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PLASTICVILLE MASTER UNITS

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Click on the picture to see a larger viewspacerNo account of the production of Plasticville is complete without a detailed list of the "Master Units" that were made.

Unfortunately, any listing of these is fraught with problems and complications due to the fact that no two collectors can agree on just what exactly constitutes a "Master Unit."

For arguments sake we have employed the following criteria which must be met before we include any production item in this category:

spacer1. At least one of the components of the unit had to have been issued separately under its own production number.
spacer2. There must have been a separate box or divider to separate the component pieces within the larger master unit box.

Master Unit Interior Component DividersUnder this definition the Suburban Station would not be classified as a master unit, even though the station bench was issued separately, because there is no separate container for this bench. On the other hand, the House & Yard Accessories Unit could be classified as a master unit because it contained a separate box that held the contents of the separately issued HF-2 Fence and Gate Unit, BS-6 Shrubs and the FR-5 Barbecue.

There is very little documentation to go by concerning these units that were produced before 1950 and none from Bachmann. After 1950, even the catalogs from Bachmann were not always accurate. We have used the information from the catalogs that pertains to the contents of these units and have made notations when they were listed inaccurately. Usually, these kits were produced for only one or two years, and often the contents changed even within this small span of time. This makes it a challenge to accurately document exactly what was contained in these units.

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  Index by Year of Manufacture Top of Page
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1949 Community Unit VU-4
1949 Issue Master Units
1950 House Unit HU-6
1950 Issue Master Units
1951 Shopping Unit SU-4
1951 Issue Master Units
1952 Housing Unit HU-7
1952 Issue Master Units
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1953 Church & House Unit CH-8
1953 Issue Master Units
1954 Master Unit MU-2
1954 Issue Master Units
1955 Shopping Center Unit SP-8
1955 Issue Master Units
1956 International Airport Unit 5600 Type 1
1956 Issue Master Units
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1957 Residential Square 5604
1957 Issue Master Units
1958 Interceptor Squadron 5607
1958 Issue Master Units
1959 Railroad Center 5608
1959 Issue Master Units
1960 Way Station 5404
1960 Issue Master Units
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1961 City In A Box 5900
1961 Issue Master Units
1962 Railroad Center 1980
1962 Issue Master Units
1963 Road Racing Accessories 1890
1963 Issue Master Units
1977-79 Railroad Buildings 1605
1977-79 Issue Master Units
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OB AIRPORT & ACCESSORIES UNIT AU-6 1954 1955 OB AUTUMN TREE ASSORTMENT 1975 1961
OB BARN & ANIMAL UNIT BA-7 1952 1953 OB CHURCH & HOUSE UNIT CH-8 1953
OB CHURCH & HOUSE UNIT CH-9 1954 OB CITY IN A BOX 1990 1962 1963-1964
OB CITY IN A BOX 5900 1961 OB CITY IN A BOX 5901 1957 1958 1959 1960
OB COMMUNITY UNIT VU-4 1949 OB COMMUNITY CHURCH UNIT CH-9 1955
OB COMMUNITY CHURCH UNIT 5401 1956 OB COUNTRY UNIT CU-1 1954
OB COUNTRYSIDE FARM UNIT 5606 1957 1958 1959 1960 OB DAIRY FARM UNIT RU-4 1955
OB FARM UNIT 5603 1956 OB FENCE & TREE UNIT JC-3 1949
OB HIGHWAY MOTEL UNIT 5402 1957 1958 1959 OB HOMES FOR TOWN & COUNTRY UNIT HU-5 1955
OB HOUSE UNIT HU-6 1950 1951 OB HOUSE UNIT HU-7 1952 1953
OB HOUSE & YARD ACC. UNIT HY-6 1952 1953 OB INTERCEPTOR SQUADRON UNIT 5607 1958 1959
OB INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT UNIT 5600 1956 1957 OB MASTER UNIT MU-1 1953
OB MASTER UNIT MU-2 1954 OB MASTER VILLAGE UNIT MU-2 1955
OB MASTER VILLAGE UNIT 5900 1956 OB PUBLIC BUILDINGS UNIT PB-8 1955
OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT RA-5 1949 1950 OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT RA-6 1952 1953
OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT RA-7 1954 OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT RR-5 1955
OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT 5602 1956 OB RAILROAD ACCESSORIES UNIT 5605 1957 1958
OB RAILROAD BUILDINGS 1605 1977-1979 OB RAILROAD CENTER UNIT 1980, 3121 1962
OB RAILROAD CENTER UNIT 1981 1963-1964 OB RAILROAD CENTER UNIT 3122 1963-1964
OB RAILROAD CENTER UNIT 4850 1963-1964 OB RAILROAD CENTER UNIT 5608 1959 1960 1961
OB RESIDENTIAL UNIT HU-5 1954 OB RESIDENTIAL SQUARE UNIT 5604 1957
OB ROAD RACING ACCESSORIES UNIT 1890 1963-1964 OB ROADSIDE REST UNIT 5200 1956
OB RURAL UNIT RU-2 1950 1951 OB RURAL UNIT RU-3 1952 1953
OB RURAL UNIT RU-4 1954 OB SHOPPING CENTER UNIT SP-8 1955
OB SHOPPING UNIT SU-4 1950 1951 OB SHOPPING UNIT SU-5 1952 1953
OB SHOPPING UNIT SU-7 1954 OB STREET ACCESSORIES UNIT ST-1 1952 1953
OB TOY TRAIN ACCESSORIES UNIT 5400 1956 1957 OB TOY TRAIN ACCESSORIES UNIT 5403 1958
OB TRAIN ACCESSORIES UNIT TA-1 1952 1953 OB TRAIN ACCESSORIES UNIT TA-2 1954 1955
OB TURNPIKE ACCESSORIES UNIT 5601 1956 OB WAY STATION UNIT 5404 1959 1960 1961
OB YARD ACCESSORIES UNIT YA-9 1952 1953

Master Units Index By Year 1949 Issue Master Units 1950 Issue Master Units 1951 Issue Master Units 1952 Issue Master Units 1953 Issue Master Units
1954 Issue Master Units 1955 Issue Master Units 1956 Issue Master Units 1957 Issue Master Units 1958 Issue Master Units 1959 Issue Master Units
1960 Issue Master Units 1961 Issue Master Units 1962 Issue Master Units 1963 Issue Master Units 1977-79 Issue Master Units Master Units List

  Epilog Top of Page
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Late Generic Master Unit BoxspacerLike 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.

Road Racing Accessories UnitIndeed, 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.


signed Charles


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"Plasticville" and "Plasticville U.S.A." are trademarks of Bachmann Industries, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation. Use of their trademark symbols have been approved by Bachmann Industries, Inc., and are used with their permission.

The fact that these pages have expanded over the last few years is due, in part, to the advice and assistance of many members of the PCA (Plasticville Collector’s Association). To them, and especially to Sheldon Wotring who has supplied pictures of some of the rarer Plasticville items, the editors are greatly indebted.


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