Northern California structures

[torikoos]

Hi all, having never been there, it's hard to get a good feel for the area I want to model ( I do browse in Google earth street view etc but it's tedious on my internet link) . I've had some correspondence with several people 'in the know', and they tell me that among other things, what characterizes a typical 'average' Northern Californian town is the relative absence of brick buildings (the stuff there is loads off in HO, DPM etc), and more concrete re-enforced buildings (earthquake 'proof') with stucco walls, and also still a lot of timber buildings. In regards to these, can anyone give me some suggestions, on which laser cut wooden structures I could use to create a believable modern scene (talking early 1990's here). I find that a lot of this type of models are for steam era railroads, so a few pointers would help. Of course there is your typical modern freight buildings made of metal frames, walls and roofs (similar to some of the items from from Pike Stuff I'd guess).

Cheers,

Koos