Like most "boomers" of my generation, I came to take these Plasticville kits for granted. Never realizing, of course, that change happens, and that one day these classic assortments of buildings would not be around.
In the final five years of production Bachmann would begin to shift to a "generic" box with one piece of art that would allow them to change the contents for use not only with their O & S scale line, but also for their HO scale products. This was done to reduce cost amidst plummeting sales brought on, in part, by the competition from slot car racing toys.
Indeed, one needs look no farther than one of the last master units that they produced, the Road Racing Accessories Unit, which is included among these units because of its historical significance.
Only years later have many people realized that without Plasticville their trains had no purpose. And during the heyday of post-war toy trains, that purpose was provided every year by parents who choose to give these Plasticville Master Units to their children during the holiday seasons.
We’d like to express our deep felt thanks and appreciation to Sheldon Wotring, who answered my incessant questions, and provided many of the pictures of these kits. Without his assistance these pages would not exist. These pages were "born" out of sheer frustration with the lack of information that is available in the printed media concerning these units. If you have any further information about the history of, or details related to these units, we’d like to hear from you.
I hope that you’ve found these pages of some benefit, and I look forward to seeing you again on the Main Street of the Plastic Village.
|