City Streets resin kits
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City Streets catalogue
The April 1983 edition of Railway Modeller carried a short article which marked the introduction of a new series of 4mm scale building kits
Launch in Railway Modeller, April 1983
Click or tap link for a larger image to be sold under the City Streets brand and manufactured by Model Constructions Limited. This company was reported to have been a specialist industrial model maker for some 25 years and the kits were a new venture. The range initially consisted of eight kits but by mid 1985 it had expanded by another six or seven with a few more being added over the following years.
The business was originally based in Hoo near Rochester in Kent before moving a short distance to the Medway City Estate. It seems that this small business suddenly disappeared without trace sometime during the early to mid 1990s. One unconfirmed suggestion had it that the husband and wife who ran the company were killed in a car crash, but we may never know what the reality was. Early kits carried the company name of Model Constructions Ltd. but this soon changed to City Street Models Ltd., both at the same address of Whitehall House, Hoo, Rochester. The latter business was incorporated on 10th March 1983 but we cannot find any further information about either.
Our interest in these kits started when we came across a complete and unmade example of their model of Culham ticket office. This particular kit came with a small folder containing sheets detailing much of the rest of the range as well as giving some background as to the prototypes that some of the kits were based on. A gallery of the folder and its contents may be viewed by clicking or tapping on the thumbnail image. This all served to stimulate our interest and over the years we have managed to collect most of the kits in the range and fill some of the gaps with photos from sources on the web.
Interestingly, we have managed to add a second, and later, kit for Culham to our collection. The two kits are identical in content but the photographs on the lids, whilst being of the same completed model, are taken from a different angle. The door and window frames, together with the valance and canopy underside, can be seen to be painted white. This colour scheme reflects what we know to have been that of the real station building at about that time, rather than the present-day cream. Culham Station is kit number 22 of Series 1 being, as far as we know, the last boxed kit and pack number 27 being the last in the series. It is possible that there were plans for further kits in the series, or even a Series 2, but none have come to light.
The address printed on the boxes was changed to reflect the changing company name and address, and the image used on the box lid was also sometimes changed such as can be seen with kits 14 and 22 in our collection for example. At least one kit was amended to remove easily broken components. This is illustrated by kit 14 where the long thin wall 'leg' section has been removed and incorporated in the solid wall section instead.
We are grateful to Hugh de Paer-Gotch who kindly forwarded a price list dated August 1985
Click or tap link for a larger image for addition to our collection. He found it in a kit bought at auction and it provides a complete list of all the 25 kits available in 1985 with kits 13 (Bicester Shop) and 22 (Culham Station) still in the pipeline. The second example of Culham Station in our collection came with a later copy of the catalogue. This is exactly the same as that illustrated previously, except that the address on each page has been torn off and a sticker with the final Medway City Estate address attached to the cover. Also included in this catalogue is a price list dated January 1988
Click or tap link for a larger image which expands the range up to kit 27.
When we bought our later Culham Station kit it came with an original invoice from 1989
Click or tap link for a larger image and Kit 14, the Coal & Water Tower, also came with its original invoice from 1991
Click or tap link for a larger image. The City Streets range of kits were not particularly cheap, and comparison of the invoices and price lists shows how the prices crept up over time. The last mention of the kits that we have found is this advertisement in Railway Modeller
Advertisement in Railway Modeller, May 1992 from May 1992.
- Kit 1 - 5 Regency Houses was split to become Kit 4 - Town House (alternatively titled A Regency House)
- Kit 2 - 3 Victorian Shops was split to become Kit 5 - Victorian Shop
- Kit 3 - Bank, Corner Shop and Pub become Kit 6 - Corner Pub, Kit 7 - Corner Shop, and Kit 8 - Lloyds Bank
Those kits and packs for which we have not been able to find a kit or photograph are:
Kit 13 - Bicester Shop, Kit 21 - Dockside steps, Kit 23 - Two random stone walls and Kit 27 - One Section of Stone Retaining Wall
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Scroll over each thumbnail to find those kits in our collection and click or tap on the thumbnail to scroll through a gallery of images of the complete kit.
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Click or tap to scroll through a gallery of the kit contents
Kit 1- 5 Regency Houses
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Kit 2 - 3 Victorian Shops
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Kit 3 - Bank, Corner Shop and Pub
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Kit 4 - A Regency House
Kit not in collection
Kit 5 - Victorian Shop
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Kit 6 - A Corner Pub
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Kit 7 - A Corner Shop
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Kit 8 - Lloyds Bank
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Kit 9 - Arched retaining wall
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Kit 10 - Mexborough Cottages
Kit not in collection
Kit 11 - Tenterden Shop
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Kit 12- Headcorn Cottage
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Kit 14 - Coal & Water Tower
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Kit 15 - 2 Stall Engine Shed
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Kit 16 - Goods Shed
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Kit 17 - Two sections of Panel Retaining Wall
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Kit 18 - Two Platform Edges
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Kit 19 - Two Platform Ends
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Kit 20 - Dockside wall
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Kit 22 - Culham Station
Kit not in collection
Kit 24 - Two Pavements
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Kit 25 - Two Single Tunnel Portals
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Kit 26 - Tunnel Wing Walls
