Much of the reason I’m moving forward with the D&DR project is thanks to the availability of affordable urban buildings. N Scale structures are a costly component, and modelling a dense urban city with dozens of large buildings can be expensive. DPM and Magnussen kits have been the traditional building blocks for highrises and apartments, but 8 and 12 story buildings require several kits and quickly become prohibitively priced.
I recently discovered Outland Models. They offer a series of well-made and affordable urban structures. The design and details are modern and influenced heavily by Chinese/Japanese architecture. The kits are moulded in the same concrete coloured plastics. Outland Models has approximately 20 different kits suitable for urban core and apartment dwellings.
The Kits are well made and free of flash or other imperfections. The moulding is clean with good yet spare detailing. The kits are snap-fit with a minimal number of tabs and slots, allowing the structures to be assembled quickly without adhesives.
In addition to the low cost, one of the more appealing aspects of the Outland buildings is that the face and the rear of the buildings are stylistically different. The front of the buildings have window designs that are far less common in North America, but the back of the buildings have smaller windows arranged much like tenement brick high rises from New York. This means a single building can be kitbashed into two distinctly different structures. With additional styrene and subtle detailing, these kits have tremendous potential to make affordable, unique urban structures. I’m happy I ordered two dozen of them.
