Mid-Century Tiki Architecture Kits for Model Train Sets!

Former Disney creative guru, and awesome good guy, Mike Cozart has unveiled the first prototype in
his tremendous series of classic space-age miniature kits for model train enthusiasts.
His fictitious "Aloha Lanes" bowling alley includes an A-framed coffee shop and cocktail lounge called the "Pele Room".

The series will include several modern department stores, shopping centers, car washes, theaters and more.
Seriously, this is one of the spiffiest new "gotta-have-its" that I've encountered in a long time.
The authentic detail is astounding, and Mike, ever the historian, truly knows his stuff. And obviously,
you don't have to have to be a Model Railroader to appreciate these objets d'architectural art.

No release date announced yet, but you can enjoy more lip-smacking images on Mike's blog:
http://mikecozartdesignandmodel.blogspot.com/2010/11/aloha-lanes-c-1960-southern-california.html

[ Edited by: Miehana 2010-12-02 15:27 ]

On 2010-12-02 15:21, Miehana wrote:
... this is one of the spiffiest new "gotta-have -its" that I've encountered in a long time...

WOW!!!! Absolutely !!!!

What scale are these built to?

My dad used to be a Model Railroader of epic proportions and I am sure he would appreciate these. :)

I think I may need to take up model railroading - f'ing cool!

Trad'r Bill

Very very cool. Wish I had thought of that...

I WANT these very extremely much!

holy crap these are awesome!

On 2010-12-02 15:38, Cool Manchu wrote:
What scale are these built to?

My dad used to be a Model Railroader of epic proportions and I am sure he would appreciate these. :)

1/8Th (HO Scale). A very good choice!

"The marquees will include several laser cut letters to create different names"

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

I use to be an avid model railroader (HO scale). This is great stuff that Mike is creating! It will be fun to construct these few offerings he is introducing, and create a mid-century city-scape diorama.

As a model railroader, I am VERY excited to see these. Though I don't have a current layout (one is planned), I am eager to snatch up what ever kits he puts out. It has been hard to find mid-century modern homes and buildings. Sure, there are a few kits from the German company Faller, or a few from the Bachmann Plasticville series but they are not enough to have a whole town or a section of a town in the time period to make it stand apart from other layouts. The only other option we've had is to scratch-build or kit-bash buildings. I have been looking for a building to use for a Polynesian establishment, and narrowed it down to the candidate below, but it would need some refining. I would like to thank Mike Cozart for putting the wheels in motion. I look forward to future projects he has in the works for HO Scale modelers.

Potential tiki bar kit-bash front: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-2854

Fantastic! If they tear them down, we rebuild them! :D

In case you didn't know, Germans are train model fanatics, and since A-Frames are my favorite thing next to Tikis themselves, I collect them too. I was inspired to take count of my A-Frame collection, here it is:

Wooden South Seas meeting house:

Resin Disney Tiki Room:

Wooden Maori meeting house:

Metal modernist nativity hut (my fave!)

Plastic DisneyWorld Hotel model:

Ceramic M&M collectable:

Resin Disney Tiki Room entrance hut:

I must note that many of the seven A-frames I own I have thanks to Miehena!

Will the Aloha Lanes have mini Witco furniture inside? :wink:

Is the nude girl getting spanked by the alien original to the Enchanted Tiki Room resin?

(Somehow I doubt Disney would do such a thing - I'm rather pleased with the addition)

dcman

Those are awesome BigBro!!!

Oh my gosh, how wonderful!! I have been fascinated with scale models since I was a child and built an HO model railroad town in our basement. And I built quite a few models after that. My model building skills are a bit rusty, but I would love to build and display this model. And the department store!!! Can't wait til they're available... Please let us know when and where!

Sven - One of the trains I used to run regularly on my basement railroad was a German model my father bought for my older brother while stationed on a U.S. military base in Germany in the early 60s. Here's my brother with the train (no town built yet - that would come much later!) in Germany in 1963.

This is pretty amazing. Why do I all of a sudden have images of Wendy and Dan having a train going through their Jungle Room??

On 2010-12-03 14:36, dcman wrote:

Is the nude girl getting spanked by the alien original to the Enchanted Tiki Room resin?

(Somehow I doubt Disney would do such a thing - I'm rather pleased with the addition)

dcman

I like it! I'm thinking that the puffer fish hanging from the A-frame is an optional item as well. Nice collection Sven. Is that a Covarrubias dwelling map behind the Tiki Room?

The images of the models on Mike Cozart's website are amazing.

DC

Wow, a great idea and a beautiful realization! I'm sure there are many influences, but right off the bat this immediately reminds me of two examples.

First the Java Lanes... :down:

And then the restaurant next to Humphrey's Half Moon Inn on Shelter Island in Sandy Eggo. What was it originally? The Tahiti? Port Royale? And now I guess it's L'Escale, with the blandified interior but the great exterior still standing guard (I hope)... :down:

BTW, I love the depth effect in the second picture. Dunno if that's an in-camera effect coming from the aperture, or a little post-processing trickery, but it comes off great! Thanks for posting, you-hana!

-Randy

glad you posted this link... a friend sent it to me a few days back and i was gonna post it myself.....guess we will all have to have model railroads going through our tiki rooms now !

and don't forget this !!

" In a perfect world...Elvis would still be alive ....and all the elvis impersonators would be dead!!"

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-12-05 07:47 ]

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-12-05 07:48 ]

amazing! I love this stuff, and there is a company that builds realistic miniature neon signs that actually light up. What a combo if this guy could get that company on board!
http://www.microstru.com/Billboards.html
Needless to say, the Pabst micro sign has me won over!
The build also slightly reminds me of the Tiki Kai in Lawndale, and I'm sure the model could be modified for an almost exact match!

Wow, that's insane! Wonder if the Miniature Wonderland in Hamburg knows about this company...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA

Holy crap, that is cool! Vegas quick glimpse was crazy looking! And was that a dead body 2:47 in???? What a miniature buzz kill! hahaha
On another note, a company you maybe familiar with, Faller(German, of course!) makes realistic working amusement attractions that are powered by tiny motors, which also light up. I came real close to fabricating a carny/themepark diorama a while back, but realised how much the hobby costs, and decidedly stepped back. haha, cool stuff, none the less!
http://www.rocousa.com/faller.asp

***I FORGOT TO ADD!!!
All of the Faller Amusement rides could be customizable with water slide decals! This guy I found on the internet will take images your provide and turn them into little art/advertising decals that can be applied to any model. I was going to make a Tiki Park similar to Dannys dreamchild, except with rides!

[ Edited by: Tom Slick 2010-12-09 11:48 ]

That decal guy sound perfect for this. Just use Tiki matchbook graphics...and maybe get some Tapa sheets made for the walls.

Now if you say FALLER you gotta say PREISER: http://www.rocousa.com/preiser.asp

THE company for making the inhabitants for all the Faller buildings!

Now these ain't cheap in Germany, so they are prohibitively expensive in the U.S. But they cover every aspect of daily life, not only just travellers and conductors. For example: Germans being the original nudists, they have a set of those, too. Here's their "creative suggestion" for the group:

These are avaialble in their most popular 1:87 scale. But some sets in Preiser's product line shrink down to 1:220, that's when it gets really insane:

How do they paint these? An what is this little running boy holding in his hand?:

Yes you guessed right!:

So some Germans actually do seem to have a sense of humor :)

Many moons ago, before I occupied all my time with such frivolous things as Tiki culture, I was prone to OTHER frivolous activities (no, not nude beaches), and I was so enamored by Preiser's "The Artist in his Studio" set (1:87) that I painted and assembled it. It is meant to be in a loft space, but I combined it with a bathroom set. I still have it. It's very dusty, a little yellowed, one figure is missing, but it has survived well for its 20 years of age:

The missing nude's pose matched the lil' nude paintings that are in the set. I really always wanted to be an artist.

While at the Tonga Hut for Tiki Wonderland, I took the opportunity to visit the Roundhouse Train store http://www.roundhouseonline.com/index.htm , which is two shops next to the Hut (and, by the way, owned by the father of my friend Brooke, creator of Boobie Girl: http://boobiegirl.com/ ) Lo and behold, among dozens of others, they had TWO different sets of Preiser nudists in their rotating (!) Preiser display case!

WHY am I carrying on about these little people, and am I not veering off too much from Tiki, you say? Yes and no, actually they are part and parcel of one of my favorite, under-appreciated concepts of Polynesian pop: The miniature island diorama. Not as common as the painted island back-bar mural, it was employed by various Tiki temples, like the Royal Hawaiian in Laguna Beach (I only ever got to see its remnants), and the Bora Bora Room in Encino:

This tradition was perpetuated in the Tiki Revival by the Dreamworks designers who built the wonderful (but sadly ill maintained) banana train island at Fry's electronics in Manhattan Beach:

...and brought back with perfection by Germany's HaiKai:

Tikiphiles like Wendy and Dan use mini natives in their home displays, and here is my Capiz shell hut light setting that I forgot cuz its in my bedroom (which brings my A-Frame hut collection up to 8 ) :

The source of the miniature native village concept does not hail from model train sets, but, like other Tiki temple decor concepts, was first employed in ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS. Here are examples from the Kunstkamera Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia:

..and the Natural History Museum in New York:

As we can see above, miniature huts and palm trees are wonderful by itself, but it is always the PEOPLE (ideally in scale) that enliven the scene. Luckily, Wacko in Hollywood has been carrying these handy cake figurines for years now:

I will utilize this group in the Lebkuchenhaus set I am planning to build for Christmas :) :

The best and cheapest place I have found FELLER & PREISER kits is: http://www.walthers.com/

I get their catalogs about once every other month and are usually full of great pieces that can be used for just about anything under the sun. I'm not sure if this link has been posted, but to let you guys see how extensive HO scale modeling has gotten, feast your eyes on the Miniatue Wunderland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_oDdGmKyA

Yup, posted above just 6 days ago. I have BEEN to Miniature Wonderland, since it is in my hometown of Hamburg, in the beautiful old storehouse section of the port. It's overwhelming, almost too much to take in. Hamburg has some great museums with great miniatures, too.

Awesome! What a coincidence, huh?
Well, I know where I'm going to stop off when I get to go to Germany!
I could spend days in that place.

I got these tiki miniatures on ebay. The cobra chairs and plants are from Tomy 1970's and the table Tiki and doll house are Irwin 1963 "Interior design house".

Great contributions by everyone!!! I am not a train enthusiast...but would love to have a bowling alley in my lounge...can't wait.

Wow, a Tiki as part of 60s mod doll house decor ? What a splendid example of how deep Tiki Modern went..
Those chairs are called peacock chairs I think. Is the hut awning part of the '63 set too? Are there any illustrations from the box or the instructions brochure?

On 2010-12-15 20:47, bigbrotiki wrote:
... Are there any illustrations from the box or the instructions brochure?

Maybe Tikidon can provide better ones but in the meantime I found this:
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/164576907iHALxj

More here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49333775@N00/2895693981/

From The Shopping Sherpa blog:

[ Edited by: Hakalugi 2010-12-15 21:17 ]

My goodness, will it ever end, the discovery of previously unknown objects of desire! :D

Thank you. I found the Tiki on this page:

On top of the shelf on the right:

Great pictures! The hut roof was from a 1950's Marx jungle set. I received the Irwin set for Christmas in 1963( my parents were very progressive). I was five years old and remember the Tiki piece was my favorite in the set. I've been following the call of the Tiki ever since.

Here is one more shot from the Sears catalog, and it was 1964 not 1963.

On 2010-12-16 15:34, tikidon wrote:
I received the Irwin set for Christmas in 1963( my parents were very progressive). I was five years old and remember the Tiki piece was my favorite in the set. I've been following the call of the Tiki ever since.

AND you have been a good keeper of your toys, I say!

• What better proof of how ubiquitous Tiki was in 1964 than having one included in a modernist doll house set!

Digging up my Preiser figures gave me an idea how to improve my favorite mini-miniature display :)
Voila! :

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-12-16 19:03 ]

The Disneyland Polynesian Hotel model included a monorail boarding platform that went with a full scale monorail kit.

(As seen on ebay)

DC

Ooh, nice, never saw the whole set, just got the building. It's a very simplistic snap-together kit. For the modelist's standard, not very detailed, there are not cut-out windows or doors, it's just a big block of plastic. So I embellished it a little...

...and put a light bulb in it, now it's a nice orange table light.

Here by the way is my gingerbread A-frame, on a shark-surrounded island, done with Naomi's help:

On 2010-12-19 08:29, Dustycajun wrote:
The Disneyland Polynesian Hotel model included a monorail boarding platform that went with a full scale monorail kit.

Sorry to nitpick, but that's actually the Disney World Polynesian Hotel. We've had a couple of the monorails for years now, from the first year they came out, and have had them circling our Christmas tree along with a train each year ever since. Sadly, not this year though. My kids are getting older and they didn't request it so we didn't do it. :( I'll do it next year though. If they won't be kids, I will. :)

On 2010-12-19 09:11, bigbrotiki wrote:
Here by the way is my gingerbread A-frame, on a shark-surrounded island, done with Naomi's help:

Sven, that is mahvelous!
~kele

So cool and delicious!

I've been scratch building tiki architecture for a couple years now... just did some holiday theme ones.

Just pulling ideas from my head, though a couple were from actual buildings.

Mostly hand carved from wood, but I've used some other materials for details.

Ooooh, dat's nice: Dig the Polynesia! In fact, I dig the whole "Tiki Temple Collection" concept.

On 2010-12-21 20:31, Lake Surfer wrote:

And it looks awesome on top of our Rum cabinet!

Okay, this seems like as good as a place as anywhere else to post this - Where are the Polynesian Palace replicas like they do for stadiums? Which one of you talented nerds is gonna take it to the next level?

Tiny Dodger Stadium - 6" x 5" x 3".

I want a tiny Mai-Kai, a tiny Kahiki and a tiny Waikikian or if they were restaurants in a hotel I want a Beverly Hilton with the Trader Vics entrance and a Dallas Sheraton! The list goes on and on - Canlis Honolulu and Seattle, a Don The Beachcomber UFO.... COME ON!

It's not impossible and they would be incredibly cool.

Gimme, Gimme! :D

...don't forget to establish a 'one to ten' system for skill level required to assemble the kits...the Tiki Ti kit could be the example of a 'one' :lol:

On 2010-12-14 09:28, bigbrotiki wrote:

...and brought back with perfection by Germany's HaiKai:

Whoa this is amazing. Do you happen to know whats the size of this display?