O SCALE MOBILE HOMES BY WOODLAND SCENICS
Price: $94.99 each Features: Fully assembled and decorated, interior decoration and illumination, made for the Just Plug lighting system
The three Built-&-Ready mobile homes from Woodland Scenics prove that astonishing things can come in relatively small packages. I will confess to some confusion with the idea, but when I opened the box and saw the three buildings, I got it.
When I was a kid, a friend of my uncle’s suggested he and I come up to his cabin for the day. What I saw was a farmer’s field with a fairly large pond dredged out in the middle of a field, and surrounding the lake were 10 to 12 mobile homes people used as weekend getaways. With no good TV signals and maybe only WLW from Cincinnati on the radio, you really would have been getting away from it all.
There wasn’t an Airstream to be seen, but some fairly nice, modest mobile homes. They were not permanently affixed, but the owners had set out – almost in a competition – to personalize their areas with shrubs and flowers and here and there, a birdbath. It was pretty neat. Right there in the middle of a large farm was as pleasant a little neighborhood as you could find. Tornados need not apply!
Opening the box
We received the nos. BR5861 Grillin’ & Chillin’ trailer, BR5862 Double Decker trailer, and BR5863 Sunny Days trailer. Thanks to see-through clamshell packaging, I could see clearly how each trailer was unique. They are all gems, each having the mystique to build a scene around. All the O gauge trailers come ready for use with the Woodland Scenics Just Plus lighting system and cost $94.99 each.
THE COOKOUT KING
The BR5861 Grillin’ & Chillin’ model is the trailer equivalent of a country manor. It has a sedate green-and-white scheme. There is a matching striped canopy over the deck. In my mind, this shade of green screams late 1950s or early ’60s.
When I first saw the Grillin’ & Chillin’ trailer, my mind went back to the street where my grandparents had lived. While it was a residential neighborhood, one of their neighbors had a 1956 Ford painted light green and white (it had previously been pink and white). Wow, the odd memories your brain tucks away, waiting to be reawakened!
Below the canopy is a wood deck with a railing and two recliners and a grill. Yes, there are eats on the barbeque! There is a main entry door on the deck, and a picture window and a smaller window enhance both sides of the entry.
There is a side door to the left of the deck. It has a set of wood steps and a trashcan at the bottom.
The opposite side has a back door (no steps), two small windows, and a longer window with a mounted air conditioner. There is also a large vertical propane tank connected to the trailer. Finally, an old-school TV antenna runs from ground level to an inch or so above the trailer.
The flat roof is aluminum colored and has a step-down at the rear half of the trailer. It has two vents positioned on the middle back side.
The front of the trailer has an eight-pane window. Just below the window are a trailer hitch and two propane tanks. A shrub is planted near the hitch. Lattice-work wraps around the base of the trailer, and plants fill the area in front of the hitch.
The interior is decorated with cardstock scenes that look authentic. The lighting is naturally bright. All the windows have curtains, and they seem to fit the casual look of the place.
The rear has a two-pane window and a bumper. Also, to remind us that it is, in theory, still a mobile home, there are two simulated brake lights!
The trailer has a freestanding water faucet you can plant in the ground anywhere near the structure.
The Grillin’ and Chillin’ trailer is casual, but everything about the design suggests there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.
SKYLINER
he BR5862 Double Decker is a virtual trailer park skyscraper. Okay, that isn’t quite right. But it does mount a small cupola with windows above the bedroom. You can decide whether this is for extra air/ventilation or a spot to place the kiddies in elevated bunks.
The driver’s side has two doors, both of which have portholes! One is at the living room and the other at the bedroom. Both have wood steps. This side also has one large picture window and two smaller two-pane windows.
The opposite side has a picture window and three smaller two-pane windows. There is a door with closed vent slats on the lower half. You can clearly see the wheels beneath the house. There is a TV antenna from the ground to just above the upper deck.
The front of the trailer has a four-pane window, with most of one pane taken up by an air conditioner. There are two propane tanks mounted on the frame for the trailer hitch. There is no decoration around the base, and the trailer is on “cement” bricks.
The roof looks aluminum and has two vents. Interestingly, there are two car tires on the roof. Whether or not these are spares for travel or inner tubes for floating in a lake, they add some color.
The trailer’s windows all have curtains, but they look wonderfully mismatched. The neatest feature of all is what you can see looking through the right-side picture window. When the building has power applied, you can see an old black-and-white TV set with a flickering screen. How cool and retro!
Oh, the rear has an oval window looking to the rear as well and a curved rear. Yes, there is a bumper as well as four simulated brake lights.
Extras for this trailer include a picnic table, a horizontal propane tank, a garbage can, and a freestanding water faucet.
Not quite as orderly as the Grillin’ & Chillin’ model, but much more relaxed.
FUN IN THE SUN
he BR5863 Sunny Days trailer makes me want to be happy. Even if I want to be grumpy! The bright white siding, along with the carefully applied yellow accents on the body, makes me think “carefree.”
The five different “metal” awnings struck me. They’re placed over the doors and windows. These suggest the owner isn’t going anywhere; this trailer is his or her castle! This notion of being a fixed place in a mobile home park is reinforced by the matching “metal” skirting running all around the trailer. It would take some effort to get this baby rolling again.
The driver’s side has a smallish three-pane picture window and two two-pane windows. There are two doors, one with a four-pane window and the other with a single-pane window.
There are two sets of steps. The main entry has handrails. The other lacks them, but has a trashcan nearby!
The opposite side has the same three-pane picture window as the other side. There are two other windows: one- and two-pane versions. There is a backdoor with cast-in vents. There is a large vertical propane tank attached to the trailer.
The rear has a two-pane window, a bumper, and two simulated brake lights.
As with the other trailers, the Sunny Days has cardstock interior decoration and an amazing collection of curtains.
Extras for this trailer include two 1950s-style metal lawn chairs, a matching metal table, and a water hookup.
MAKE A PARK OR A SINGLE?
hese O gauge trailers each tell their own tale. Individually, they would be perfect for that small spot by your layout’s river or lake. As a group you could build a unique scene around them as a retirement village or a tourist camp.
Heck, if you’re good with a fine brush, you can repaint the trailers. Then there will be no limit to what you may do with half a dozen. Hats off to Woodland Scenics for coming up with three structures that are similar in concept, but are as different as night and day.
