Review
Coal gas, a by-product of coke production, was first developed in England in the late 1700s. In 1816, a private firm in Baltimore built the first generating plant in the US to operate streetlights. Coal was baked at a high temperature in a retort, to produce coke, and the gases were drawn off, purified, and then stored in large pressure tanks. Pipes throughout the city distributed the gas to the streetlights. While no specific prototype for the kit is mentioned, plants like this were constructed in cities throughout the country and also supplied gas for home heating and lights. By the late 1800s even small town had their own plants. With the development of electricity and the automobile, the concern for the hazardous waste byproducts of coke production, and the use of fuel oil and natural gas for home heating, coal gas production dwindled in the 20th century, with commercial production ending in 1966.
The Cornerstone kit consists of molded plastic in various colors: red brick for the building, walls, gray for the window and doors, black for the roof and ventilators, light tan for the base, black for the tanks and pipes, and clear for the window glazing. A four-page instruction sheet with drawings of assembly steps also includes a history of coal gas production and some suggestions for using the model on a layout. No tools were specified, but all you'll need is a hobby knife, single edged razor blade, flush cutting rail nippers, small square, liquid plastic cement like Tenax 7R, a small paint brush for applying the cement, fine sandpaper, and a fine file. The finished model takes up a 16 ½ inch by 7 7/8 inch space if you locate the tanks at one end of the building.
The first step is to decide if you want to paint the parts, as this is best done before assembly, An alternative would be a spray of flat finish. Since the structure was probably built around the tun of the century and, to my mind, anything associated with coal is dirty, I spray painted the building walls with Floquil #16 aged concrete and brushed on a wish of Ink/alcohol to "dirty" everything up. The window frames were left unpainted, as the ink wash dirtied them up. The clear plastic "glass" was somewhat scratched up from shipping, but it's not really noticeable when installed. Each piece of glass is slightly larger than the window frame; it would make it easier to apply the glue if they were a little smaller.
As you assemble the walls, apply the cement from the inside, and don't get your fingers near the corners: if any glue runs out, you'll leave a fingerprint. When installing the I-beams, be sure to follow the instructions and leave a a black space on each sidewall for the interior dividing wall. If you plan on installing lighting, drill a hole through the base and through the interior wall for the wires. I almost didn't install lighting, even though a facility of this type would probably operate 24 hours a day, since the lights will show a big empty building. Some research on the internet or at a library would probably yield pictures of what the machinery in the plant should look like, you want to add an interior. Two grain-of-wheat bulbs were installed in the rafters, and the wires run down the back corner of the interior. The roof halves were brush-painted Floquil #17 Weathered Black, and the ventilators #12 Reefer Gray. Signs for three different gas companies are included.
The tank area was next. I assembled the tank saddles to the base first. I found that the base tended to curve a bit, so I super-glued quarter-inch square balsa around the edges and then spray painted the assembly #16 Aged Concrete. All the tanks were assembled according to the instructions. I cut the parts off the sprues as close as possible and then filed and sanded the parts smooth. The tanks just about have to be painted as each place where the sprue was attached is lighter in color, so I used #10 black. Once everything had dried, the tanks were super-glued to the base. A large-diameter horizontal pipe on legs is included in the kit: it is intended to connect the building to the kit 932-2910 Coke Retort if you're building a larger complex.
No mention is made in the instructions of how the coal got from the rail siding into the plant but, guess what, folks? Parts for an under-track unloading pit are included. I assembled the four pit walls to the underside of the tie- and- grate top section, and painted it dirty black. Nest, super-glue lengths of rail to the appropriately weathered ties and install the hopper on your rail siding adjacent to the plant. If anybody asks, you can tell them an underground auger moves the coal from the pit into the building basement. That completes the gas plant kit, another fine addition to Walthers Cornerstone series.