17.5.10

Platform revisited

I was motivated to work on my custom railway platform after having seen some of the displays at the train show. One of the exhibitors had used a small miter box to cut multiple strips of balsa wood to equal lengths, I decided to try it with plastic. I always thought my platforms were a little plain looking and needed some additional architectural detail. So I decided to add ribs to the sides of the platforms. However, I was not keen on cutting strips of plastic. I couldn't imagine myself measuring and cutting 1020 ribs. However, the miter box was a real time saver. I secured a metal barrier on one edge of the miter box so I could press the strip of plastic against it to ensure each cut would create the same length without having to measure each time. You can see how I set it up in the photograph. Originally I used a saw to cut the plastic. This created a ragged edge, which I had to sand down. I found using an Exacto knife created a very clean edge. However, the slots on the miter box was a little too wide so I used two pieces of cardboard to keep the blade firmly in place and at right angles. It worked like a charm. I simply pressed down to score the plastic strip and then simply snapped the rib off. I figure can finish one platform per night. Hopefully I'll be done by the week-end.

2 comments:

Jerry said...

One of my 'pending projects' are platforms for my new terminal station. I was originally going to go with the Kato platforms, but the relative cost of these platforms and the quantity I'll need put me off.

I looked at some of the kits from Vollmer, Kibri, Faller, etc... but they all tend to be rather pricey as well. I've been thinking of building my own and this is pretty encouraging seeing what you've done! Good stuff as usual!

By the way, your photo of the tracks leading into Prague station is almost EXACTLY the sort of look I'm going for with my new station. I've never been there, so it was cool to see that photo and go 'ah ha! That's it!' Thanks again!

The Train Spotter said...

I'll go through my photo collection and post other pictures of the Prague station and yard for you. It may take me a bit of time to sort through the pictures.

As for the platforms, it wouldn't take you very long to build them. The only tedius part was gluing the little vertical pieces, but I'm really happy with the results. I just wish it didn't take a whole week to add them to the platforms.