Peter's Model Railroading | Articles | Structures | Milk Station
Construction

The construction commences with the building of the 5 leg assemblies. While this in and of itself is not difficult, I found the parts identification a bit of a challenge, especially as this is the first step in the assembly process (i.e. a learning curve when you start a new kit). There are 5 individual leg assemblies. The two outside ones are the same, and then the two inner ones are the same, and finally there is a single center one. The outside ones consist of two M-shaped parts (1a and 1b) and they are to be glued together. Part #2 is then glued across the legs as indicated by the marks made on the leg assembly. A bit of confusion set in here, because when these two are done, the side with the part #2 "sway" board is to face out, which the instructions drawing shows that they each are oriented in the same direction. However, when assembled, they wind up in the opposite orientation. This is probably the correct way to do it, as that would provide additional structural integrity in the overall assembly (of the prototype, that is). Part #3 is simply two pair of these M-shaped legs glued together. Part #4a and 4b, on a different sprue, are to be glued together (make sure the marks burned into the legs is facing out) and then the parts #5a and 5b can be glued to the assembly. Note that sways 5a and 5b do not touch all three legs; just the two that are marked on the leg assembly, only.

Parts #6a and 6b connect the 5 leg assemblies together. I found that the gaps for the center three leg assemblies was too narrow in 6a and 6b, so I used a fingernail file to slightly widen them. Also, the open notches at the ends needed to be widened as they didn't quite reach to opposite end of the end-leg assemblies.

Applying interior cross braces #7 was a bit of a challenge. The point of the ones at the outside is supposed to slide behind the gap left by the cross sway brace #5, but it was a bit too tight. Also, once you glue these three cross braces in place, the overall structure's shape is pretty much fixed, which means everything has to be square and plumb, which is hard to do.

The floor of the platform, part #8, can then be glued to the leg/frame assembly. Mine had to be forced into square a little bit.

If I were to build another one of these kits, I would re-arrange the build steps of the construction slightly differently. I would definitely not glue the #7 crossbraces in position until the floor had been glued to the leg assemblies. This is because the floor is square, so you can use that to make sure the legs are square to each other. Doing #7 first, as the kit states to do, could cause the whole assembly to be slightly out of square (as mine was).

Additionally, I might even try to go as far back as gluing the individual leg assemblies to the floor first, using parts #6 as the dry-fit guides, to make sure the legs are in the correct position. This is because, it is hard to make sure the leg assemblies are perpendicular to the floor in the earlier steps. However, it does require that parts #6 are a good fit to the legs before the legs are glued into position, as adjusting the legs' notches is harder to do once glued into position.

Gluing the decorative boards #9 and #10 was trivial, and does dress up the whole platform. I attached mine while the platform assembly was upside-down on my glass plate, so that I'd be guaranteed that their tops were even with the top of the platform. (I changed the white balance setting on my camera)

Attaching the four walls of the shed was pretty straight-forward.

The same is true for attaching the strip sections. Use glue sparingly, and, especially with the front one, work quickly because there is a lot of glue surface to cover on these.

The inside wall-stud parts are documented in the instructions, albeit a bit on the terse side. Basically, you are to put part #26 in position on the end wall with the door, but don't glue it in just yet. While that one is held in position, install the stud wall sections of each of the other walls. Basically, part #26 is there to make sure that you get the other parts installed correctly, leaving space for part #26. Note the wooden bar above the door, which represents the sliding door's trackway. I would strongly recommend not gluing that one in place until you are ready to mount the sliding door. I had a devil of a time getting the door on later on, when I followed the directions (see farther below).

Here's another view of the completed interior of the three walls. Note the tiny notch at the top, left of the side wall's door opening. Door assembly #33 slips into that notch. There is a matching one in the floor of the platform.

I decided to divert from the standard kit a bit. The kit comes with two ladders that the modeler can place on either of the non-track sides of the platform. The one or two photos I was able to find online showed a staircase leading from the ground to the platform. I would imagine climbing a vertical ladder each day with a heavy can full of milk would be next to impossible. So, I decided to build my own staircase. As part of my Hazel Mine module, where I needed a set of custom-height staircases, I bought the Rail Scale Models' staircase building jig. If you have ever tried to build a staircase (in model or real-world) you'll know how difficult they are to make. Their jig makes construction very easy and it supports any number of stringer spacings. This photo shows the stringers in their jig, and the treads being glued into position. The metal weight is used to make sure the treads line up with each other.

(external link: Rail Scale Models: jig)

The company also makes a package of staircase stringers and treads. The jig you only need one of, but the stringers and treads you will have to replenish from time to time. They make it so easy. So, I built mine using 8 treads. I somehow measured it wrong, so when I checked the height of the platform (5 scale feet) against the vertical rise of the 8-tread staircase I had built, it wound up being one foot taller. So, my solution is to glue on some one-foot "foundation" blocks to the platform, which I will bury in the scenery of wherever this structure winds up being used, in the future. I don't actually plan on installing this structure on a module yet, so it will have to sit in storage for a while. My concern is that the staircase will sustain damage or break off, so I then also glued on three longitudinal braces that hold it to the platform. Again, all of this "infrastructure" will be buried in scenery and won't be visible in the final installation.

(external link: Rail Scale Models: stringer & treads)

This photo shows the underside of the bracing I installed to make sure the structure survives wherever it resides until it can be permanently mounted on the layout.

I decided to go ahead and paint the platform before installing the shed, as I didn't want to deal with paint getting on surfaces that it shouldn't. I used Delta Ceramcoat "Burnt Umber" to cover the entire structure. Take a close look at the photo. As I was painting it, it dawned on me that I was so focused on building the staircase and the to-be-hidden support structure that I completely missed gluing the staircase on the correct side. The slots for the tabs of the shed are right where the staircase is. OOPS! I'll have to glue the shed onto the platform without the use of the tabs, and I'll have to hide the remaining exposed slots somehow. I created more work for myself, but removing the support structure and the staircase would have been way more work.

The brown color was just the base coat; a primer of sorts. I then applied some slightly watered-down Ceramcoat "Rain Grey" to start to weather and age the wood a bit.

I applied some more paint and some weathering powders to the platform, and now I am happy with it.

A close-up of the final staircase.

I painted the shed next. I then tried to get the sliding door to fit, and I could not get it to work. Assembling the door was simple enough, but the two hangers are extremely delicate. They each consist of two halves that need to be glued together. When I then tried to dry-fit them into the slots at the top of the door, they didn't fit. So, I used a knife to slice away a bit of the inner edge of the slots at the top of the door, to widen them. The tops of the hangers have hooks that are supposed to slide into the horizontal door slide above the door. No matter what I did I could not get them to fit. That is why I recommend not following the steps of the instructions and wait with gluing the door slide until this step. I wound up having to cut the hooks off of the top of the hangers, in the process of which one of them broke. I then glued the door in position in this closed position.

I then installed the rows of paper shingles, and cut them to the width of the roof. I also built the other door, and the extra parts that appear to be a pallet of some sorts (no mention of it in the instructions sheet). My roof started to curl after a while, so be sure to put weights on it while it is curing. The building and doors were painted with Delta Ceracoat "Antique White".

I applied some black ink to the structure and door. I let that sit for a few days, but I just wasn't happy with how it turned out. I painted the roof with Delta Ceramcoat "Black". Just one coat. Some of the green can still be seen under the black, but I think that adds to the weathered effect. Again, be sure to put weights on the roof while the paint is drying, because it'll curl up. I painted the roof before attaching it to the building. The four walls were slightly out of square, so I had a bit of a hard time getting the roof to slide into the slots. The center of the wall above the door bowed in a bit, so the wall is not perfectly straight. I would recommend installing internal bracing if possible.

In the end I went back over the off-white with another light coat of the Ceramcoat paint, and that got me to where I wanted it to be; not run-down looking, but also not freshly painted. I completed the mini scene by gluing the open door to the structure, attaching three milk cans, a figure I found in my collection who was carrying a milk can (already painted), and his watchful dog, as well as two random barrels. The latter cover the slots in the platform where the shed should have placed.