Scratch built platforms - Part 1

For the Hot Springs Junction station I wanted to have side platforms with the foot bridge connecting them.  I had considered starting with either the Green Max side platform kits or several sections of Kato Island platforms left over from the Musashi-Koyama station.  The platforms would need to be narrow but one would flair out at one end to mate up with the station and the other would need a wider section for the foot bridge stairway.  With the amount of modification needed, I decided to scratch build the platforms.

The platforms were built of .020 styrene sheet with strips and angles added on the outside to appear similar to how the Kato platforms look.  I also added short lengths of .040 x .060 of styrene strip material along the outside edges of the surface of the platforms that will support some railings that will be added later.

I had first sprayed a coat of Floquil concrete from the bottom so it would cover all of overhang angles. Then I brush painted two coats on the top with Polly Scale SP Dark Lark Gray, the color I most often use for asphalt.




The next day after everything had dried well, I masked off the top of the platforms but left a .060 wide strip all the way around exposed.

Next, another application of Floquil concrete, this time from the top.  After removing the tape, this is what it looks like.

Railings

I have used Plastruct HO scale ladder stock for railings on a number of projects and it turned out that they are a very good match to the railings that were already on the small Green Max station.

So I bought several packages of these to extend the stations railings out to the platforms.




These will first be painted Floquil engine black to with the air brush before being installed on the platforms.