One of the things that I have been up to over the last few months is the construction of my second diorama. This one will depict a passenger station along a branch line. The branch line runs along a creek and crosses under a highway and a trolley line. The station serves the local rural community and the nearby amusement park. I may in the future add the necessary facilities to handle the local milk traffic. This is diorama is based on what might have been if my fictitious RLK&T had been built along the Crum Creek Valley at the point where West Chester Pike and the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company trolley line crossed the creek. The amusement park is based on Castle Rock Park which was owned by the P&WCTC and located along Crum Creek near West Chester Pike in Edgemont, PA. The kit that I chose for the station is Model Power’s HO Scale Station and Freight Shed. As I was constructing the kit I realized that I have this kit except it was called Arlo Station and was marketed by AHM I believe. Model Power added a cupola and some dormers but the rest of the kit is the same.
The first thing I noticed about the kit was I did not like the red and white colors. I decided to change them to a yellow/cream and green that is prototypical for this area. There are several stations in that are painted similarly in the Philadelphia area. Here are the walls with the undercoat applied. Now the final colors. The paints I used are as follows: Undercoat: Apple Barrel Dolphin Gray (20781) thinned with blue windshield washer fluid (1:1). (Also used for the roof). Final Colors: Folk Art Green Meadow (726) thinned with blue windshield washer fluid (1:2) Folk Art Sunflower (432) thinned with blue windshield washer fluid (1:2)
After I began assembly I felt that the station walls needed something. After searching the LHS’s I found some signs by Blair Line. I attached various signs on the walls. I did not like the look of the clear plastic window glazing that was included with the kit. I thought it was too thick. I replaced it with clear styrene from Plastruct. For the shades I cut up a manila folder and glued the shades on. Next I did some weathering by dry brushing some Folk Art Charcoal Gray. This was eventually followed by the assembly of the four walls. I toyed with the idea for a while of making a base from Plaster of Paris. In the end I just went with the base that was included.
In one my visits to the LHS I discovered some lights. I painted the lights meadow green and attached at various points around the structure. For the roof I looked at the roof and the sample picture on the box and determined that the shingles seem to resemble wood shingles. I then looked around the neighborhood for examples. I realized that wood shingles vary in color and that there is no consistency or pattern of colors on older roofs. Therefore, I decided to use a technique similar to what I used on the rock castings on the water tower diorama (see http://www.trainboard.com/ultimatebb.php/ubb/get_topic/f/8/t/001144.html ) . I dabbed various colors of paint on the roof and then hit it with a wash of the dominate color. I tried using washes for all the applications like the rock castings but because the roof is plastic they did not work. Paint straight from the bottle seemed to work the best. I used in order Folk Art Clay Bisque (601), Cinnamon (913), Burnt Sienna (943), Maple Syrup (945), Raw Sienna (452), and Asphaltum (476). For the final wash I used 2 applications of a Cinnamon and blue windshield washer fluid mixture. I sealed it with Dullcoat.
Now I assembled the cupola and attached it. Next, came the dormers. Lastly the chimney and stove pipe were attached.
A final coat of weathering and the station building was basically complete. I still may add additional details as I think of them and find them. More to come later including the diorama itself.
For the diorama base I started out with a bunch of pink foam that I had leftover from when I torn down the first layout. After I shaped the foam I began planning the walls and bridge abutment. First I made forms using scrap pink foam which I secured with Elmer’s caulk in a bottle. I then poured plaster of Paris. Once it had set up I removed the forms. Then using a brad held by a pin vise I carved the stones. I occasionally misted the PoP to keep it carving easy. Sorry about the picture quality. At the time I was having lighting and camera issues.
Next I made the forms for the abutment. I had a little problem here when during the pouring process one of the forms moved and PoP went every where. I repaired the damaged and carved the abutment.
Now I used paper towels soaked in a "wet" PoP solution to shape the contours. Then I went over the towels with a layer of PoP. Then I place the roadbed. Next up is painting.
Thanks Jon. I painted the wall and abutment using the leopard spotting technique described by WS in the Scenery Manual and I used on the rocks on the water tower diorama. The colors I used were: Folk Art Light Gray (424) Folk Art Licorice (938) After doing two rounds of leopard spotting and a Light Gray wash I felt that the rocks were too light and did another round of leopard spotting and added Folk Art Amish Blue (715) and a final was with Amish Blue. I let everything dry and then I hit with a licorice wash.
Lastly I added the mortar by using a wash made of Folk Art Linen (420). I used a cloth to wipe off the linen wash after I had let sit on the rocks for a few minutes. I then painted all the ground with Folk Art Acorn Brown (941). Next came laying the track. Then I weathered the track and ties with Folk Art Aspaltum. After that had dried I added the ballast to the track.
When I went to permanently place the station on the diorama I realized I had a problem. The area for the station was not a s level as I thought. I used WS Mold-A-Scene to smooth out the area. Coming up later is adding the access road and the greening of the diorama.
It has been a few days since I posted anything here Now to finish bringing this topic up to date to the point of where I’ve stopped work on the diorama. I need to get to the LHS to get some supplies on payday. I decided to try sandpaper to create the access road for the station. I cut the paper for a 16 feet wide road. I glued the paper down. When it was dry I painted it with Folk Art Dark Gray. After the paint was dried I glued down the station building.
Next I added the ground cover. I used WS blended turf. Along the roadway I used WS turf in Earth color to simulate something of a shoulder or dirt build up area. The areas that I did not place any ground cover areas I will use WS cinders on to simulate the loading area. Also I need to get some bushes and underbrush to add in different areas. Some of the other stuff I would like to do is to add a culvert or pipe in the ditch, and add trees after I make them.
Thanks Russ. I weathered the access road. I dry brushed Folk Art Charcoal Black over the road except for the edges. I then came back and dry brushed Folk Art Light Gray. Next I added some crack sealing at some joints with Folk Art Licorice. I also attached some bushes along the back station building. Here is how the progress looks now.
