Model Kit | Station Platform by Atlas

A model railroad is not quite complete without a station platform.

I had purchased a OO scale station platform by Hornby a while ago -- you know, the grey plastic one that looks a little like a 1/350 scale model aircraft carrier.  Bringing it home, I found it too large to place anywhere on my layout. Funny how things seem a lot smaller when we look at it in the hobby shop. That, and it also lacked the rustic feel that is the main theme of The Sunny Model Railroad.

Station Platform kit by Atlas in HO Scale

My better half found me the perfect station platform in a little train hobbyshop in Melbourne, Australia, of all places. The Station Platform by Atlas was just the right size for my layout and it had that all important rustic vibe I was looking for.

You can see the two halves in the roof that make up the Atlas Station Platform. The modeller has the choice of building either a shorter platfrom using just one half, or a longer platform with both halves glued together.

The Atlas Station Platform kit is actually made up of two halves. You have the option of using just one half of the kit for a smaller station, or both halves glued together to see the longer station platform you see in these pics. I assembled this kit with good 'ol Tamiya Extra-Thin Cement.

Painting this kit was pretty simple -- Model Color's Basalt Grey for the station platform's roof and Cork Brown for the station pillars. Humbrol Silver was used for the station lamps.

Seated figures and baggage handlers are by Woodland Scenics,

Also included in the kit are benches for the passengers, a slightly oversized hand trolley and a luggage weighing scale. I suspect the oversized hand trolley is actually in OO scale. I might relegate it to the spares drawer once I find some more platform accessories to add to the station.

A leather jacketed figure seated on the oversized hand trolley. Contemplating the scenery, I presume? 

The seated Woodland Scenics figures are from the 'People Sitting' set in HO scale. I was amazed at how perfectly they fit on the benches in their sitting positions, their feet exactly touching their ground. The baggage handlers are from Woodland Scenics 'Train Personnel' set. All figures are attached with Scenic Accents glue.

I'm thinking of wiring the station platform up with a small bulb for evening commuters. More on that later.. if I get around to it, that is.


More model kit buildings on The Sunny Model Railroad:

Western Homestead Shanty by Life-Like models

Country Chapel by Faller

Sanding Tower Model Kit by Faller

Atlas Picket Fence and Gate Kit

Constance Signal Tower Model Kit by Faller

House Under Construction Model Kit by Faller

Gantry Crane Model Kit by Faller

Model Kit | Telephone Poles by Atlas

Atlas Telephone Poles

Nothing adds realism to a model railroad like telephone poles. There's something about telephone and telegraph poles lining the tracks on a model railway that elevates a hobbyist from 'guy-with-a-big-train-set' to 'serious model railroader'.

And you earn another 1000 points if you're willing to spend hours linking up all the telephone poles on your layout with ultra-fine black nylon thread. But be prepared for those occasional 'Godzilla gets caught in the power cables' moments, if you do.



This is one of two versions provided in the box of 12. This telephone pole is one with the additional yard-arm. 

But back to the Telephone Poles by Atlas.

Atlas Telephone Poles come in boxes of 12, pre-assembled and molded in brown plastic. Two types of poles are provided, six with a yard-arms and six without. I'm not exactly sure what the yard-arms are for on the original prototype, but having two types of telephone poles on the layout does help break up the monotony a bit.




A Fleischmann passenger train steams past this Atlas Telephone Pole

I painted the wooden sections a woody brown with Humbrol's Dark Earth and the 'ceramic' tips and transformer boxes with ModelColor's Ivory white.



A telephone pole by the lumber yard. Note the holes at the base for attaching the pole to the baseboard with track nails. A Fleischmann track cleaning rubber is on the wagon at left.

Atlas was thoughtful enough to provide two holes in the bases of their telephone poles to allow them to be attached to the layout with track nails. I chose to use Fleischmann HO track screws instead of track nails, which do a pretty permanent job of securing each telephone pole to the layout.



I've attached this telephone pole with Fleischmann track screws. It'll look a look better once I've concealed the base with some ground cover.

Now to get to stringing up all the poles to each other with fine nylon thread!

But then again, maybe not.

Model Kit | Atlas White Picket Fences

Also from my e-Hobbyland order -- an Atlas Picket Fence and Gate set in HO scale, sheep not included!

The set comes molded in pristine white plastic so I just had to give it a once over with ModelColor 005 Ivory.




Atlas Picket Fence & Gate Set

As I mentioned in an earlier article, ModelColor's line of water-based acrylic paints makes for fast cleanup -- just run the paintbrush under running tap water.



Painting the picket fence with ModelColor 005 Ivory

Once painted, I had to cut the fence to appropriate lengths.

Gluing the corners with Tamiya Cement I placed the fence so that it fit squarely around the house.



Atlas Picket Fence installed. Note hinged door and glue blob on upper window -- whoops!

I also had to decide on the positioning of the picket fence's 'gate', relative to the front door of the house. I figured the best placement would be to position it off-center from the front door -- left slightly ajar in this pic.

Yes, the door is hinged to the door-frame and can be opened and closed. The house is from a Pola Windmill set I purchased locally.

A little green shrubbery, courtesy of Busch, adds to the realism.

That's what I like about taking pictures of my layout. Somehow, pictures reveal certain details that we may have overlooked.

Like the huge blob of Tamiya cement on the corner of the upper casement window of the house above!

Below is the windmill scene on my layout before I installed the Atlas Picket Fence. Looking at the pic I realise that I still have to cover the base of the windmill with ground cover to hide the plastic base and make it blend into the landscape. Details, details..



The Pola Windmill set includes the windmill and the two houses I placed on each side.

More model kit buildings on The Sunny Model Railroad:

Western Homestead Shanty by Life-Like models

Country Chapel by Faller

Sanding Tower Model Kit by Faller

Constance Signal Tower Model Kit by Faller

Model Kit | Faller Country Chapel with Scenic Accents

This is the Country Chapel model kit by Faller.

The kit comes pre-colored but I decided to give it a go over anyway with similar colored paints. I guess I can't get over the plasticy sheen of an unpainted kit. Interestingly enough, Model Color's Field Blue matched the original colored plastic of the roof of the chapel exactly! The white walls were painted with MC's Ivory White.

Country Chapel model kit by Faller

The bronzed plastic of the bell tower looked pretty good so I left it alone.

For a couple of weeks, that is, before I decided to give it a once over with Humbrol 171 Antique Bronze. Ah, much better..
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Bell steeple painted with Humbrol Antique Bronze

I did some simple weathering to this structure which involved using black and brown crayons on the white walls. Black crayon is also great for crisping up some of the details -- I use it on corners and for structural accents. The exposed brick effect was accomplished by dry-brushing matt dark red paint.

I created the vine effect on the side walls by drawing thin lines of PVA glue with a toothpick and then sprinkling light-green Woodland Scenics Fine Turf over the area. The glue lines catch the turf while the excess falls away, creating the 'vine' effect.

Vine on the chapel walls created with PVA glue and Woodland Scenics Fine Turf

I spent a good part of my pre-adolescence building model planes, tanks and ships by the likes of Airfix, Revell and Tamiya. I found the quality, fit and detail pretty good overall.

Airfix and Revell were in my opinion the best as far as fit -- the parts all went seamlessley together 99% of the time. Tamiya led the pack (back then in the late 70s) as far as detail but the parts at times did not fit together perfectly and a certain amount of modification with an X-acto blade and glue was required.

Having come into model railroading and finding myself once again working with model kits, I can say for a fact that the scenic models that I've worked with so far do not even come close as far as detail or quality of fit to the brands I mentioned earlier. A lot of times, parts to be have to be glued together 'freehand' -- no alignment guides are molded on the plastic to align the pieces together.

On the bell tower on this model for example, it would have been the industry standard to provide guide 'nibs and holes' to align the steeple on top of the wooden framework. Instead one has to slap on a liberal amount of glue and align the steeple to the frame by eye, making fine adjustments before the glue has a chance to completely dry.


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The Country Chapel as it appears on the layout. Don't ask how the congregation is supposed to get up that hill.. 

Instructions are also often unclear, or completely lacking, and one has to reference the picture on the box for clues. Oh well, these manufacturers must give us model railwaymen too much credit as far as our kit-building skills. If only Tamiya were to enter the model railroad market..

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Distant view of the Country Chapel

Post afterthought:
Having said all that, I do find that the LifeLike Trains and Atlas plastic kits that I've recently worked on to be of good quality, with precision fit and detail an experienced kit modeller would come to expect.

More model kit buildings on The Sunny Model Railroad:

Western Homestead Shanty by Life-Like models

Country Chapel by Faller

Sanding Tower Model Kit by Faller

Atlas Picket Fence and Gate Kit

Constance Signal Tower Model Kit by Faller