American rural arcitecture...

[warrenpeace]

What would a small(ish) mid-western town look like in the inter-war period?

Does anyone know of models appropriate (paper or resin)?

I'm going to set up a town like that using Lemax Christmas Village ceramic buildings.  They are lit from the back.  Also, there are streetlights which actually light and other assessories available.  The buildings remind me of the old brick buildings I knew in small towns in the rural south when I was growing up.  Most of the Lemax Village buildings look right for 28mm.  I just avoided the buildings with too much Christmas oriented stuff on them.

There is also a line of Lemax Village buildings for a rustic mountain town, which has a lot of unpainted wood plank or log buildings.

There is another line of Lemax Village buildings for a seaside resort, and that line has some really fun stuff in it, including a lighthouse, a boat shop, and an aquarium.

All these buildings, with there silly cheerfulness, could make a great setting for a horror game.  And the cool thing for horror is that these buildings light up, so you could set your scenario at night using just the light from the buildings and the streetlights.

This thread reminds me that I ought to get out my Lemax Village and take a look at what I've got.  The plan was to use it for gangster encounters, alien encounters, Cthulu scenarios, or for zombies.  It was probably a silly purchase, given my usual dedication to regular wargaming, but the buildings just looked really cool.

[zebcook]

Having grown up outside a small Iowa town (300 people) and lived in a few more I'd say --

Most houses are wood framed, 1 or 2 story with yards of varying size and lots of trees for shade and windbreak. There might be a few big Victorians thrown in for the "wealthier" folks. This was before lawns took hold in a big way, but most houses had gardens (flower and vegetable) along with things like chicken coops and outbuildings.

The main business street is lined by brick and woodframed storefronts. Usually 2-4 fronts with a break -- an alley, lot, or just a gap. Most are 1 story a few might be two. Virtually nothing is 3 stories. Businesses include a general store, dry goods, cafe or two (no saloons), a machine shop or two, post office (it was point of pride to have a post office because it generally meant you were an incorporated town) and maybe a phone exchange. There might be vet's and doctor's offices. The gas station would have old tower pumps and probably a kerosene tank on a scaffolding.  The side streets will have more mechanics and general handymen with all sorts of junk in the back. The main street is really wide as mentioned.

A watertower and pumping station were usually near the center of town. Most really small towns didn't have a square, but there was usually a grassy park for things like horseshoes and town picnics. The school is probably newer and brick, maybe 3 stories tall with a gym and ballfield.

There would also be at least one, probably more, churches -- Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic. Small, wood or sometimes stone.

The economic heart of the town though was the grain elevator and railroad siding/station (if they had one). This was almost always on the edge of town, usually at the bottom end of the main street. The feed store, co-op, farm implement dealer, etc. were usually down there.

Street lights were rare. Towns were generally electrified (farms were another matter), so electric and telephone poles would be common. Streets are generally a grid, although they conform to the terrain.

There's a few pictures of our old family farm (and the town we lived near) here: http://cthulhumonkey.com/blog/index.php?page_id=10&album=1&gallery=1

[Argonor]

Nice 

@ warrenbruhn:

I would buy a lot of Lemax stuff if I could find a reliable source on my side of the pond... I especially like their halloween stuff....

[Argonor]

What's the story with this one?

http://www.lemaxland.co.uk/

EDIT:

I just ordered some stuff from here now LOOK, what you made me do  ):

http://www.lemaxstore.nl

They charge €18 for shipping to DK, a bit on the rough side, but I guess the stuff has to be protected a lot to not get smashed in the mail...

[Rhoderic]

I had extreme difficulty finding good European sellers of Lemax stuff a couple of years ago. I don't remember if I checked that Dutch store but I hope it works out for you.

[Doomhippie]

A lot of those really small towns in the 20s/30s/40s have a combination Post Office/Gas Station/Grocery Store plus the required Tavern/Greasy Spoon and a few small houses and that's it.  Heck, if you drive around in rural Wisconsin, you still can find some of these small outposts of humanity in the middle of nowhere - though how they still survive is beyond me.

Waterstreet, Eau Claire, Wisconsin... Okay, a modern supermarket but change that into an old store and you have it. How they survive? Well, I must have spent about 2000$ or more getting drunk in the bars... 

[twrchtrwyth]

What's the story with this one?

http://www.lemaxland.co.uk/

Now open for business.

[Argonor]

What's the story with this one?

http://www.lemaxland.co.uk/

Now open for business.

Just got the mail announcing it... I did order some stuff from a Dutch store 4 weeks ago, they should be on their way now (they would nort stock up until October - beats me, why?)

[phililphall]

http://tinyurl.com/3slx4d

You mentioned paper buildings. Here are some from the heartland.

[Argonor]

http://tinyurl.com/3slx4d

You mentioned paper buildings. Here are some from the heartland.

They are nice! unfortunately HO scale, and would need some work to re-size - just like the ones from Fiddler's Green.

When I finally get some spare time for it, I'll start working on a step-by-step process for re-sizing HO-stuff for 28 mm.... but this is not the day....