5.28.2012

The Terminal Station! Interior Details!

As I mentioned in my last post, in this post I'll dive into a little more of the details and show (obviously with the the above photo) what the ~80% complete model is starting to look like!  The first thing you may notice with the above photo is that the roof over the archway still needs to be completed.  Simularly, the lighting for the central entrance/arch section will also be added once the roof structure is complete (something I'm still working out in fact).
The above photo shows the entrance to the station, tracks can be seen in the distance.   The railings used for each level are from Casco.  These are clear sheets of plastic with the railings printed on them.  They have some limited uses for when a fence with some glass is appropriate, but are perfect for this sort of installation.
When you enter the station, there is an information booth on the right.  The customer service agent's uniform looks surprisingly like a Japanese school girls uniform!  Hmmm...(not that you can tell with the poor focus this shot!).  The booth was made with parts from Luetke Modellbahn, and an outdoor laundry-hanging assembly from some old Kibri or Faller kit.   I used hollow, rectangular styrene and an image of television monitors from Gare du Nord to create the monitor rack above the counter.  I sort of wish I had added lights to this to get more of that television monitor look but, oh well, can't do everything.  Here's the photo of the monitors from Gare du Nord used in the above booth:
Behind the information booth is the first of several 'guest services' on the main level: "Dat Backhus" - essentially a bakery/coffee shop - I don't think I've ever visited one myself, but I took a photo of one on a trip to Hamburg last year, and it served as inspiration for something different.  I really had fun putting this together.  Its all scratch-built using styrene and images of breads, etc... that I was able to pull off the internet.
Another shot of the counters at "Dat Backhus":
Behind "Dat Backhus" is "iKiosk" - a newsstand.  The shelves are (again) from Luetke Modellbahn, but as they are just shelves with no detail, I felt like they needed more detail in this prominent location.  So I found some images of magazine racks, reduce it down to approximate N Scale size on the computer, then printed them out and glued the printed image to small strips of styrene.  Once the glue dried, I had nice little 'shelves' full of magazines!  I am quite proud of this detail and looks really great in person.
On the left side of the terminal is "Flunch"....I don't know what you think of when you think of French food, but a family favorite of ours is 'Flunch'! Essentially a cafeteria style eatery that my family found on a trip to Paris a couple of years ago.  I recreated the signs on the computer, created generic looking images for the back walls, but used dining tables from Luetke Modellbahn for the seating.
Behind Flunch, on the way to the elevators (or 'lifts') is Karstadt Sports (yet another real place that I visited on my Hamburg trip).   Not a ton of detail in this shop - but I didn't think it was necessary.  The shelves are computer procured images of store shelves, shrunk to 1:160 (or thereabouts) and then glued to strips of foamcore.  Simple, easy, and cheap.  The thing I really like about Karstadt Sports? They have a model trains section in their store! Can you believe it!!! Ah well.....
The below photo is basically what you will see if you were to arrive by train.  Here's where a bit more work is still ongoing.  The structure on the left side extends out and needs detail and structure to complete it.  The roof canopy and - critically - lighting still needs to be installed, but the general 'glow' and 'ambiance' of arriving at a busy, modern station has, I think been achieved. 
 A closer view of the shops and the three levels that make up this station:
And that, pretty much, is an up to date view of the station!

11 comments:

  1. John B-Scotland5/28/12, 4:34 PM

    A M A Z I N G !!!!!

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  2. Hi Jerry,
    If only you could produce this in kit form for us lesser mortals.
    Ross S
    North Berwick
    Scotland UK

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  3. crazy wicked Jerry, I actually bought a few sheets of acetate and clear styrene last week so as to build a few glass structures...SUPER INSPIRING my friend..wow.

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  4. Hey everyone! Thanks for the nice comments! ESPECIALLY since Google's cryptic 'word finder' game to prevent spam makes adding a comment a real chore! :-)

    @ Ross - If I could figure out how to make the kits I would! Someday I need to investigate this, but I doubt I have the skills necessary to ensure the quality meets the needs of people who would PAY for this sort of thing! (I can hide my errors on my own stuff!) :-)

    @ Kriz! Thank you! :-) The funny thing about this is that its really not that hard! I think its a lot easier than trying to cast things - which to me is very difficult and overwhelming! As long as you have a good stock of styrene handy, you can do just about anything! :-) Looking forward to seeing your results! And mistakes are okay...its how you learn (I know I have a LOT of mistakes to learn from!)

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  5. All I can say is:
    WOW!
    Just Beautiful. I hope you don't mind if I plagerize this when I get started on my layout....

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  6. @ gmtco: That's great! I'm flattered! :-)

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  7. Very very nice "Gare de l'Est" :-)

    Huge thanx for sharing those pics !!

    Marc

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  8. As always, beautiful work, sincerely I hope to achieve your skill into making this nice and outstanding buildings!!!!

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  9. I can't wait to see the final result!

    I agree that your information boards need lighting but the building so far is outstanding :)

    Jack.

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  10. Amazing Jerry. Outstanding work my friend!!!

    Bob

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