Nu-Line’s kit is a one-third-sized version of a warehouse built in 1986 in Azusa, Calif. It can easily be adapted to represent numerous modern industries with the addition of a few storage tanks and other appropriate details.
The kit is made of injection-molded flat styrene parts and can be easily assembled in an evening or two using basic tools and liquid plastic cement. All of the pieces were relatively free from flash, though filing was necessary in a few places.
Six pages of clear instructions include two drawings and a photo to aid in parts identification and building the kit’s subassemblies.
Perhaps the trickiest part of the whole project was the roof, which comes molded in two pieces that need to be carefully filed to form a flush joint down the center. I used .060″ x 3/16″ Evergreen strip styrene to add six 2″ cross braces for extra support. After cementing them in place, I covered the center seam with additional styrene cut to fit inside as shown in the photo below.
As the roof was molded in an unrealistic metallic gray, I sprayed it with a coat of Testor’s Light Aircraft Gray and let it dry thoroughly. Later, I lightly dusted it with a spray of Modern Desert Sand. By making light passes over the roof with the spray can held farther away than normal, the paint speckled the surface instead of fully covering it, so the roof appears to be covered with gravel as on the prototype.
The bubble skylights are among the neatest features of the kit, but were also its only difficulty. Though there are indentations for the exact placement of each, all 28 skylights needed to be filed to fit the openings. Though this step was time-consuming, the finished result is definitely worth the effort.
Building the rest of the structure is very straightforward. After assembling the concrete wall sections, ramp, stairways, and office sidewalk I sprayed them with Testor’s Light Aircraft Gray to simulate the concrete exterior. The doors, downspouts, and other detail pieces were molded in a nice dark bronze and the office in a smoked glass colored plastic, so I simply installed them as-is after the painted walls dried.
Nu-Line’s modern warehouse is a very useful kit for N scale modelers. With six truck-loading bays and a ramp into the building on the front and three trackside doors for rail service in the back, this warehouse provides plenty of medium-sized industrial action. As a plus, the cast-concrete construction lends itself well to kitbashing, so it could fit along a backdrop or be combined with additional kits to make a larger industry.
Price $34.95
Manufacturer:
Nu-Line Structures Inc.
417B W. Foothill Blvd., No. 493
Glendora, CA 91741
www.nu-linestructures.com
Description:
Plastic kit molded in four colors
9¼” x 12½” footprint
