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 | Model Railroad Sanding Tower by Faller

A quantity of sand was carried by trains to prevent their wheels from slipping on the track, providing the necessary friction when the track was wet or oily. The sanding tower loaded sand into a dome situated above the boiler of steam locomotives, where heat from the boiler kept the sand dry. The sanding valve was operated by the train engineer and air pressure dropped dry sand onto the rails just in front of the wheels.

Sanding Tower by Faller

This Sanding Tower model kit by Faller was pretty complicated to put together but thankfully, the instruction sheet was fairly clear as to where all the various bits were supposed to go.

Railway man looks off into the distance from atop the Sanding Tower, contemplating his existence on the Sunny Model Railroad

I used Tamiya Extra-Thin Cement for this kit which helped cut down on the potential mess factor. The great thing about Tamiya Extra-Thin Cement is that it is applied with a brush, giving you ultimate control over how much cement you need use. For a model such as Faller's Sanding Tower which is made up mostly of a complex mesh of very thin plastic struts, the lesser the amount of cement used, the better. You also don't get the unsightly blobs at the joints such as when cement from a tube is used.

A railway man leaps from the second strut of Sanding Tower instead of using the ladder. Note rust weathering on the tower. Also note globs of Scenic Accents Glue used to attach the figure to the Tower. These close-up pics sure do bring out details I would otherwise miss.

True to the prototype, I painted the Sanding Tower kit with Model Color's Basalt Grey. Weathering was done with a light dry-brushing of rust red to simulate, well.. rust.

Scenic Accents Glue was used to attach the figures to the Sanding Tower. The great thing about Scenic Accents Glue is that it doesn't dry out and remains tacky, allowing easy re-positioning of figures on a layout.

Another view of the top of the Sanding Tower. Again Scenic Accents Glue used to affix the figure is clearly seen around his shoes.

As you can see in the pics, I used perhaps a little too much Scenic Accents Glue, something that only shows up in these close-up pics. Cleaning up the excess glue will be easy though -- just pluck them off with tweezers. I'll need to get out my magnifying glass for this purpose though. These eyes ain't what they used to be.

A view of the Sanding Tower from the ground at evening time. I was also testing the Fleischmann bulb in the Constance Signal Tower in this picture.

I still have to get around to levelling the Sanding Tower with the baseboard and attaching it permanently, blending in the base of the tower so that it is nearly flush with the groundcover.

More model kit buildings on The Sunny Model Railroad:

Western Homestead Shanty by Life-Like models

Country Chapel by Faller

Atlas Picket Fence and Gate Kit

Constance Signal Tower Model Kit by Faller

Woodland Scenics | Adding Rail Worker Model Figures to a Model Railroad

I enjoy adding HO scale figures to my railroad layout, creating miniature scenes that add tiny pockets of activity and detail. Each one tells its own story!

Sometimes I'll go 'figure shopping' and look through the display rack to see what catches my attention -- that alone is enough to trigger the imagination and create ideas for possible new scenes I wouldn't otherwise have thought of.

Railway workers at work on a damaged sleeper.

Here I've depicted railroad workers repairing a damaged railroad sleeper and installing the new tie. The figures are from the Scenic Accents Rail Workers set and are affixed into their standing positions with Accent Glue.

Woodland Scenics Rail Workers

<><>
<><>

Notice the ground cover which is made up of layers of Woodland Scenics Earth Blend and Fine Turf 

I have a gap of one sleeper in my layout from where I attached Fleischman flex track to the regular Profi-Track. The metal rail itself is connected so that section of the track is perfectly functional. Having these railway workers work on the track, so to speak, sort of explains the missing sleeper.

One worker is even carrying the replacement sleeper on his shoulder!


<><>
<><>

Rail worker carries a sleeper on his shoulder

<><>
<><>

Woodland Scenics Rail Workers set includes a Hand Cart, seen here on the tracks in the background 

I'm all thumbs when handling tiny objects and trying to glue them down and this is where Woodland Scenics Gentle Grips come in pretty handy. Gentle Grips are tweezers with rubber tips that are umm.. gentle, and will not chip off paint like regular metal tweezers might. The rubber tips also give you a good grip on any tiny object you might be trying to grapple with.