Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
5601 W. Florist Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
www.walthers.com
Era: 2003 to present
Comments: An injection-molded plastic modern-era storefront is one of several new UPS-branded items available from Wm. K. Walthers Inc. The HO scale UPS Store is part of the Cornerstone Series structure line and is molded in three colors and clear plastic. The kit also includes two UPS drop boxes with modeler-applied decals and a factory-printed The UPS Store sign with the shipping company’s current logo.
The UPS Store brand was introduced in 2003, two years after UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc. In 2017, there were 5,000 locations in North America. The UPS Store provides an assortment of postal, shipping, packing, business, and printing services.
The Walthers kit features four wall panels, a roof, scuppers and downspouts, a canopy roof, a three-piece entry (front, door/window frame, and glazing), three trim pieces, rooftop vents, and a base with molded sidewalk. The parts were free of flash and the corner joints were tight. The brick detail was well defined, and the bricks aligned properly at the corners.
The kit is designed to be modeled as a stand-alone structure or added to the Walthers Modern Shopping Center kit (no. 933-4115, sold separately). Information on how to modify the structure for the latter is included on the two-sided instruction sheet. No matter how you build the model, there will be leftover door/window frames, window glazing, rooftop vents, scuppers, and downspouts. Save those for future kitbashing projects.
I airbrushed the structure with Model Master acrylic Oxide Red, Reefer Gray, Grimy Black, and Concrete. Then
I used Prismacolor colored pencils to highlight individual bricks. An application of Testor’s Dullcote slightly muted the pencil work, but I liked the effect. I added the window glazing after the Dullcote had been applied.
The building measures 35⁄8″ x 415⁄16″, making it ideal for layouts of all sizes. To complete the scene, Walthers also offers a UPS figure set (no. 949-6043) and SceneMaster vehicles lettered for UPS.
