I wasn't sure whether to post this here, or over in the S&D blog (and increasingly wondering why I felt that two blogs were a good idea in the first case, given my distinct lack of modelling focus). Anyway, I mentioned on the S&D blog that I was thinking of renovating this old model of Abbotsbury:

The model was built in 1982, using the plans in the Paul Karau book on branchline termini. It was one of the first scratchbuilt structures I ever made, and while dimensionally accurate (or not too far off) it left a lot to be desired in the finer details. But then, I made do with basic materials - some slaters embossed stone plastikard, some plain plastikard, and a lot of card salvaged from old shop posters. I was quite pleased with it at the time, but it never ended up on a layout and by the time it resurfaced in the 90s, time had not been kind to it. Various bits had warped or fallen off, and some of my modelling was starting to look very clumsy. The windows were a disgrace, and you could tell I'd got bored by the time I got to the chimneys - they were just sections of square profile wooden dowling, crudely painted to simulate stone.

The model has sat on my shelves ever since but while casting around for a stand-in for Shillingstone, I gave it another look and wondered if it wouldn't be worth spending a bit of time fixing and improving. Suitably encouraged by Wenlock, I've spent a few evenings reworking the nastier bits. I didn't realise that this was a "William Clarke" building, by the way, but Wenlock's comment on my blog has had me spotting William Clarke buildings all over the place.

I was able to save the ridged canopy glazing, which still looked good - I removed the old attempt at valencing, fixed new Ratio parts in place (spares from the platform canopy set) and then gradually corrected the warped canopy as best I could. I ripped out the old doors, which were made from layers of plastikard cut to shape, and sourced suitable replacements from a pair of Peco station detailing packs. The new doors were a bit shorter than some of those on the model, so I added small windows above the lintels.

I couldn't salvage the old main windows so I ripped out all those on the front. This time I added frames with plastikard, giving the windows a bit more character. The framing is now correctly white, rather than the cream on the original. I didn't bother correcting the rear windows as the station was never made to be viewed from the back - the rear elevation is actually very boring as Abbotsbury had no doors on the back, the platform being accessed by means of a gate at the side of the station.

New chimneys were fixed in place of the old. They're a bit chunkier than the real ones, and still need a bit of detailing - they'll never be more than an approximation of the very elegant things on the real structure - but they look better than the old ones, and are at least vertical this time.

The old model was painted in chocolate/cream, but this time I reverted it to GWR colours. There is still a bit to do but I'm pleased that it is looking a lot less tatty. Good for another 30 years?