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 | Gantry Crane by Faller

I'm quite a fan of Faller model kits, especially their railroad work structures.

This Gantry Crane by Faller was really easy to assemble. All the parts fit together seamlessly, and I had the whole thing put together in less than half an hour.

I love it when a model kit comes together this easily!

Gantry Crane by Faller

The only fiddly bit to put together was the hand-crank gear mechanism at the top of the Gantry Crane. I used black thread to simulate steel cable and wound it round a few times on the wheel before attaching the hook you can see dangling at the end.

I used a drop of PVA glue on the thread to stiffen it so that the plastic hook would look like it had some weight as it hung off the end.

Closeup of the hand-crank detail at the top of the Gantry Crane. I used black thread to simulate steel cable.

The picture on the box suggested that the structure should be painted a brown, wooden color. I wanted it to stand out a bit more on my layout so I went with Model Color's white acrylic paint instead.

I used a thin coat of white paint to allow the underlying grey of the plastic kit to show through, which automatically gave it that aged and weathered look. Piece of cake!

A view from the top of the Gantry Crane. Note the simple weathering technique I used for the wooden structure.

In this mini-diorama, the Gantry Crane is supposed to look like it is loading lumber from the nearby lumber yard onto the Fleischmann wagon.

The figures pictured here are from Woodland Scenics Dock Workers set.

The Gantry Crane operator is from Woodland Scenics Dock Workers set in HO scale.

I really like the detail of the the two workers carrying the wooden crate. Makes me want to get out the fine black felt-tip pen to give these two some distinct facial features!

The odd one out from the Dock Workers set is the worker with his hand on his chin. And since he was the only one who appeared to not be doing anything, I decided make him the Gantry Crane operator.

There are few more figures from the Dock Workers set not pictured here because I haven't gotten around to placing them on the layout yet!

Woodland Scenics Dock Workers unloading crate from the orange Vollmer truck. Note lumber yard to the right of the picture.

The bright orange truck in HO scale is by Vollmer. Looking at it in closeup, I think it would benefit greatly from a detailing and weathering treatment. 

I'll do a tutorial on weathering the Vollmer truck very soon.

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

Woodland Scenics | Deer Figures

As I mentioned in an earlier post about Adding Figures To A Model Railroad, I enjoy going 'figure shopping' and looking for new things to add to my model railway.

Seeing this Deer set by Woodland Scenics, I immediately knew where I wanted to place them -- behind the Country Chapel on the hill!



Woodland Scenics Deer. The tree stump in the background is included as part of the set. A nice touch!

I wanted to create an idyllic scene next to the Chapel, with shady trees and lush green grass. No surprise that wild deer might find their way here.

A deer and her foal rest under a tree

I made the tall pine trees with Woodland Scenics Tree Armatures gluing on dark green Clump Foliage for the leaves. The light green tree, under which this deer is resting, was part of an architectural landscape model that someone had abandoned next to a stairwell in a carpark! Pretty cool!



Closer view of the found architectural model tree. Note original white paint on the lower leaves.

I managed to salvage some 18 trees in total from that architectural display. Each tree is profesionally made out of twisted metal wire and every one was spray-painted completely white. Go figure.

To blend them into my layout, I first had to paint over the original white paint. I decided to use various shades of dark green and light green -- the light green to give the impression of sprouting new leaves. You can still make out some of the original white paint in this pic. Oops, missed a spot. Or two..

Also included in Woodland Scenics Deer set was this dramatically leaping stag. I attached it to a steep slope with good ol' Scenic Accents glue. Funny thing about this stag -- I occasionally have to re-attach standing figures because they either fall over, or start leaning at a peculiar angle. This stag has maintained its position since the day I put it on my layout in 2010!



The Leaping Stag. Hmm.. sounds like a good name for a whiskey.

And looking at these deer figures up close, I'll need to break out the magnifying glass and super-fine paintbrushes one of these days to give the factory paint-job a little touch up. Those googly eyes are starting to bother me..

See my earlier post about building the Country Chapel model kit by Faller.

Woodland Scenics | Masonry Workers Model Figures

Woodland Scenics makes a good line of pre-painted of scenic figures as part of their Scenic Accents range.

The worker shovelling sand into the cement mixer is from Woodland Scenics Masonry Workers set.

A worker shovels sand into the cement mixer. I used fine quartz sand -- but not fine enough for 1/87 scale!

For the sand I used decorative quartz sand from Ikea which is the finest white sand I've been able to find, but still a bit too large in grain size for HO.

Closeup of the not-so-fine sand. I'll need to grind these up finer somehow.

The pics below show the complete scene of masonry workers building a cottage.

This cottage kit originally came with shiny grey plastic 'brick' sides.

I brought out the brick detail by painting the shiny grey brick with a dilute coat of matte white first. Then, while the paint was still wet, I wiped off the surface, leaving the white paint in the crevices to enhance the outline of the bricks. The thin layer of matte white also got rid of the plasticy shine.

I've yet to paint the wooden frame of the roof though. Details, details....

A lone deer looks on as the workmen go about their job

I'll need to paint the wooden frame of the house to get rid of that plasticy look.

When time (and patience) permit I intend to re-paint and detail the figures on my layout, perhaps down to the facial features. But more on that later..


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