Woodland Scenics Mod-U-Rail


modeltrainstuff

modeltrainstuff

modeltrainstuff.com
Anyone using them? Opinions?

We have expanded our retail store and have room for a layout. I am considering building a display layout in our store with Mod-U-Rail. I thought they might work well, especially since time is a factor in construction. Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks,
Ryan
 
They're nice, but buying the foam in bulk from a Home Improvement store will be allot cheaper. However, the Mod-u-rail sections could also help to sell some, plus they include mostly everything needed.
 
Saw one of these at a hobby shop and it looked pretty good after you've added all the stuff WS doesn't give you, like anything more than a flat piece of foam and some plaster cloth. You have to builld all the terrain pictured yourself with newspaper and the plaster cloth. They give you barely enough scenic materials to cover the section and then only a very thin layer. A little 6'x4' HO layout will cost you almost $900 with the wood "stands" and that doesn't include track or switches. That's retail and doesn't include shipping. It saves you almost no time from building it the normal way and severely constrains what you can do because the layout sizes are fixed.

I think this whole idea is going to have a very limited appeal because the customer is going to find out it's not as easy as WS makes it out to be. If I owned a hobby shop, I'd construct a layout in a conventional manner and have it videotaped as I went along. Once it was done, I'd have a bill of materials and a DVD and then make the customer a deal on buying all the material needed to make the demonstration layout. I'm pretty sure any of our experienced modelers could build a heck of a nice layout (without track) for a lot less than $900.
 
How big of a nice layout could they build for only $900?
Because mine will be about $1,700 and its only 6 x 3. I did as much money-saving as I could bear while still having quality. that, however, is with track, locos, rolling stock, and everything, so...

I noticed that Woodland scenics promotes its stuff as being quicker and easier than everything else, but is seperated into as many parts as possible, each of which costs about $20! Whether they're trying to rip me off or not, I get the feeling they are.
 
River Pass/Grand Valley

I am fairly new to this. I watched a DIY show Workin on the Railroad where they constructed one of the above layouts and I found it kind of intriguing. The finished result looked a lot more interesting then my American Flyer layout in the 50's.

Does anyone have any experience with these and do you think they are a good idea? I know they seem kind of pricey but the size is about right for the space I have.

I look forward to your comments. Reading through the forums has been a nice education so far.
 
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