Guest Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Well, the little station building is finished so I thought I'd take a couple of pictures before chucking it in the bin. At least if I'm not happy with something I can admit it and start again. It began life as a Piko HO kit for a small cement works. It had the modern look I was aiming for, so thought it would make a suitable station building once bashed about. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it just doesn't work for me. It still looks like the small industrial building it is supposed to be. It fits the space well, that's about all I can say for it. Plan B is in hand to produce another station building from a kit that is actually designed to be... a station building! Hopefully I'll have better luck. Took the opportunity to add one of the cosmetic buffer beam fairings to the Roco 319. This replaces the coupler and makes the front end look a whole lot better, assuming you don't need to couple anything to it... I've noticed these cosmetic fairings are supplied quite frequently with continental locos and they're a good idea, taking just seconds to change over. The loco needs running in on DC and then I'll chip it. Photos taken in bad light... sorry about that. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 A couple of (slightly) better pictures of the Roco 319. I'll no doubt retreat back into my "comfort zone" of 1980s/90s SR 3rd rail at some point, but for the time being I'm thoroughly enjoying this excursion into continental HO. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted December 11, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 11, 2016 Maybe the station building just needs bigger windows. If you remove the bricks below them, and add an almost floor length glass instead, it would alter the look away from an industrial structure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Maybe the station building just needs bigger windows. If you remove the bricks below them, and add an almost floor length glass instead, it would alter the look away from an industrial structure. Yeah, I think you're right but I'm just not inclined to try and improve on it. The build certainly wasn't going to plan as soon as I glued the roof structure in place and realised I hadn't glazed the windows! Duh. The original Piko kit is full-relief, so I still have more than half the original parts and I guess the rest of the kit may find use one day. I just don't particularly like the way it looks. The original station building at Benidorm is shown below in one of the photos I took back in October. If I'm honest, it doesn't look like a particularly hard scratchbuilding project but I usually get all tied in knots trying to cut out the window and door apertures in embossed sheet. I downloaded the Scalescenes "modern cream brick" for another building but ended up using embossed brick as I prefer the relief. That building doesn't have any windows or doors, so I got away with it! I think I just need more practise with buildings, so tend to rely on kits for anything other than the simplest of structures. I have another kit for a modern Amtrak station building like the one shown below and this has much more of the look I'm aiming for. I may test-fit this kit and see how it looks. As this is supposed to be a scenic test track, I see no reason that the structures shouldn't evolve and be replaced as skills improve. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisspeat Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Your building looks good to me though I can see what you mean about the windows. I attach a pic taken at Benidorm of "your" building in the distance... The classic station buildings (such as depicted here at Calpe) do seem to have longer windows. I never like binning a project though I have had to rework several. Your project has inspired me to start work on a new shunting layout too. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 (edited) Your building looks good to me though I can see what you mean about the windows. I attach a pic taken at Benidorm of "your" building in the distance... The classic station buildings (such as depicted here at Calpe) do seem to have longer windows. I never like binning a project though I have had to rework several. Your project has inspired me to start work on a new shunting layout too. Thanks for the pictures. I have some I took at Altea a couple of months ago. The architecture is similar to your Calpe photo, but the main building is a fair bit bigger. I do, however, quite like the more modern (ugly?) style at Benidorm. This afternoon I cropped the photo in Post #79 then printed it out and made an attempt at sizing the main elevation. Part of me wants to have a go at reproducing it but part of me wants to just go for a modern nondescript alternative. I think the problem lies with me not wanting The Plank to actually "be" Benidorm. I may still have a go. The original is quite plain rendered blockwork and the roofline shouldn't be too hard to fabricate from styrene sheet and strip. I'll just need to get those windows right! I shall have a look on Google Images but for anyone to have photographed the station building at Benidorm "head-on", they would have had to stand in the stabling sidings. I'll see what I can find. Edit: Good luck with your new layout, btw. Edited December 11, 2016 by Pete 75C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Well, I decided to have a go at the station building working from a photo. Freelanced to shorten the length etc etc. The cladding is taller than real life, for a start. Also, the window arrangement is different to suit window frames that I already had in the "bits" box. So all in all, not a copy, but maybe a hint of the original. I actually remembered to glaze the windows this time and have added some blinds. I'd like to reproduce the lighting and aircon, but there's little point doing any of that until the whole thing's finished as I don't want the fiddly bits to get damaged. I have a cunning plan for the unusual roofline, which will be as close to the original as I can make it. Altogether, far more satisfying than assembling a kit, and I most definitely wasn't happy with the original kitbashed Piko building. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 16, 2016 Only one problem. No lego........ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 16, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 16, 2016 https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F4J2nM8qv56I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4J2nM8qv56I&docid=pj9DxJryjELySM&tbnid=oBeU9ofmX4PthM%3A&vet=1&w=480&h=360&hl=en-GB&client=ms-android-om-lge&bih=336&biw=598&q=spanish%20lego&ved=0ahUKEwih8rW_6fjQAhVDjlQKHRxsDGMQMwgjKAgwCA&iact=mrc&uact=8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Only one problem. No lego........ Just wait and see what I'll use to strengthen the building frame... https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F4J2nM8qv56I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4J2nM8qv56I&docid=pj9DxJryjELySM&tbnid=oBeU9ofmX4PthM%3A&vet=1&w=480&h=360&hl=en-GB&client=ms-android-om-lge&bih=336&biw=598&q=spanish%20lego&ved=0ahUKEwih8rW_6fjQAhVDjlQKHRxsDGMQMwgjKAgwCA&iact=mrc&uact=8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus 37 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Just wait and see what I'll use to strengthen the building frame... Meccano?? HaHa. Actually Lego comes in damn handy at times. Made some nice little battery chargers for KoLW out of the small single bricks. Mind you the lad wasn't very happy when he found all the yellow ones had gone missing. Nice work on the station buildings. They look superb. Cheers Marcus 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 The station building (Mk3!) is complete, all bar the roof, and in place on the layout. The aircon plumbing needs tidying and the lights fitted but that can wait until the roof's done. I'm fairly happy with the colour as it's a reasonable match for the original. I wasn't sure about going for the slightly "lumpy" render typical of so many Spanish public and private buildings. Ironically, the station building at Benidorm is rendered baby's-bottom smooth. I think it looks ok, and makes a contrast to the plain brick-built structure next door. So, the roof. The flat roof on the kit-built Mk1 station building was, frankly, really boring. Easy though. Therein lies the problem. Sometimes easy is good but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of a challenge. I would like to try and scratchbuild more in the future, so I could certainly use the practise. The roofline on Benidorm's main station building struck me as unusual and it's this feature that led me to try and come up with something similar (but different, if you know what I mean) for the layout. By pure chance I was kicking around in the shed a while back looking for something and tripped over a stack of leftover UPVC angle bead. I'm not going to get any closer to the correct profile than this and dimensionally, it's pretty close. Having sealed one end of each piece of angle using some thin styrene, they can be covered with some Evergreen roof cladding of a similar profile to the prototype. Each piece will overhang the front edge of the building slightly, and any exposed edges sealed with some thin L profile and channel trim. That's the plan... 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Success! I think... I'm actually quite happy with the way this turned out, especially the colouring. Compared to the original building, lots of things are "wrong"... windows, cladding depth etc etc, but I'm not much of a scratchbuilder and was pleasantly surprised by how satisfying this was to build instead of just assembling a kit. Mistakes were made along the way and I have a whole list of "things I would do differently next time". The roof is removable. I still have lights to add and I may make a half-hearted attempt at an interior, even though there's little to see because of the window blinds. The original Piko kit went in the bin, this one stays. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted December 20, 2016 Share Posted December 20, 2016 Hi Pete, That's looking really good, well done sir! I've enjoyed following this for some time now, it's refreshingly different. When I was a nipper, my parents and me spent quite a lot of time in this area, well along various parts of the Spanish Med coast, all the way down to Algerciras, all between about 1971-1983, almost every winter for several weeks each time. I think Aguilas was our main place to camp. Yes, we travelled in a campervan! This is bringing back some old memories. Cheers, John. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 I've enjoyed following this for some time now, it's refreshingly different. Thanks John. It's certainly different for me! Over the last year or so, my interests in the UK scene have waned a little and so to keep the "mojo" alive, this is a refreshing distraction. It is actually rather surprising how many folk on RMWeb either live in Spain, have relatives there or visit frequently. Also, until my Spanish improves beyond its current "I can order a beer and find a toilet" level, the excellent forotrenes forum would be next to useless to me without Google Translate. This little layout will no doubt continue with various geographical errors regarding traction etc but could provide a springboard to a much larger Spanish project housed in a garage or undebuild once the big move abroad is complete. Anyhoo, now that I'm finally happy with the station building, it makes sense to continue along and get the platform surfaces finished. I'm actually a little disappointed that I made the short 2-car island platform even lower than the main platform. I think that was a mistake. As it is, the island platform is more suited to light rail than mainline, but I'm struggling to work out how I can reconcile that and make it believable. Maybe next time I'll have a little bit of metre gauge just like the real Benidorm! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 (edited) Moving on a little, is anyone aware of a kit for either a full relief or low relief apartment block in HO? More residential than holiday apartment, as seen below. These are everywhere, typically with shop units below. The usual suspects (Vollmer, Pola, Faller, Kibri etc) are way too Germanic and of a period design. I'm after something altogether more modern and utilitarian. Ultimately, the two "corner plots" on the other side of the level crossing are going to need something and they will also need to act as a kind of scenic break, so I'm thinking 3 or 4 floors. Scratchbuilding is an option of course, but I'm baulking at all those window openings and balconies... If anyone's aware of anything that might be suitable, please do let me know. Edit: I don't think I'll try and replicate the colour scheme of the second one. Ugh. Edited December 21, 2016 by Pete 75C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Forgive the thinking aloud. The image below is for the benefit of Colin, who complained about the distinct lack of Lego being used in this build... I've had a good look online and there are some *almost* suitable buildings by Piko and Faller but being born with the "tightwad" gene, I'm still recovering from the price. I'd also need to butcher them beyond recognition to get what I'm aiming for. At the moment, I'm thinking of two visible sides leading off a corner lift tower. Cream brick ground floor and white rendered upper floors. The room available would give just a single balcony on the street side per floor. The rail side would be quite plain, assuming corridors leading from the lift tower to each apartment. This plain side might look quite good covered in advertising. The Lego shell assumes Ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. The ground floor on the street side would be a retail unit. I'm thinking that if I maybe reduce this building to just Ground, 1st and 2nd floors, I could eventually have a taller structure on the opposite side of the railway line towards the front of the baseboard. This might help disguise the track exit. As I'm looking for a plain utility building circa 1970-1980, I'm wondering if scratchbuilding is an option after all. I keep hearing those immortal words in my head "how hard can it be?"... If I can source some suitable HO scale doors, windows and patio doors (never seen those), I may give it a go. Any thoughts more than welcome. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 (edited) Thanks Pete, I was beginning to go into Lego withdrawal there...... I reckon if there were balconies and patio doors they would face away from the street and railway so I would stick to plain front doors and small plain windows (bathroom / kitchen) Like the idea of ground floor retail perhaps set back to the same level as the flats above creating a covered walkway. Edited December 21, 2016 by colin penfold 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 Thanks Pete, I was beginning to go into Lego withdrawal there...... I reckon if there were balconies and patio doors they would face away from the street and railway so I would stick to plain front doors and small plain windows (bathroom / kitchen) Like the idea of ground floor retail perhaps set back to the same level as the flats above creating a covered walkway. Balconies and terraces virtually without fail face onto the street, have you ever seen out the back of a Spanish apartment block?!! Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 If I went on holiday and was given a bathroom with a sea view and a terrace overlooking the street I'd ask for my money back. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 (edited) We're definitely not talking about fancy holiday lets with pool bar and sea views! Much more residential as Mike well knows. We walked down from the railway station in Benidorm to get a coffee back in October and the street was lined with what I have in mind. I'm sure maybe some of them were holiday lets but like Colin, not my cup of tea. Back in June, we stayed for 3 nights at Benidorm's Montesol in the Old Town whilst house-hunting. It was actually ok (below). However the view from the street-side balcony was of these... Now that's more what I have in mind. Edit: I'm liking the covered walkway idea, Colin, as in the photo above. I might save that for the building closest to the front of the baseboard, as there will be more room to exploit it. Edited December 21, 2016 by Pete 75C 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 That's perfect Pete. I think it's to do with the structure of the building that the main wall of the flats is continued up from the supporting wall at ground floor and the balconies/walkways hang off the main structure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Stubby47 Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 Scratch build what you need. For the outer wall, cut the balcony openings as required. For the inner wall, use a piece of transparent plasticard as the wall, overlaid with thin strips of sticky label for window frames and larger pieces for the wall. Draw a template for the door/window frame and move the transparent sheet over it, so you can replicate the pattern for each flat. The balcony floors and side walls can be cut to a standard width and used as spacers between the inner and outer walls. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisspeat Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Because there will be balconies/walkways you might even be able to consider Scalescenes (or something similar in HO scale) windows and doors because they can look very realistic from normal viewing distances. Your sunny layout continues to inspire one writing from a grey Buckinghamshire today... Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted December 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 21, 2016 Because there will be balconies/walkways you might even be able to consider Scalescenes (or something similar in HO scale) windows and doors because they can look very realistic from normal viewing distances. Your sunny layout continues to inspire one writing from a grey Buckinghamshire today... Pete You should have been here over the weekend, sunny layout we definitely didn't have, Pete's was the only ray of sunshine. Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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