Scratch built apartment building

There was a need for an apartment building in that cluster of buildings on the right end of the scene that would need to be scratch built.  I've always enjoyed DPM (Design Preservation Models) kits and wanted to try a similar technique to the building I needed.  As the apartments would be a repeating pattern I could make just a couple of masters and molds and then as many resin castings as needed for the structure.  A styrene box was made that the castings would be attached to.  In this case only one side of the building would be visible.

The two wall castings that are mirror images.   I used a mix of available N scale parts and scratch building techniques to create these two masters.  Then RTV rubber molds were made from these.


Here's a view of one of the castings that I made for this building along with the dimensions.  The visible part of the building needed 15 castings total, 5 like this one with the door on the right and 10 with the door on the left.


Here the castings have been glued to the box.  Balconies are added and railings made from Plastruct HO scale ladder stock.  The whole building has been given a base coat of paint.  This photo also appears in the October 11, 2010 post Attaching Buildings II.


This is a more recent look at this building after most of the details have been painted in.  Some people might find this hand painting of details to be tedious but I like it because it's something I can do just bit on when ever I have a few spare minutes.  All the balconies offer many detailing opportunities that will come in the future.


The location of this building on the module set is highlighted in violet on this map.

Module Progress Map

I have started a new page that is called the Module Progress Map.  I made a graphic map of the modules and divided it up into 14 scenes.  Each scene is color coded depending on how far it is completed.

• RED = Under 25% complete
• YELLOW = 25% to 75% complete
• GREEN = Over 75% complete

As things progress I will add an updated map to the page.  Also, in some of the posts I will be showing the map with the area referenced in the post indicated.

Paint & weathering for the Station

With everything settled on the platform I have gone on to painting and weathering the scratch built station along with the 3 modified Kato covered stairways. 

Here's a view from the other side that shows the weathering applied to the roofs of the station, the stairways, and the platform awnings. 

Notice the fence and walkway leading away from the stairs.  This will be right along the front edge of the module.  There will be passengers walking along there a perhaps some food cart vendors.


These station signs on the platforms were made on the computer and printed on white decal paper.  They are attached to the existing sign boards that hang down from the platform awning.

At this point the station and platform areas are done except for adding details and of course populating them with passengers.

Paint & weathering for the platform

It's been a productive weekend.  After finishing the ballast on the track I weathered and re-installed the already painted station platforms.

This photo shows the colors I used on the platform structure, the asphalt platform deck, the awning support columns, and the safety stripes.

Kato platform kits come with a set of stickers which include yellow stripes to simulate the bumpy yellow safety stripes that run along the length of the platform.  I could not get the results I wanted with those so I masked the platform and airbrushed the stripes.


Bragdon Enterprises powders were used for weathering.  This station is being modeled at near the end of service life so it should look a little worn and I really like how weathering brings out the details. Later the awnings will also get weathered.

Ballasting the tracks

It's time to ballast the track and while I have ballasted my share of N Scale track, this project presented some new elements. 

• Using some pre-ballasted Kato Unitrack I wanted to match the color of that so I used Arizona Rock and Mineral Co. Gray blend limestone, part number 105-2.  I like to use HO scale material for ballast because I will use N scale material for the smaller gravels like roads.
• First time using the Micro Engineering turnouts.  I want to be real careful about getting any glue into these as I've already seen that they are more delicate than the Peco turnouts.
• Also the first time using any track with concrete ties, how will that look ballasted ?

So I started by removing the station platforms and placed blue painters tape over the area that the platforms go on. 








Before applying any ballast I decided to paint the sides of the cork roadbed with some gray paint.  This will help to hide any bare spots.

The cork roadbed could also be painted before laying the track so that the areas between the rails would also be covered but most of the bare spot problem occurs on the sides.







I apply the ballast first between the rails and then along the outsides of the rails.  I like to use an old painting pad like the one shown in this photo to evenly spread the ballast.  A small dry paint brush is also used.
 







This is what it looks like with the dry ballast spread on a section of the track.







I used a "wet water" solution of 2 drops of liquid dish washing detergent to a 1 ounce bottle of water.  I gently stir the solution and don't shake it so it won't get any bubbles.  Then with a pipette I slowly release small amounts of this solution over the track and let it spread.


Then I used a 50 / 50 mixture of white glue and water mixed in an empty 1 ounce paint bottle again applying it with a pipette.  I do between the rails first then along the outsides of the rails.  I let this sit overnight to dry.




Here is a small example of the finished work.  After the blue tape is removed, the platform has a clean area so it will sit flat and level.








While I am generally happy with the result I do think that the contrast in texture between the ties and the ballast cause the ties to look like the plastic that they are and if I were to do it over I would first air brush the ties with concrete colored paint.  But you know everything we do in this hobby is a chance to learn something new.

A row of Green Max houses

Green Max kit # 34 is a set of 6 two story Japanese houses.  The design of this kit is very similar to the stores in kit # 33.  The roofs and bases are common to both kits.

Like the stores, these kits are easily modified to create some very unique structures.  I thought these would be a great way to add depth to the scene around the station.

I used about half the kit to build this small row of houses that will be used on the module.   

Each house comes with a small base.  I used two of those and made a custom base of .040 styrene for the middle house.  After this small scene is painted and detailed, it will be attached to the module.

Mystery train identified

Awhile back I had posted about a brass set of Japanese passenger cars that I have and did not know anything about.  Thanks to Paul Ingraham of Sunnyvale, California I now know something about the prototype and the models.

Paul identified these as Endo models from the logo on the bottom of one of the cars.  He also knew that these models were of  Hankyu Railway cars.  Once I knew the name of the railroad and of the model company I was able to find out more about it on the web.

The Hankyu Railway is a non-JR private railroad that operates several lines around and between the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe.

This photo is of a Hankyu 6300 series train which is the closest to the models I have. 



From what I read on the web It seems that these had been in service from about the mid 1970's and taken out of service about a year ago.

I could not find any information about any Endo Models release of this model and indications are that Endo may no longer be making N scale trains.  Kato also has had a model of the Hankyu 6300 series trains and here is a photo of one of those.