Fallberg Station

[Railrunner130]

I recently picked up a Downtown Deco Fallberg Station in HO-scale. It's an old kit that I believe is available from Dr. Ben's under the name Short Line Station http://www.debenllc.com/servlet/the-...e-Stone/Detail


I painted the stone first. I started out with an empty paint bottle and kept adding different colors as I went along to increase the randomness of the colors of the different stones. The mortar is drywall patch material from the hardware store. It's an awesome trick that works well. I decided that I'd better paint the inside because the windows are large and interior would be visible. I used Testors Radome Tan for the inside.
I took a flat piece of balsa along with beam-like pieces of balsa and stained them. The flat piece I used for the floor. The beams are visible in the photo.


The kit called for and provided a corrugated aluminum roof. I decided that anyone that would put this much time and effort into building a really nice (although small) stone building would put a better roof on it. A little research revealed that several companies produce sheet metal roofing material. Unfortunately, my local hobby shop didn't have any and I didn't want to order it. So, I took some thick sheet plastic, cut it to what I thought would look good and added thin strips to make it look like sheet metal. I chose Testors Flat Beret Green because I am modeling the Rutland Railroad, who's colors were green and gold. The small piece of plastic with the hole is the ceiling.



I had issues with the front door and the fact that there was no porch to provide protection from the elements. That is, until I dropped my daughter off at daycare one day. I noticed this and decided to incorporate it into the roof redesign. I'm still not sure exactly how I'm going to finish it.


I used some masking tape to test fit the roof. I had some issues yesterday with finding the right color LED to light the building. I decided on a regular old wheat lamp, even though I haven't tried it yet. Once I get that worked out, I'll feed the wire through a stove pipe. Once that is finished, I'll work on the roof flashings and put in place a more permanent fix for the roof peak. I need to wash the windows...


I plan on setting this up as a diorama that I can incorporate it into a layout at some point down the road. This is my first thought for the arrangement. The concrete color didn't turn out as I had envisioned. I was looking for dry concrete, not wet. So I will repaint this when I can.

Thoughts, suggestions, etc. welcome!

[Gary B]

Looks good, I really like the stone colors.

[Railrunner130]

Here are a few more photos. These are from the light test.


The hideous yellow LED test.


The flourescent (mainly blinding) looking clear LED.


The large incondescent, but still blinding bulb.


The clear winner. A wheat bulb.

[trainman78]

looks real good. i like the multi-colored stone work

[Railrunner130]

Thanks. I've updated the gallery with the latest pics.

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/f...hp?albumid=212


Toying with arrangement ideas. The car was used to designate a parking area.


I decided that a thinner and slightly smaller roof was in order.


The final arrangement of the diorama. I used a Sharpee to remind me of what I am doing. The trees obviously are not ready yet. I used a ball point pen and T-square to set the critical locations.


My first attempt at using real soil to set the base. Not the best, but I think it'll work ok. I used a cloth hardware bag to sift the soil. (Bottom of the photo.) At first it didn't work very well because the soil wasn't dry enough. I figured out that if you bag it and let it sit for a week (perhaps not that long) in a climate controlled environment then it will dry out enough to work well. I left the thicker clumps alone, figuring that it'll look more natural with slight variations in the terrain height.


I cut out the sidewalk from a spare sheet of styrene. Later I learned it wasn't long enough- I screwed up the measurements. I may fix it. We'll see. I tried cutting expansion joints into the sidewalk and platform using a Dremel. It didn't work very well. So, I filled it in with putty and it looks better. I'd like to find a good technique to fix it. Anyhow, my lights from China arrived just in time. So, I put in this handsome light.


The current situation. I cut holes in the base for the building light and street light. I also filled the parking lot and portions of the track area with Woodland Scenics Light Grey Ballast. I'm planning on having grass and weeds in the tracks, so I didn't want to ballast the whole thing. My bag-o-dirt is behind the diorama.


Just another view of the same scene. As you can see, the lamp didn't sit vertically enough. But that doesn't matter because it will need to be turned 90' to not interfere with the building. Next steps are to finish the roof, glue down some track and figure out the grass. I'd like to do static grass, but lack the equipment and am looking for a economical way to do that.

[Railrunner130]

As always, suggestions and comments welcome!

[Railrunner130]

This probably would've been a half decent shot if I'd raised it a few more inches. You can see the deck rail post to the left of center. I shot the following photos on my back deck.


I found a cheap static grass applicator and have put it to good use. I'm not happy with the color, but it's not a bad first effort.


I put in a couple shrubs. I'm thinking of pulling them up and mulching. I have some flowers to plant as well.


I'm planning on replacing the sidewalk with one from Bar Mills. I have some underbrush for the area under the trees. I wanted to make the tracks look slightly disused or not well maintained. I didn't quite get that aspect right.

[LoudMusic]

Hey that looks good!

[ZimDalf]

Nice work!

I got this kit also, looking forward to building it!

[Railrunner130]

ZimDalf- I look forward to seeing what other people do with it!


I added a bunch of lichen for weeds. I'm not done with it and would like some advice. I'm also thinking about cutting out the big tree so that I can put a visible station name on it. Also visible in this shot, I removed the shrubs, old sidewalk and part of the parking lot. I put in the Bar Mills sidewalk and added some mulch and flowers.


Another view of the sidewalk. Notice the lavender in the lower left corner. I've also added some weeds and am trying to rework the grass a little to give it less of a manicured look. I'm also trying to figure out where to put the street light. The new platform is smaller than the old, which was small itself. As a result, I'm not sure I have room for it.


Today's visitor is my latest acquisition. It will be re-branded for the Rutland line soon.