Page 23 - January February 2002

Bluebird Diner
found well nigh impossible to do with wood glue and had to resort to CA and an accelerator to complete the task. Even so I broke a few mullions due to the fragile na- ture of the walls. Much trimming and filing was required to get the floor to fit. The roof has to be formed from a plain sheet of wood and it’s edges rounded off. The ac- etate supplied with the kit for the windows is almost opaque and I replaced it with clear material, as I wanted to show the in- terior to its best effect.
The kit comes with a paper sheet of black and white tiles for the interior floor, four metal bar stools, two plastic counters, a wooden shelf, a detailed menu board and various signs for the sides and roof of the diner. Completing the kit got my juices going and I plan to scratch-build a larger one from an old coach and basswood for later in the series.
Ease of Construction: 8 out of 10 (10 being easy)
Construction time: 8 hours Bang for your buck: 8 out of 10 Space required: 1.5” x 4”
The instructions could have been better but with the interior detailing supplied all the modeller has to add is a few folk and of course the burgers!
and was the forerunner of the fast food restaurants of today. Twin Whistle describes this kit as simple to build both for begin- ners or advanced modellers. I totally dis- agree. Due to the fragile nature of some of parts some experience of kit building will be required to successfully complete the kit. The instructions are rather sketchy and no mention is made of fitting the door. The steps have to be scratch-built from balsa wood supplied. The laser-cut walls are so flimsy that any painting will warp them. They are edge glued together which I
Ease of Construction: 7 out of 10 (10 being easy)
Construction time: 12 hours Bang for your buck: 8 out of 10 Space required: 5” x 3” incl. base
Some have stated that this building is somewhat ugly. However the building is valid as I am afraid some American archi- tecture was strictly functional rather than pretty. If I were to do the kit again I would probably reduce the size just slightly as a personal preference. This was one of JL’s early kits (1992) and is probably not as good value as some of their latest offer- ings.
Twin Whistle Sign & Kit
Company
This manufacturer offers six kits represent- ing small 50’s style diners, grocery stores and gas stations in HO, S, O and G scales. All their kits feature colourful signs and complete interiors.
Diner #H-401 $28
This little diner is not only small enough to fit almost anywhere but cute at the same time. The prototype harks back to the De- pression era of the 30’s and could seen throughout America into the 60’s. A con- verted old coach or tram made a very cheap place to do business selling hot food
RAILROAD TRADING
Stocking a variety of North American Books/Models/Videos
...for 4 Ways West and Morning Sun Books available at fair prices visit us at the following exhibitions:
15/17 February : Brighton Modelworld 6/7 April : Crawley MRC
16 March : Wealden, Arundel 20/21 April : East Grinstead MRC
...or regularly at Seabord Southern Division : www.seabord-southern.org.uk
PO Box 194, Horsham, West Sussex RH13 5GS
Tel/Fax: 01403 263026 E-mail: jb.rtailroadtrad@btinternet.com
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