTTOM LINE.....* Don't quit your day job. 


*MY CONCLUSION.....* If you do this, you do it for the love of the hobby and not to make a living. 


Not a lucrative business opportunity. Tom.


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## DennisB (Jan 2, 2008)

I know several people that have attempted this and even set up displays at the all scale model train shows and advertising in Garden Railways magazine. The small detail items sell because they're cheap. That is how you have to think. The one guy I knew sold to several large scale shops and two years later the items were still on the shelf. Doesn't sound very encouraging does it. Dennis


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I think if someone made starter kits, not beginner kits mind you, but a basic walls/roof set up that could be assembled painted and detailed by the buyer. His cost for making would be down as would shipping. Plus the buildings would able to be modifiedper the user so you wouldn't have a run of the mill same ole same old building. 
Also, the 1.20 market is a bit lacking in buildings. I'd like to see some more choices there. 
Terry


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

I have 2 pola and aristo buildings that I got for a killer deal, the rest are either old birdhouses I found at yard sales or ones I built myself. I think most guys like to build theri own buildings to suit their RR. You can put as much or as little detail as you want. For me buildings are secondary to the trains so mine don't have alot of detail. 
I agree unless the building is small with a small price tag I don't think your brother inlaw will have much success. I don't want to squash anyones dream but.... 
Maybe if he could make small parts like windows and doors and other detail parts he might have a business. 
It's true that most of us don't have deep pockets, not in this economy. 
Maybe he could make log cabins. That is one sructure that pretty much everyone has room for on their RR's


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## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I enjoy building houses and stations. I could not make a living at it though. One thing I find about the entire hobby in the US is that it is very "Western" Western style buildings, western style trains etc. being an Easterner from Maine, I do not see structures that fit well in the northeast. Sure a shed is a shed and a privy a privy but anything else shows reagional differences. 

If he has something different to offer he will have a chance. We americans tend to be Cheap SOB's and seem unwilling to pay for real craftsmanship. Remember, the nice stuff we buy is all made in china and we are not paying for craftsmanship...just shipping and corporate profit.


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Maybe the wrong market? Aim for the Swiss and Euro modellers, especially anything wood/lumber: 

http://www.modellbau-kotsch.de/node/24 

http://www.modellbau-kotsch.de/node/22/ 

Garden-Texture had announced some European buildings, but nothing came out of it from what I can remember.


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

Is there really money to be made in the G scale world? How many people have purchased $150-$200 buildings?

Not many I know of. 

Then if you are going to leave them out all year round then you have ''REGULAR" maintenance to deal with. If you have an indoor layout then I can see it. Nothing lasts outside in the elements.

Then you have the guys that take their building inside, then get tired of doing so each time they are going to run so they start running the trains without the buildings being out.

I am going to have to start re-buying and replacing some of my older buildings, with those I will leave them out during the spring, and summer then taking them in during the winter. But I will not pay for another Aristo building..the sun sucks the color right out of the building..dont think they thought to use UV paint, and repainting after 1 year to 1 and 1/2 year is rediculous. Maybe I will just take out my town and take costs and maintenance down to a minimum.

Nothing ever looks like new. When you start re-touching things up they start to look just like that touched up. 

Regular maintenance is just a given thing to do.

Bubba


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

I would suggest false front/facade type structures, no more than a couple inches deep, that can be set against a wall or fence or some such. Everything from resteraunts to hotels to warehouses. If he could make and sell those for under forty bucks (especially if they're decent), then he might have a niche...of sorts.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I would think a modular system where various walls could be assembled and roof lines can vary would be popular. Selective compression to make distances longer can result in unique footprints in the garden confine. 
Wooden doors in fromes, windows too, could be fit by the modler where needed or feasible. 
Bonus, these can be shipped flat and compact saving shipping fees. 
Generic walls with different sidings and sizes for a medium price, the windows and doors much more (time consuming) sold seperately, allows the purchaser to determine how expensive he needs that building. 
You'd have to break a tad over even on the walls and make your money in the doors and windows unless injection molded.... or bought wholesale from a supplier, where you pocket the markup. 

John


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

Unfilled niche? 

I don't know of any 1:20.3 railroad structures - roundhouses, water tanks, stations, etc. Seems most of that is either kit bashed or custom built. Of course, I may be out of touch, but I would think that there might be a market for something like that. 

I hate to suggest it, but if he wants to make money, I'd pick something from the EBT, Rio Grande (D&RGW or RGS), or West Side Lumber Company. Modeling the buildings at Cass might be a good wat to make a buck, if he has his mind set on it. Go for something that modelers can use, and that people will recognize.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By DKRickman on 20 Sep 2011 06:32 PM 
Unfilled niche? 

I don't know of any 1:20.3 railroad structures - roundhouses, water tanks, stations, etc. Seems most of that is either kit bashed or custom built. Of course, I may be out of touch, but I would think that there might be a market for something like that. 

I hate to suggest it, but if he wants to make money, I'd pick something from the EBT, Rio Grande (D&RGW or RGS), or West Side Lumber Company. Modeling the buildings at Cass might be a good wat to make a buck, if he has his mind set on it. Go for something that modelers can use, and that people will recognize. 
Pacific Coast has very nice structures in BOTH 1/24 AND 1/20.3. Expensive, but nice.

http://mysite.verizon.net/bryie/pcgrs/id2.html


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Madstang on 20 Sep 2011 06:10 PM 
Is there really money to be made in the G scale world? How many people have purchased $150-$200 buildings?

Not many I know of. 


Regular maintenance is just a given thing to do.

Bubba 
What is funny is I know people that regularly do buy buildings in that range....in H0 and 0 tho! I have even sold a few myself when dad wanted rid of some old FSM H0 kits.

I am begining to see what is probably killing the LS hobby, a mentality of if it is over about $50, forget it.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Spule 4 on 21 Sep 2011 04:58 PM 
Posted By Madstang on 20 Sep 2011 06:10 PM 
Is there really money to be made in the G scale world? How many people have purchased $150-$200 buildings?

Not many I know of. 


Regular maintenance is just a given thing to do.

Bubba 
What is funny is I know people that regularly do buy buildings in that range....in H0 and 0 tho! I have even sold a few myself when dad wanted rid of some old FSM H0 kits.

I am begining to see what is probably killing the LS hobby, a mentality of if it is over about $50, forget it.




I beieve you head the nail directly on the head.


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Watch E bay under G scale trains buildings. Watch what moves. 

I have a saved search that gives me a daily accounting of what's available. 

Some times I find something I like for the right price. 

I bought a set of plans in 1:29 scale for a feed store which I hope to make into a factor. I will make it from steel. 

JJ


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

I can se if you have an inside layout such as an HO or O scale . But like I stated if you leave your buildings outside it isn't worth spending a lot of $$ for something you know is not going to last, OR not last without always having to touch it up.

What's killing the hobby is the economy and the ever increasing prices for items in a frivalous hobby that when times get hard it is the first to go.

What I find interesting is the price of brass, that I can find, that manufactures' state caused the increase in the prices of track that is needed to start, or expand one's layout. And the high price that the manufacturers' are charging for the track ...something is amiss! 

Bubba


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## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

been there, tried that... 

here some pics from my former "ultimate idea" to make the hobby pay: 

http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/bahn/forumpics/shashlik2.JPG 
http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/bahn/forumpics/shashlik3.JPG 
http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/bahn/forumpics/shashlik4.JPG 
http://kormsen.ko.funpic.de/bahn/forumpics/shashlik5.JPG 




forget it, Mik! 

wood is the wrong material. 
earlier in this thread there was a link, with wooden buildings from about 100$ to much more. 
from those buildings i would not put any on my layout without refining it a little. 
refining costs lots of time - or lots of money. 
you should know for yourself, that wood needs time. if it shall be a modell, that benefits ones layout many hours of detailing are needed. 
many of us do it... for ourselves. 
but all those fine buildings, that we admire here in the forum would have to have a pricetag from 500$ up. (way up in some cases) 
there is a very big difference between spending dozens of hours on a specific model for a specific place on one's own layout and giving a big hunk of money for somebody else's (standard) model. 

people don't want standard products. and people don't want to work too much for any given thing. 

so the answer would be to produce something, that helps them to build a non standard building with not too much effort. 

do you remember that impressive hotel, Burl made? 
apart from its sheer size, the most interesting thing was the way, how it was built. 
a couple of standard sections, arranged as needed. 

something like these sections, premade as supply for modelers - that would be the way to go! 

and in plastic or resin, not in a material that deteriorates too quick in the garden. 

thats my 2cent. you asked for it...


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

My arguement is the opposite, UV resistant plastic is not cheap, and the amount of plastic and cost of diework goes up exponentially with size. By that means, a $250 Pola kit is a roaring bargin compared to its $50 H0 counterpart.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

One of my big problems with his grand 'plan', is he says, "You know all these people, you can market them for me!"..... 

Which, from where I'm sitting, translates into: I get ALL the headaches, MOST of the expenses, and the blame if/when it falls flat..... all in return for a tiny commission IF any sell. 

Still, I'll play along for a little while. I'll probably draw up a basic outhouse. A small B&O or Pennsy style freight house. A section house. A bunk house. Maybe an eastern mine "company" duplex, and a farmhouse (Sears cube?) to start - since I have that stuff in my files. Figure a bill of materials, then price them out as far as costs if he had to buy new. If nothing else maybe I can eventually peddle plans, lol. 

I'm ASSuming he's planning wood construction, glued and pin nailed, with a hardiboard base, acrylic windows, all pre-painted assembled, and sealed. Since that's how he does his lighthouses, wishing wells, and other yard clutter. Solidly built, but not finescale... Which probably won't attract the deep pocket guys he's after. - and chase away the budget minded as well.


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## shaneclara (Dec 27, 2007)

I say let him go for it unless he wants you to foot the bills. After he gets a few under his belt the buyers will dictate the price. If he lists for $400 and no bites for 6 months. There may be a pricing issue and not an economy issue. One thing I couldn't decipher is wether or not he is into G-Scale. If he isn't, then there could be a problem connecting with his customers. As a bridge builder and Extreme G-Scaler, I can tell you that if you do not understand the hobby and the needs then it's not going to work. I too build my own buildings. I live in West Virginia and get a nice dose of all 4 seasons which are brutal on wood structures. Average life for a wooden structure that I've seen for myself is about 4 years if it sits on the ground. As for your friend and his building vanture, I say support him and I think you hit the nail on the head catering to the dollhouse people for the prices he's thinking of but it still probably will not be a mainline income.


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