FSM Brownsville Depot - 2021 Build Challenge

[swisstrain]

Ok, I guess this is my contribution to the 2021 build challenge.  I have never done a build thread, so this is my first attempt to chronicle the building of a craftsman kit.  There will be some time from post to post, since my modeling is mostly done on weekends (with my full-time job interfering).

I am building a freelanced railroad set somewhere in 1910-1930s, in an approximately 5x9 corner in one of the spare bedrooms used otherwise as an office.  I will go into a bit more detail about my layout in a later post.  In essence, it is an oval (so I can watch trains running) with a branch that leads to a mine.

I decided that my pike needed a depot, and I have an FSM Brownsville Depot in my stash, so that is what I chose to do as my next project. Since I enjoy lighting my buildings, I have to include at least a partial interior. I won't go through the painting, construction of the outside building walls, etc., since that is covered in some other build threads, but provide a few details on how I built the interior.

First, I decided on how to lay out the first floor, with an office in the center, and waiting rooms to either side.


The larger waiting room to the left will be L-shaped, due to the newsstand (see later).  The rear won't be visible, and it is sort of a "hallway". The floor was fabricated from stain scribed basswood, the walls from micro plywood. The notches in the floor are to accommodate the wall bracing (in the corners) and the doors along the walls.  The floor will rest on the bracing along the bottom of the walls.

Team Track Models https://www.teamtrackmodels.com/ has a cardboard depot kit with interior wall details, and I cannibalized those walls to represent the interior walls of my depot.



I decided to have a ticket window for each of the waiting rooms, and "installed" doors from each room to the hallway in the rear that won't be visible.  The notches in the corners are to accommodate the wall bracing, the notches along the sides are for the doors. Here is another view with the front wall (the one that will face the platform) attached.



And another shot showing the walls mocked up (not glued), with the first floor assembly inserted.



And lastly for this installment, a shot showing all of the walls of the main building, the passenger platform, and the first floor assembly.  I went for a very lightly weathered look, and probably will add a bit more once the walls are up.



More later!

[ACL1504]

Swisstrain,

That is really going to be a great depot. I love the interior, it looks perfect for your build. Great build as well.

Tom   

[Keep It Rusty]

Keeping a close eye on this one! Great kit and a great start!

[Raymo]

Cool! Everyone likes seeing a FSM kit being built..

[MAP]

Great start to a really nice kit.  Looking forward to your progress pics.

[PRR Modeler]

Awesome scratch build.

[S&S RR]

I will be following this one - you are off to a great start.

[Mark Dalrymple]

The interior looks great Swisstrain.

Cheers, Mark.

[ReadingBob]

Neat.  Great kit and wonderful idea to add something to the interior since you're going to light it up.   

[GPdemayo]

Great start Swiss.....I'll be looking in. 

[Oldguy]

Cardboard kit for interior? Brilliant.  But then, I never knew that some "paper" kits had interiors.

[swisstrain]

Thanks for everyone's positive comments, sincerely appreciated.  In particular since I have seen some of y'alls great modeling work. Yes, I live in Texas

Bob, while I have never succeeded in turning a cardboard kit into a convincing structure model, I have found cardboard kits to be an incredible source for interior details.  It might seem that buying a kit just to use the interior might be a bit pricey, but the fact that they can be reprinted and reused multiple time makes it ultimately pretty economical.  Also, typically, there are options with wall configurations, wall textures and doors that can be combined and rearranged in multiple ways so that no interior will look the same.  And for an interior, it doesn't matter if seams are not completely hidden. 

Besides Team Track Models (from whom I got - and cannibalized - the depot interior), Clever Models (http://clevermodels.squarespace.com/) has several models with at least partial interiors (Union Hotel, Muchie's Pawn Shop, etc).  Scalescenes (https://scalescenes.com/), in their Scratchbuilders Yard section, has a file called "interior Detail" for download and it is a complete steal for British Pound 2.50.  It has doors, various wall and floor textures, as well as furniture. The download is scaled at 1:76 (OO Scale), but easily re-scaled for print.  There may be others that I don't know about (please tell me).

I wish the "Roomettes" interiors could be bought as downloads, and without the pricey Woodland Scenics lighting, they have some great interior options.

I will try to post another update on the depot later.

Urs

[swisstrain]

Since later access will be difficult, I furnished and populated the first floor as a complete assembly.  The next three pictures are from left to right, as viewed from the platform side of the building.

The benches in the waiting room are from Northeastern Scale Models (sold in two-foot sections, to be cut to length as desired).  For inside, I am generally using figures that have little detail, since I don't think anyone will be able to recognize facial expression.  I printed some more detail from the Depot Interior (clocks, timetables, etc.) to "decorate" the walls.



The desks in the office are also from the Depot Interior by Team Tracks.  I scratchbuilt some ticket counters and a file cabinet and had the chairs leftover from another kit.



The room to the left is partially taken up by the newsstand.  I built a shelf and added some stacks representing stacks of magazines and papers and added an attendant.  By the way, Mrs. McDonald is not happy that the 5:15pm local is delayed, and is making a complaint at the ticket booth.  She will miss dinner at her sister's tonight.  (I also notice that the agent's hair is way too yellow, will have to correct that).



This is another shot with the front wall (temporarily, not glued).  You will notice that I have added a vertical channel to the hallway for the cabling.



Finally a look from the outside, to check if anything is actually visible. Apparently, I need the cleaning crew to come out and take care of the windows.



Now on to working on the lighting.

[PRR Modeler]

Beautiful interior detailing.

[ReadingBob]

What Curt said!  Two thumbs up!