-NEW Featured Modeler

NOTE: The Utility System sold out soon after release. It's amazing so many modelers are eager to get these products for their layouts, but even we are surprised by how quickly it sold out. Since initially going out of stock, some items became available again. We're working diligently to get even more items back online, so please be patient with us. Visit your local hobby shop for their selection of products in the meantime and support their business.

Whether you seek vinyl or valor, this Built-&-Ready building is the place for you. The structure features eye-catching printed interiors of a record shop, an Army recruiting office and cozy apartments upstairs. Blinds cover the windows above the bustling businesses. It is hand-painted and authentically weathered. There are also exterior details like crates and barrels, as well as decals and signage. Even Uncle Sam beckons you to join the fray.

The structure also comes with pre-installed LED lighting made for use with the Just Plug® Lighting System. Records & Recruiting is offered for N, HO and O scales.

Enhance the realism of the scenes even more when you place Scenic Accents® like General Public figures in the middle of the action!

Place Records & Recruiting downtown near buildings like Davenport Department Store (N,HO,O) to attract the busy foot traffic.

Miss Molly’s Diner welcomes you with a spoonful of some good home cookin’. This Built-&-Ready® is styled like a train car eatery, hand-painted and authentically weathered for realism. It features a detached, classic sign, a menu board and other details for custom placement. The ready-made structure has an eye-catching printed interior complete with booths, a kitchen and other authentic diner features.

Bring the diner to life with both interior and exterior pre-installed LED lighting made for use with the Just Plug® Lighting System. This new, local establishment is open for business right of the package.

Pair Miss Molly's Diner with Just Plug Spotlights to highlight details like the detached classic sign. Watch the video below for details.

Use our Road System products to create a realistic parking lot for diner patrons. Watch the videos below to learn what products are needed and how.

Many model railroaders who follow us are probably familiar with Miles Hale. He has a long history with the model railroad hobby, as well as our company. In 1981, he achieved his certification as Master Model Railroader becoming the 90th individual to do so. His wife, Fran, is also involved in the hobby and is Master Model Railroader #431. We recently talked with him about his own journey and will share it with you now.

"My hobby started with my dad and an S scale American Flyer layout on a 5’ by 9’ ping pong table. Then in college I got an N scale 'set' from Kmart and the hobby for me started in earnest," Hale said, "My first layout was in a wooden box 'suitcase' I built for the layout. It had a false bottom for the wiring and a lid that housed the controls and the rolling stock storage."

Unfortunately, being on tour in Vietnam did not allow him to practice the beloved hobby. However, when he returned to the States, he was active at the base hobby center for his last two years in the U.S. Air Force. It was there he dove back into modeling.

"This was maybe the best place to learn the model railroading hobby. We were constantly getting new members from all over the country and, with them, new ideas about how to model.

"Model railroading is a great hobby for helping to keep the mind working and having good end goals to accomplish. We welcomed these soldiers and their innovations to the model railroad we were building in the attic of the hobby center," Hales stated.

After resigning from the Air Force, Hale started teaching. He taught physical education for two years. Then, he worked as the tennis teacher at St. Mary's Hall and assistant pro at Thousand Oaks Country Club in San Antonio, Texas.

It was at this time that Hale started his own business, H & H Models. The company built controlled motion devices, models and sets for the television and film industry in south Texas. He joined the Association of Professional Model Makers for which he served on the Board of Directors many years. Hale also served on the National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Board of Directors.

We asked him to tell us about his past projects and current layout to learn a bit more about everything he's done.

His latest layout is a actually new adventure into city modeling. It is 20' x 24' and sits in an addition to their house built special for the layout.

"I want to recreate the feeling of the Kansas City area [Hale is originally from and currently living in Kansas City, Missouri]. Specifically, the Industrial Bottoms of the railroads in KC," Hale explained.

"The main railroad I’m modeling is the Kansas City Terminal Railway. KCTR was owned by a group made up of all the railroads in the KC area, so all of them could share in the operations of the KCTR."

Aside from his current layout, he continues to teach classes in model railroading and participates in his new hobby of pickleball.

"As a Health, Physical Education and Recreation graduate, I learned early on that it is important to keep your body fit but that means physically and mentally. I have found that model railroading keeps me thinking and learning new skills all the time. This hobby coupled with my pickleball activity - I try to play 3 times a week - keeps me fit for an active lifestyle," Hale remarked.

Since he has been involved with the hobby for so long, we were curious what he thought about the current state of the industry and what it has to offer.

Hale believes new products from manufacturers and rapid prototyping machines opens up to great learning. He tells his students and friends that "research into the model I’m working on is one of the key highlights of the building process."

Currently, Hale is working with the new Woodland Scenics Substation. (See his video review for that here.) Using instructions from the kit and information from a friend who is a lineman, he hopes to get a good representation of the highline wiring that would have been used in the particular area of his railroad.

He also appreciates lighting because it "adds to the feeling of the city and the aura that it creates in the night sky." Hale intends to add lights to all the buildings and the scenes around them and is excited to see the city come to life in his basement.

It is always a pleasure to hear a modeler's story, and this time was no exception. We'll leave you with his last statement.

"So until we see each other, 'Go to your railroad room, and let your trains put a smile on your face.'"

Email [email protected] with your own story, if you liked this feature. Put "Feature Story" in the subject line for a chance to be included in future newsletters.