Review and Photos by MRN Staff
The chain of Menards home improvement stores continues to surprise and impress with its ever-expanding O-gauge train line. Among recent releases comes Menards’ Chippewa Valley Farm Supply structure. Part of the company’s Gold Line Collection, this O-gauge building arrives fully assembled and ready for placement on your layout. Animation is always a factor among O-gauge operators, and Menards kept this in mind with not only the inclusion of functioning lights for this building, but also a working exhaust fan!
Chippewa Valley Farm Supply presents a commonly found example of a small agribusiness that you’d expect to see in many towns across the country. The single-story building sits on a cinder-block foundation. Two large overhead doors appear on the face of the business on each side of an entrance door. Next to the blue door, complete with windows and doorknob, is a small four-pane window. A raised wood gray painted platform that includes steps with hand railing on each end is also present.
Multi-color Chippewa Valley Farm Supply signage is placed on all four sides of this building. One end of the farm supply features the on/off switch for the lighting and fan animation, plus the socket for plugging in a power supply. The other end features a tall, galvanized exterior column complete with ladder and upper platform. This release presents a worker with a tool in hand busy on a project. A small red toolbox adds to the detail and realism of the scene. Centered in the upper portion of this end of the building is the real eye-catching part of Menards’ Chippewa Valley Farm Supply — an exhaust fan with rotating blades! The back of the farm supply includes a single large overhead door, which just happens to sit at the right height for rail car deliveries.
In addition to the worker doing repairs, the front of the building presents three figures and dog. One figure is working with a two-wheel dolly at the building’s entrance; you’ll also find a couple of figures that appear to be discussing an order. Next to the front door are three bags of Menard-brand fertilizer. The dog looks content and happy just holding down the front porch, as often is a task for a good dog. Additional details include shrubs present with the grass covering around the building, and the silver roof includes four air vents.
LED illumination is present under the awnings on each side of Menards’ Chippewa Valley Farm Supply release. Menards sells a 4.5-volt, 1000mA single outlet power supply (#EL4005WH) for $7.99 that will power this accessory. The building and its perimeter grass-covered yard come on a 12.5-inch wide by 9-inch deep acrylic base. The farm supply stands 6.75-inches tall.
As with other releases by Menards for its Gold Line Collection, this structure comes well packaged for display and transport. The structure resides in a form-fitting plastic base with clear plastic lid. For shipping, Menards includes heavy cardboard posts on all corners with Styrofoam corners to keep this farm supply building snug and safe until it is ready for display on your pike. This structure is another handsome offering from Menards. Design, construction, paint, and scenery application all appear expertly executed on Model Railroad News’ sample. It’s great to see a company such as Menards supporting the hobby with so many interesting and exciting releases!
Menards Gold Line Collection O-gauge
Chippewa Valley Farm Supply
#2793389, MSRP: $69.99
Menards