Model Railroading > Menards buildings

While out and about, went to Menards and got the Chippewa Falls building. Looking the building over, nicely done but one thing I noticed the building is made of MDF and not basswood or plastic/resin. Dont care for the plug on the side for the lighting. The kit also has an operating industrial fan.
Cheers
Charlie
MP52.7 on the BNSF Topeka Sub

Posted from Android

What is MDF?
 

wjpyper Wrote:
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> What is MDF?
>  

Isn't flat pack furniture made from MDF? I'm not a big fan of it but my wife and I used some to make a sort of tower/jungle gym for the cats.

Posted from Android

MDF = Medium Density Fiberboard which has smaller more dense particles than the particle board the cheap u-build-it furniture kits. 
Basically, there is solid wood, plywood/Glu-Lam/laminated, flake board, particle board, MDF as far as the size of the fibers the final material is comprised of.

I think it stands  for Medium Density Fibreboard

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

I know the name Menard's.  Now I know about MDF.  What I don't know is what's the Chippewa Falls building?

boejoe Wrote:
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> I know the name Menard's.  Now I know about
> MDF.  What I don't know is what's the Chippewa
> Falls building?


Menards has been selling HO scale and O/O27 buildings and trucks for the past year or two. The Chippewa Falls building reresents a small town AG dealer
Cheers
Charlie
MP52.7 on the BNSF Topeka Sub

Posted from Android

MDF is good stuff depending on what you're building.

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Wow I looked at the Menards site I didn’t know they were into model railroading that’s pretty neat definitely lots of cool stuff. Thanks for posting this, learned something new

Posted from iPhone

re: Menards' buildings.  First, for those who may not have Menards in their area of the country, they are a big building products/hardware/lumber outfit out of Wisconsin.  One of the Menards is apparently into toy trains (O27 stuff) and got the company into the train business.  A couple of the buildings are plastic and very similar to Woodland Scenics products.  Most are made from thin MDF and are painted or covered in printed paper.  Fortunately for the HO modeler, most O scale releases have been scaled down and released in HO.  Some are quite fanciful (UFO stealing a cow from a farmer), others are quite nice.  Many are based on common midwestern prototypes.  Some of the companies carry names of Menards subsidiary companies ("Dakota Sah and Door").  Many come with details and figures (almost always including Jack the German Shepard).  The Menards buildings come lit with LEDs, sometimes 15 or more.  On the down side; the Menards buildings can be a bit pricey compared to other HO scale stuff, and their lights require a proprietary 4.5v power cource,  Most buildings have the option of a power connection underneath or also a power plug on the lower outside wall.which many of us find visually offensive.  One can usually hide the wall power connection with scenery or other camouflage. So, Menards is a company that is dabbling in the train business and they produce some interesting and often unique buildings.  They can usually have extra details added/corrected and can make a nice addition to a layout.

Menards also produces vehicles, freight cars and track for O27 scale.

By the way, most Menards stores only have the train products during the pre-Christmas season, however they are available by mail all year.

Gary B.
Waverly, NE

wjpyper Wrote:
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> What is MDF?
>  

Fancy name for "saw dust and spit."

Arved Grass
Fleming Island, FL

Yes, One of the Menard brothers in into trains.  That is one reason that Menards carries Homasote.  That same brother operates a hobby shop in Eau Claire, WI and while it carries HO and N scale items, the main stay is O27/O scale and G scale items.

Darin Umlauft
A WC, SOO and GBW fan in Slinger, WI

Arved Wrote:
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> wjpyper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What is MDF?
> >  
>
> Fancy name for "saw dust and spit."

Thats ok as the home repair shows now call OSB, orented strand board plywood how things change.

Okay, all this is fine and I'm glad to know aobut it.  However, what do you use to bond it together????  ACC, CAA, white glue, what????  TIA for a reply.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/20 08:56 by ntharalson.

ntharalson Wrote:
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> Okay, all this is fine and I'm glad to know aobut
> it.  However, what do you use to bond it
> together????  ACC, CAA, white glue, what???? 
> TIA for a reply.  
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

Nick, the buildings sold by Menards come pre-assembled. So, no assembly needed.
Cheers
Charlie
MP52.7 on the BNSF Topeka Sub

Posted from Android

Menards advertises in the Model Railroader magazine.  I enjoy looking at the photos of and reading the stories about model railroads.  I’m not a modeler myself so I don’t pay too much attention to the advertisements.  However, I do look at the Menards ads and study the details of the structures.  Menards structures appear to me to be among the better detailed, off-the-shelf model structures you can buy. 

After all the replies I figured someone would put in a link to the Menards RR items. I have a couple O scale cars that I have on my Xmas layout, good enough for me at $19.99 each

https://www.menards.com/main/grocery-home/menards-collectibles/train-stuff-from-menards/c-14331.htm

binder001 Wrote:
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>
> By the way, most Menards stores only have the
> train products during the pre-Christmas season,
> however they are available by mail all year.
>
> Gary B.
> Waverly, NE

I found that Menards stores in the Minneapolis area have their train stuff in store even in June.  It's just not displayed out front.

I was directed to back shelves on the store's upper level and found everything I wanted.

Don't remember the exact store location, but it was a 15 minute walk from the Minnesota Northstar commuter rail station.

The Basic Oxygen Furnce I am scrathbuilding for the St Lawrence Works,  has one component - the baguouse - that will be created from a Menards structure  that will be highly modified.  Thne "Morton Salt" structure.  It was a perfect size and shape......shaved all the details off it and basically am using the shape. 

Bob

They do have some really cool buildings.   The one thing about the LED's is the color, they are a god awful bright white.