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Superquick Revisited


Spotlc
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8 hours ago, Marly51 said:


Well said, Mike! That is a beautifully rendered image of those times. Our 1950s cities were grubby, gritty, grey places, but my memories of those times are still fond, despite the trials and tribulations our parents had to endure during the post war years!

 

Marlyn

Thanks, Marlyn.  Yes, of course, I have very fond memories also of those days, and I confess to wearing a pair of rose tinted specs sometimes, but it's that grubby, grey look that I'm after!!

 

Best wishes, Mike

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On 12/04/2021 at 18:47, Spotlc said:

 

But this is not something to apologise for, locomad2 - I like the slightly careworn appearance, in fact it's something I strive to achieve!   It's just a personal opinion, but I think a lot of nice models appear less realistic than they could, just because they are so pristine - people go to endless lengths to weather locos and rolling stock, and then have them run past supposedly 100 year old buildings that look as if the scaffolding was taken down yesterday !

 

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Here's a few Scalescenes "row of cottages", built as pairs, so they can descend a rather scruffy lane towards a paper mill.  I'm some way towards the effect I want, but still more to do.  I grew up in surroundings not too different to this in the immediate post-war years, and from distant memory, those surroundings were pretty grim!  Each to his own, naturally, but I've always tried to avoid the rose tinted specs!  Your Superquicks have certainly stood the test of time - you must have built them well - Bravo!

 

Cheers,  Mike

 

 

Fully agree with you, it's the "careworn" appearance I'am trying to achieve. Myself if find it easier to weather a locomotive or stock than a building. Hence why I still prefer "Superquick" over other building models, there is a certain charm, nostalgia look about them, they look old, worn battered like most building do.

 

In fact look at most smaller  town centres now especially upper floors and most still look grubby, unkemped, yes ground level looks better with new signs, shop windows, it is almost like 60 odd years ago, ground level things change, new attractive signs, shop windows, etc. But upper floors roofs still a mess, grass in gutters, pale yellow net curtains, missing brickwork, lost roof slates something which "Superquick" tends to achieve 

 

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IMG_4484.JPG.ffd7605566828951028c629c10b48cee.JPG

 

Here's The Peacock and Olivers, posed next to what I think is another long deleted Superquick, the Estate agents shop. I bought this at auction and restored it, but I can find no trace of it in any older catalogues - perhaps it's not Superquick?   The building on the right is from a publication called Making a Model Village, which I seem to have downloaded in 2006, but again, I know nothing about it's origin, publisher or copyright.  I have the whole document, and could email it to anyone interested, but it's a 325mb file and would be a slow old job!

 

It is in .tif format, which this site will not accept, but I've converted the general view to PDF:

village.pdf  to give you an idea.  There are nine or ten different buildings with drawings and simplified instructions;  there are no textures, just the outline drawings and a sketch of each building. PM me if you are interested.

 

Cheers,  Mike

 

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I am in the process of restoring buildings from a previous model railway for use on my current one.

 

As you can see from the attached pics there are Superquick kits, along with some low relief buildings made from magazine pictures and some resin buildings.

 

 

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On 14/04/2021 at 21:35, Spotlc said:

IMG_4484.JPG.ffd7605566828951028c629c10b48cee.JPG

 

Here's The Peacock and Olivers, posed next to what I think is another long deleted Superquick, the Estate agents shop. I bought this at auction and restored it, but I can find no trace of it in any older catalogues - perhaps it's not Superquick?   The building on the right is from a publication called Making a Model Village, which I seem to have downloaded in 2006, but again, I know nothing about it's origin, publisher or copyright.  I have the whole document, and could email it to anyone interested, but it's a 325mb file and would be a slow old job!

 

It is in .tif format, which this site will not accept, but I've converted the general view to PDF:

village.pdf  to give you an idea.  There are nine or ten different buildings with drawings and simplified instructions;  there are no textures, just the outline drawings and a sketch of each building. PM me if you are interested.

 

Cheers,  Mike

 


Some of these old books on scratch building are very interesting. I can also recommend John H. Ahern’s book ‘Miniature Building Construction’. I bought my copy some years ago from the Pendon Museum shop, but second hand copies are available through Abebooks.
 

EC79E371-4A9D-4C9A-8FFC-EBC75F1FB7B3.jpeg.95a7db319cd76ea1023ea8ec18076896.jpeg

 

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On 14/04/2021 at 21:35, Spotlc said:

IMG_4484.JPG.ffd7605566828951028c629c10b48cee.JPG

 

Here's The Peacock and Olivers, posed next to what I think is another long deleted Superquick, the Estate agents shop. I bought this at auction and restored it, but I can find no trace of it in any older catalogues - perhaps it's not Superquick?  

 

 

I'm pretty sure "Cockburn & Foster" is Superquick- I think mine is long gone (unless it's lurking in a box in the loft) but I'm sure I remember having it as part of the street scene on one of my early teenage layouts-  (this would have been early 80's). Is it an earlier incarnation of the " Country Town Shops" kit in the current range? as I recall, it came as a pair.- the rest of my street consisted of another shop, the Elizabethan cottages (looking at the Superquick website, another kit that's changed over the years?), "Swan Inn", and an Airfix detached bungalow. 

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On 14/04/2021 at 21:35, Spotlc said:

IMG_4484.JPG.ffd7605566828951028c629c10b48cee.JPG

Here's The Peacock and Olivers, posed next to what I think is another long deleted Superquick, the Estate agents shop. I bought this at auction and restored it, but I can find no trace of it in any older catalogues - perhaps it's not Superquick? 

It is Superquick. In fact it's one half of the second version of B22, the kit you just built. This replaced the first version in the mid/late 1960s but was itself replaced by the current version in either the '80s or '90s. Both the second and third (current) versions are constructed as two sparate buildings, but the first B22* was always a joined pair.

 

* Really early Superquicks come with largely black headers. If yours was like that then it is probably closer to 60 than 50 years old.

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Quite a few old Superquicks on my train set back in 1970.

On the LH side of the main street B29 Church (just in front of that a small building that was a free fold-up card kit giveaway with something - quite nice frontage, but very narrow!*), 1st series A9 Railway Cottages, Model Land RML45 Medium shop/office, then 1st series B27 Supermarket.

On the RH side 1st series B28 Elizabethan Cottages, Airfix Thatched cottage, half of 2nd series B22 Shops round the corner next to the footbridge, Airfix Pub opposite, then the other half of 2nd series B22 Shops, followed by an Airifx Bungalow and Semi. On the station the 2nd series A4 Island Platform Buildings (the one available now is the 3rd series). The roof of an Airfix Garage is just visible at the near end of the street.

 

TrainSetVillage1970.jpg.c01a347a9f0062735e9189ab4dbef0a3.jpg

 

* I think there's another between the Church and Railway Cottages.

Edited by BernardTPM
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On 19/04/2021 at 12:25, Marly51 said:


Some of these old books on scratch building are very interesting. I can also recommend John H. Ahern’s book ‘Miniature Building Construction’. I bought my copy some years ago from the Pendon Museum shop, but second hand copies are available through Abebooks.
 

EC79E371-4A9D-4C9A-8FFC-EBC75F1FB7B3.jpeg.95a7db319cd76ea1023ea8ec18076896.jpeg

 

Marlyn, thanks for your comment.   This little book has been a kind of Bible for me, for many years, so much so that it's now falling to pieces!  Although it pre-dates computer aided models by many decades it is still full of inspirational ideas and techniques, and the designs are timeless. Here is my take on his drawing for the Duchess of Albany pub - it is in 3mm to the foot scale

 

IMG_20191106_183903_3.jpg.43977c0932fe98e0f3fd2dc00b2d4b4c.jpg

The tobacconists is scratch built using Scalescenes papers, and the terrace is a straight forward Scalescenes facade reduced to 1:100, but built using a foam core.

 

Best,  Mike

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Invicta, Bernard, thanks for your interesting feedback!   Since I posted the pic I've found a few more unmade ancient Superquicks, and on the back of one of them there is an advert for the pair with the estate agents, and it is indeed numbered B22, but the other building is not the ones I have built, which is also numbered B22. and is called "Two Country Town Shops"!  I still have the top of the pack (which is printed on black) somewhere, so I'll post a pic later.

 

Cheers, Mike

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17 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

It is Superquick. In fact it's one half of the second version of B22, the kit you just built. This replaced the first version in the mid/late 1960s but was itself replaced by the current version in either the '80s or '90s. Both the second and third (current) versions are constructed as two sparate buildings, but the first B22* was always a joined pair.

 

* Really early Superquicks come with largely black headers. If yours was like that then it is probably closer to 60 than 50 years old.

 

Here you go, Bernard,  this must be the earlier version - I had no idea there were so many different types, all with the same numbers!

IMG_4501.JPG.58166696cecb582d90eca120416fa306.JPG

I've just found the Elizabethan Cottages B28, the single continuous building, and the Greystones Farmhouse B24 with the projecting gable, so i might have a go at those!  Thanks for your useful help

 

Cheers,  Mike

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From what I've found, so far the most number of versions of any one kit has been three, though I'm not yet 100% sure on that. There are still a few where there has only ever been one and one kit that has been discontinued. I must do a little more research on dates and try to make a basic reference post.

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3 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

From what I've found, so far the most number of versions of any one kit has been three, though I'm not yet 100% sure on that. There are still a few where there has only ever been one and one kit that has been discontinued. I must do a little more research on dates and try to make a basic reference post.

 

I assume that by "one kit that has been discontinued" you mean the C3 Modern Shops and Flats? If so, and if anybody is interested, there is one for sale on ebay at the moment.

Roy

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Though 'modern' in outline, that is the original B27 Supermarket, same as I had, with the second series B22 on the right. I see you also used the MINIX cars too and isn't that a Britains tree to the right? I did have one of those Dinky buses at one time but badly damaged it trying to strip the paint by putting it over the gas... should have used the Polystrippa.

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Thanks for the info re: the Supermarket Bernard, appreciated. Yes, that's a Britains tree, nicked from my sisters' 'Floral Garden' set, and all those MINIX cars meant that there was an empty Triang-Hornby Cartic car carrier circulating the layout somwhere! Note too, the (somewhat blurred) back end of a Dublo Dinky Volkswagen Van disappearing off stage, bottom left.

Just looking at the photo now, 50 years on (:o), I recall that that erm, 'landscape feature' painted green in the foreground was made from a spare dollop of actual concrete that my Dad was mixing for building a brick wall. All good fun!

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A good friend of mine who was an avid railway modeller died some years ago, and although most of his models, which were Ho, went to the younger members of his family, his daughter gave me a large cardboard box full of half built or damaged model buildings and some unbuilt Superquicks. At the time, I was fully occupied with building a new staircase for the attic of our ancient house, and the box was put in a cupboard and forgotten!

 

This thread jogged my memory, and the box was re examined. Most of the buildings are beyond hope, but I think this one will be worth restoring, I think it is one of the original series, the police station, No. B25.IMG_4504.jpg.13f01c6314cf925dced39e4dab5a294e.jpg

 

It hasn't been very well made, and the years have taken their toll, but I think with a new Scalescenes roof, much internal bracing, and a pair of new chimney stacks it could be restored to grace! It is certainly a very pretty building, but since my models are mostly populated with law abiding people, it will probably become a telephone exchange or the Borough Surveyor's office, or something other than a police station!

 

Cheers Mike

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Maybe I'm just sentimental for the layouts of old , but there is a quaint charm about these .

 

I think I have and Island station building and freight shed somewhere . This thread got me thinking if I can use them 

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17 hours ago, Legend said:

Maybe I'm just sentimental for the layouts of old , but there is a quaint charm about these .

 

I think I have and Island station building and freight shed somewhere . This thread got me thinking if I can use them 

 

Me too. Whilst I don't use them on my layouts anymore, I have a really soft spot for Superquick kits. Probably as they take me back to building them in my childhood.

 

Roy 

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7 hours ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

Me too. Whilst I don't use them on my layouts anymore, I have a really soft spot for Superquick kits. Probably as they take me back to building them in my childhood.

 

Roy 

I totally agree with you both!   I suppose to all model railways are subject to some form of nostalgia - how much possibly depends on one's age!   That said though, there is a lot of fun to be had by combining the timeless designs of Superquick with some of the techniques and materials that were not available when we first built them, all those years ago!

 

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I've dismantled the rather poorly made police station as far as I think is necessary, without doing untold damage, and I've made a start on painting all the exposed card edges. I had to put a couple of temporary braces inside, to stop it falling apart!

 

Cheers  Mike

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On 14/04/2021 at 21:35, Spotlc said:

Here's The Peacock and Olivers, posed next to what I think is another long deleted Superquick, the Estate agents shop. I bought this at auction and restored it, but I can find no trace of it in any older catalogues - perhaps it's not Superquick? 

This advert from the September 1967 Model Railway Constructor dates it to the summer of '67.

swan inn and shops advert sept 1967 MRC.jpg

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