Manufacturer
Wm. K. Walthers Inc.
P. O. Box 3039
Milwaukee, WI 53201
www.walthers.com
Era: 1930s to present day
Comments: This large blower engine house is part of Walthers’ Ashland Iron & Steel line of heavy industry kits. Modeled from a prototype in Lorain, Ohio, it houses the huge compressors that operate a blast furnace.
This plastic kit is easy to assemble and the finished corrugated-metal structure is a scale 46 feet wide, 116 feet long, and 85 feet tall (over the stacks). The superb access stairway adds another 8 feet to the overall width.
The kit is designed to complement Walthers’ blast furnace model, so it includes three different sizes of large pipes and fittings that may be used to connect the two structures. An extra piping kit is also available.
This model introduces a new tapered window treatment that really works well. Each window frame is a tapered plug that fits tightly into its opening and is held in place by the clear glazing cemented to the interior wall.
This kit’s design makes it a great candidate for kitbashing. Its major components can easily be rearranged, and the doors and details are adjustable as desired.
I think this would be a great building to use in a backdrop on a N/ HO/ S scale layout, I agree that it is an excellent canadite for scrachbuilding/ kitbashing. With a bit of work it could even be modified into a warehouse.