Review

The kit is based on the railroad station in Wausau, Wisconsin. A one page discussion of railroad stations is included with the instructions, as well as suggestions for adding Walther's Wooden Station Shed and Platform and other structures around the station to complete a scene.

The Model

Station size: 17-5/8 by 5-7/8 by 4-3/8 inches. The kit consists of styrene plastic parts molded in color, and a four-page instruction booklet with assembly drawings. Tools needed aren't listed, but I used just the basics: a hobby knife with #11 blade, a small file, flush cutting rail nippers, a small square, and a scale ruler. Any good liquid plastic cement will work; I used Tenax-7R applied with a small paintbrush.

The Assembly

The first step is to decide if you're going to paint the parts or stay with the molded colors. If you're staying with the plastic colors, spraying with Testor's Dullcoat or ScaleCoat Flat Glaze will kill the shine. Another alternative is to use a mortar on the brick walls; I used Scale Works Models Weathered White.

The white doors and windows looked fine as is; I spray-painted the rest of the parts before assembly. I used Floquil #88 Caboose Red on the base, #16 Aged Concrete for the concrete parts, and #17 Weathered Black for the roofs. The base was given a wash of India Ink / Alcohol (1 oz. ink in 32oz. Alcohol) to dirty it up

Following the instructions, I installed the clear plastic glazing in the doors and windows and then installed them in the walls. When I came to the windowsills #38 and #39 for wall #57, I found they were too short to fit. However, sills #42 and #43 did fit, and #38 and #39 fit on wall #52. If you want to install window shades, now's the time to do it - either masking tape or colored construction paper will work.

Next, I assembled the base; I found that the curbing (parts #35) were a little short, leaving a gap of about 3 scale inches at one end. If this bothers you, the gap can be covered with thin pieces of paper and painted concrete to match the rest of the curbing.

The station walls were assembled on the base next, and everything fit just right. Apply the plastic cement on the insides of the joints to avoid damaging the paint finish on the outside walls and base. When the roof sections were applied, there were small gaps between the sections on the trackside; I covered them with small pieces of paper painted the roof color. I used Testor's plastic cement (in the tube) to glue on the roof sections and the dormers.

Signs for 17 different station names are supplied, or you can make your own. As the base inside the station is open, it would not be difficult to add lighting if desired.

Summary

Construction time was about seven hours, spread over a few days to allow the paint to dry. Walthers has produced another fine kit which will fit any time period from the late 1800s to the present. It is easy to assemble, yet produces a very detailed model that will be an asset to any layout.