DPM Gold Kit disappointment

kebmo

Posts: 777
Joined: 2005-01-15

is it just me....

is anyone familiar with the dpm gold kits? i gotta tell ya....i bought one from fifer hobby and couldn't wait to tear into the kit, cuz i'm tryin' to get all my downtown structures completed and wanted to put the dpm "nightlife" kit right smack in the middle of town.. when i opened the box i was thoroughly disgusted. not only are the structures of a lesser quality than dpm's individual structure kits but the high-falootin' detail castings they rave about are well.....for the sake of decorum......about as useful as breasts on a fencepost. most of them are ridiculously unidentifiable because the flash is everywhere. i was flabbergasted when i saw this kit. for the money...it's nothing more than a big ol' pile of monkeydung. on a scale of one to ten i'd have to give it a minus 2. it sucks. [i.m. not so h.o.]

on the other hand...i gotta rave once again about fifer hobby. i placed an order with them saturday and it was in monday's mail. holy smokes. same goes for aztec manufacturing. i ordered "the eliminator" track cleaning car saturday and received it monday as well. talk about great service!! thanks mike and robin!

the eliminator rocks! it comes in an atlas 40' boxcar body in m.o.w. gray, with mt trucks and magnamatic couplers and it works GREAT! i would recommend it to anyone.

--
one thing i learn every day is that i don't know very much......

Submitted by kebmo on Wed, 04/09/2008 - 18:19.

ranulf

Posts: 511
Joined: 2005-05-29

I want fenceposts with

I want fenceposts with breasts for my yard too.

"Do Not Hump!?!?! Does that mean what I think it means!?"

I only posted for the points.

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 18:49

duff

Posts: 80
Joined: 2005-10-23

I agree I have Gerry Riggs

I agree I have Gerry Riggs service station same flash problem I will use as much as i can as track side clutter.

Also can't agree enough about Mike & Robin great place to do bussiness

And send me a couple of those fence post

Sometime your the hammer, Sometime your the nail

Troy

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 21:08

FrankG

Posts: 30
Joined: 2008-02-18

Also disappointed by DPM Gold Kits

I alsot go the Night Life gold kit from DPM and was also very disappointed. The one thing that helped was this was one of the first kits I ever purchased, so at the time I didn't know any better really. But in hind site, the Gold kits are a total waste of money. They're identical to the individual structure kits, and the "extras" you get just aren't worth it. Get the cheaper, individual kits and do yourself a favor. Not to mention that the instructions leave a lot to be desired as far as detail placement.

--
Follow along as I recreate a post-war 1940s urban environment in N scale, plus tutorials, tips and more: http://nscale.wordpress.com.

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 21:12

kerry

Posts: 207
Joined: 2004-09-06

Or not....

I feel your pain:)...

I've built a number of DPM kits over the years, all of which have driven home the truism that "you get what you pay for". Moving forward the last couple years, all my construction has been either custom or wood kits. The DPM kits, IMO, no matter how you "dress them", look very similar. I would rather have 1/2 as many buildings per square foot that look unique......

Kerry

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 22:38

Motrak

Posts: 34
Joined: 2006-11-25

Don't buy any!

I have one of their HO scale gold kit (whitewater brewery) and all the extra details........ sucks. Thanks for the advise and I won't buy any of their N scale kits.

--
Jeff Adam Motrak Models www.stores.ebay.com/motrak-models

Wed, 04/09/2008 - 23:46

BryanC

Posts: 1481
Joined: 2005-01-26

I have found this thread to

I have found this thread to be quite fascinating! Earlier this year I started the following thread: DPM Kits: Why/How are they different? Or are they? If you check it out you'll see that none of the information in this thread came to light!

Later on in my scenery efforts I have a downtown area to create and had been thinking along the lines of the DPM kits primarily to have the brick buildings (as against wood). Now I'm not so sure!

Still, there is quite a bit of time to go before I reach that point (it will be last scenery area for the layout) so I am not too concerned as yet!

BTW: There are quite a few threads here about DPM kits. A search will reveal them all. These two from 2005 and 2007, however, seemed to be quite interesting:

http://www.nscale.net/forums/modeling/structures-general-scenery-techniques/2005/11/08/question-dpm-plastic-kits

http://www.nscale.net/forums/modeling/structures-general-scenery-techniques/2007/03/26/dpm-painting-tips

Cheers!

Bryan C
Alligator Lines "The Eclectic Line of the South"

http://ALines.home.att.net

Thu, 04/10/2008 - 14:38

kerry

Posts: 207
Joined: 2004-09-06

Inexpensive....

BryanC wrote:

I have found this thread to be quite fascinating! Earlier this year I started the following thread: DPM Kits: Why/How are they different? Or are they? If you check it out you'll see that none of the information in this thread came to light!
Later on in my scenery efforts I have a downtown area to create and had been thinking along the lines of the DPM kits primarily to have the brick buildings (as against wood). Now I'm not so sure!
Still, there is quite a bit of time to go before I reach that point (it will be last scenery area for the layout) so I am not too concerned as yet!
BTW: There are quite a few threads here about DPM kits. A search will reveal them all. These two from 2005 and 2007, however, seemed to be quite interesting:
http://www.nscale.net/forums/modeling/structures-general-scenery-techniques/2005/11/08/question-dpm-plastic-kits
http://www.nscale.net/forums/modeling/structures-general-scenery-techniques/2007/03/26/dpm-painting-tips

I think that for the money the DPM kits are OK. It just gets down to what your "realism threshold" is, and how much work (translation=time) you are willing to put into it. I have a few of them that I think turned out pretty good (a "dilapidated" one, with interior lights, is in my gallery here). But to get that result required quite a bit of time on my part. Further, without that time investment, you will end up seeing "your" building over and over on other's layouts. It is all up to you. Maybe I'm just not a very proficient builder compared with others. But I have concentrated on quality versus quantity for a while now because I like buildings. Which is why my kits the last few years have been almost exclusively laser-cut wood, with a few brass kits thrown in. I find that I can get better results, quicker. In addition, because the numbers produced compared with DPM production is so low a few "tweaks" result in a building that no one else will recognize. I suggest you pick one up and give it a try. They are quite inexpensve, and you may just have found the perfect compromise (all our hobby stuff is a compromise) for you.......

Kerry

Thu, 04/10/2008 - 21:28

kebmo

Posts: 777
Joined: 2005-01-15

just to clarify my initial

just to clarify my initial thread.....i find that the individual dpm kits can be pretty nice little structures. however......the dpm {fool's} gold kits leave alot to be desired. when you do the math, their individual kits are roughly $10. the gold kit i bought [night life] includes 3 buildings. that tells me that i paid $20 or $25 for the details. that my friends, is highway robbery. the details are absolute garbage.

i too prefer laser cut kits and have built several bar mills kits because i like them so much, but they don't make any "downtown" structures in our scale. i guess i'm just not aware of any wood kits in our scale that would be appropriate for a down town area. please enlighten me if there are some out there.......

--
one thing i learn every day is that i don't know very much......

Sat, 04/12/2008 - 18:35

kerry

Posts: 207
Joined: 2004-09-06

American Model Builders

kebmo wrote:

just to clarify my initial thread.....i find that the individual dpm kits can be pretty nice little structures. however......the dpm {fool's} gold kits leave alot to be desired. when you do the math, their individual kits are roughly $10. the gold kit i bought [night life] includes 3 buildings. that tells me that i paid $20 or $25 for the details. that my friends, is highway robbery. the details are absolute garbage.
i too prefer laser cut kits and have built several bar mills kits because i like them so much, but they don't make any "downtown" structures in our scale. i guess i'm just not aware of any wood kits in our scale that would be appropriate for a down town area. please enlighten me if there are some out there.......

American Model Builders is another good source. Many others as well. IMO, DPM downtowns all look the same...... Again, very much depends on your personal opinion. For me, I like to mix up my downtown structures to create obvious visual differences. As stated earlier, I like building modelling. Therefore, my goal is to not create generic buildings. I want each to be a point of visual interest. But that's just me.......

Kerry

Sat, 04/12/2008 - 19:58

seasar

Posts: 30
Joined: 2004-12-29

Thanks for this thread

I too was contiplating on the DPM gold kits, Woods Furniture to be specific. However, I decided on a different industry by Walthers. I am so glad I did not purchase the DPM product after reading this thread. Honestly, I am not that thrilled with DPM's regular line. The price is right on those, but I would rather pay more for quality. Fortunately, for brick downtown buildings, I was able to find the Walthers University Ave shops and State Street stores online, both of which are discontinued kits.

Wed, 04/16/2008 - 15:01

Boiler-man

Posts: 257
Joined: 2005-10-30

I have assembled all kinds

I have assembled all kinds of building kits and kit bashed several.

The DPM kits are easy to bash in to something different.

I like their features and have had very good results with them.

They do however require a lot of flash removal and fitting of parts prior to applying cement.

Also for the roofs I add bracing and substitute plastic sheeting in lew of the card stock supplied with the kits.

--
Boilerman

Wed, 04/16/2008 - 20:20

RS-27

Posts: 188
Joined: 2006-02-04

If anything, the Woods

If anything, the Woods Furniture is the closest to getting you're money's worth as far as 'Gold' kits. The metal castings are cr*p, well _maybe_ usable, with a bunch of work, but you do get a bunch of modular sections. But: Jerry and Co., don't waste your money.

Bob in IDaho

Tue, 04/22/2008 - 03:15

DPM Gold Kit disappointment

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