Peter's Model Railroading | Articles | Structures | Downtown Building #1
Introduction

HDCustomDesign, based in Hickory, North Carolina, creates and sells 3D-printed kits in various scales. In late 2024 they started releasing some of their kits in S-scale. This "North Carolina Arched Brick General Store" is one of those. It is based on a prototype building found in downtown Old Fort, North Carolina, but I found that it is of a generic enough look that it might fit within any downtown scene that I might have in a future portion of my layout, so I bought it. This photo shows how it arrives. It is well-packaged.

(external link: HDCustomDesign)

The roof was held in place with tape, which also held the awning that is to go over the back-door porch, if so desired. The roof is removable, so that one can detail the interior as desired before completing the model. The back-door stoop is printed as part of the model. So, there are only three parts to this "kit". I find that the brick detail of the walls and the roof texture are very well done. I have yet to find any flash or 3D-printing artifacts on the model. Overall, I am very impressed with what is possible with 3D-printed structure models.

The interior view reveals the fixed floor that contains an opening for installing and optional interior light. It is my plan to build an interior for at least the ground floor (the store) and install the appropriate LED lights. There will be a floor separating the two stories. Due to my limited time available for the hobby, it may be some time before I start working on this. It is not a high-priority item as I have no immediate place to put this model, anyway.