jaydar Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/aca/kit_aca_15122.shtml Perhaps someone who has built this can comment. Thanks, Joe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadrob30 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I would love one of these but they are going for around $100 everywhere I can find them...someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadrob30 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Never mind, just got one on Amazon for $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbwelda Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) is this basically the same as the Texaco station offered a few years ago? must be, sure looks like it is. I got one on the shelf but never managed to arse myself into looking at it seriously. tabletop acreage is a problem too...but sure would be kool. ps: always check Amazon, its amazing what you can get through them and generally for like half what it costs everywhere else, just like Chad says. jb Edited April 1, 2014 by jbwelda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Academy just reissued this "kit", which is why it's being reviewed in the first link. Should be plentiful and "affordable" right now. Edited April 1, 2014 by niteowl7710 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PowerPlant Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Great to see this reissued... I've been wanting one for years. Might actually get it now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I bought this one years ago, and also have the Fujimi set of tools, for a project I started way back when. I too have run into the same situation others have mentioned. The "where do I put it when done?" The footprint of mine is about 1.5 ft deep and about 2.5 ft wide. PLUS...I look at the diorama work that some others do, and to be honest, I do not want to finish it until it will look decent, and I do not think I am there yet. I still have a lot to learn, but I have to admit, the internet has really shortened that learning curve. That aside, even if you do not do a full blown garage set up, there are a lot of parts that you can use to set up and stage cool photos etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragline Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I built this for a customer in trade for kits and it was a fun build. I put some extra stuff into it and some light weathering but it builds up nicely. Be careful to keep the wall grooves clean and clear or assembling them will be a pain. The cans of oil were a PITA, and the stock hose doesn't really fall right so I replaced it. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclescott58 Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) If they would come back with the Texaco version, or if I could find decals to do something rather than a generic "Joe's Power Plus", I'd consider buying this kit. In fact I'd love build this kit as an early '60s Pure Oil station. When they had the Firebird logo. Scott Aho Edited April 2, 2014 by unclescott58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hpiguy Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I like the generic decals, makes it look more small town to me. Also makes it look more like a custom kit and not something I bought premade in a store. IMHO I'll have to grab this one up. I see Tower has it on order, with their coupon codes, makes it pretty sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I am curious whether a licensing problem converted it from Texaco to Joe's? It is a one bay station, which I guess is typical in very small towns or where real estate is a problem. I would like to buy two kits and make a 2 bay building. The pumps and details look pretty nice to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I sold the Texaco Garage version sometime last year as I'm currently "thinnin' out the herd." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) I ordered the Texaco kit from my local hobby store and recieved the Joe's Plus instead to my disapointment. I am building it slowly after about two years adding home made Texaco decals along with some of Joe's decals. Only two walls come in the kit FYI. If my name was Joe I would love it! Edited April 3, 2014 by rmvw guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 How 'bout some homemade decals with your name on it Ron? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niteowl7710 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I am curious whether a licensing problem converted it from Texaco to Joe's? It is a one bay station, which I guess is typical in very small towns or where real estate is a problem. I would like to buy two kits and make a 2 bay building. The pumps and details look pretty nice to me. Academy by and large doesn't bother with licensing anything they reissue that doesn't involve Minicraft - which as of late has been diecast "kits" and 1/43 scale stuff. For the most part in 1/24 they just re-run old molds they can obtain/lease on the cheap and fly with them. That's how you wind up with Joe's...or the famous "European Classic Car" Or the BMW, Porsche & Lambo with the company names in Korean... Perhaps I could interest you in a "European Super Car"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrherald420 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Cool. Have to check this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrGlueblob Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 If you haven't done a diorama before, this would be a good starter. The scale won't drive you crazy, parts from SE, Ken Hamilton, Larry G Scale and others will keep you busy for a long time. Yes, it's big, but not huge Diorama-wise.. I've built some aircraft ones that would fit on top of a pool table.. Cool thing is.. You never really get done with one of these. It's like having an endless project. Scary to some, but fun to us others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmvw guy Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 How 'bout some homemade decals with your name on it Ron? If I could figure a way to change the J to R and E to N on the original design I would. The troube would be making the change on all the decals. The guy who started this thread is named Joe, which I think is cool for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
om617 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Does anyone have pictures how it looks built ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Barrow Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I am curious whether a licensing problem converted it from Texaco to Joe's? It is a one bay station, which I guess is typical in very small towns or where real estate is a problem. I would like to buy two kits and make a 2 bay building. The pumps and details look pretty nice to me. Possibly, but MRC did previously sell both the Texaco and generic Joe's at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I knew there was no back wall to Joe's gas station. Even the Buddy L Texaco didn't have a back wall either. I think a guy Chris sells Gas station decals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) Decals shouldn't stop anyone these days! There are abundant logos and signs on the Internet. Try Google Images and put in "Texaco" or any other gas company and tons of stuff should come right up. You just need to save them, and resize them to fit your needs. Even if you don't have experience with decals on your printer, you don't need to print gas station signs on decal stock, it's more appropriate to use paper stock and glue them on. Some folks will use standard 20 lb printer paper, some like photo paper. I prefer printing signs / license plates on 60-80 lb stock. It's a bit more rigid and may even be scale thickness for 1/25 scale metal signs. You can get a lifetime supply in one pack at Staples. Same aisle as printer paper, but it comes 250 sheets to a pack rather than 500. I have the Texaco version and there were a few shortcomings. It's already been mentioned that it's a one bay, no doubt to save on table space. Honestly I don't think I've seen a one bay station. More like 2-4 bays. My family Getty station was 3 bays. Someone mentioned getting a second kit to add a bay, I think I'd build it as if it was added on, so it can be added with other materials. Also you may want to add those back walls if you want to do interior. You could also leave it one bay and put an outdoor lift next to it. I've seen that before. Not only does the kit not have a back wall, there is no right end wall either. Nor are there any interior partitions, doors etc. There are two bathroom doors on the exterior, but again no interior partitioning or restroom fixtures. This is all on you. To add the interior partitioning, it's easy to see where the bay should separate from the office. For the depth of the front office, you'd take the area that's the rest room doors, and create two equal areas for the rooms. Only take the depth you need for the rest rooms, they could be as small as 3' x 6' in size each. The remaining area in our family owned station was a room behind the main office, which was a combination office / storage room and utility area. The heating system /. hot water heater for the building were mounted up high, above what would have been a ceiling, but was left open to the roof deck. I believe I heard in the past that the gas pumps are out of scale. For my two cents, I think I'd use it more as a scale pattern to build my own building. Edited April 4, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Ellis Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Tom, good point about making own decals and signs. If it doesn't have right wall, well I guess a second kit might be necessary, then you get another bay. Our building was once used as an auto repair facility. Hense, it has a ceiling natural gas furnace. If you want to model a real one, here is a picture of it. Since the combustables settle to the floor, the fire in the furnace is high above the floor. I would hate to experiment with the theory, but supposably it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) If it doesn't have right wall, well I guess a second kit might be necessary, then you get another bay. Bob, it seems they engineered this kit to save plastic real well! You wouldn't get a linear scale foot of blank wall out of the entire kit! The left wall is 70% open for glass in the front office. Then there are the two bathroom doors. So it wouldn't look right on the right side at all. Also, this piece has an unfinished back side that even looks wrong for inside the rest rooms. Note that the front pieces of the building really don't have much architectural detail either. No bricks or cinder blocks, no real definition of door frames or window surrounds. Gas stations of this design and era are most likely cinder block construction. The front could be interpreted as finished cement / flat stucco. A lot of them were metal clad panels or even real brick depending on where they were built. I would suggest using a product like this: http://www.jttmicroscale.com/viewcategory.asp?DirID=166. A local hobby shop near me is stocking it so I couldn't resist getting a few packs at this price. That's two 7.5" x 12" panels per pack... like $3 a panel! It is thin and appears to be vacuformed, but is pretty cool. Remember G Scale is 1/24 or so... I bought the Brick and Corrugated Siding (which will work for sheet roofing). I will go back and get the concrete block (cinder block) and dressed stone (used a lot in older buildings). The Concrete Block pattern would probably be appropriate for this project, for the unfinished sides of the building. That's how it would have been done in real life. My brick pattern is actually thin enough to be applied to the kit's walls for dress up. I may just do that with mine. I was planning on not doing mine as a gas station, but more of a station converted into a used car lot. I also don't like the base for the station either. No station has a thin sloping edge all the way around. It would have more like sidewalk on the side of the restrooms and office. The a curb would drop down to lot level for the bay door area. On the back and right side, you'd have ground contact. So I'd want to make my entire base myself too. Edited April 4, 2014 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Mine is packed away or I would share some pictures. I simply measured the single bay door, and using sheet styrene create a second bay door area and the remaining walls, interior and exterior, pretty much as Tom suggested above. The floor I cut most of the slope Tom is talking about away, and was planning on creating new sidewalks/curbs from plaster or similar. I also extended the floor. Now, I stopped on my project because I just did not feel that my weathering skills were good enough at that point to really make the garage turn out the way I want it to. I would like to pull it out again in the next year or two and start again as I have been learning a lot about weathering the last couple years. There are some VERY good diorama builders here on this forum, and here are a couple links to garage projects that may give you some inspiration. There are many more, but these really captured my attention. This first one is one of my favorites, and one of the reasons I hesitate to start back on mine. The detail is so nice on this one. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64999&hl= http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35045&hl= This one is just plain cool, but then you get the weathering ideas again http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=68085&hl= There are also some old blueprints on there too, http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=77245&hl= And while not showing anything on the inside, this has some great weathering ideas here. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=86438&hl= In short, do not let the lack of those walls, or roof, or whatever keep from this kit. It can be a great starting point for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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