What's the group's opinion on Metcalfe models card platform kits? Thinking of using some, mostly straight but one section will need to curve. Anyone got any experience of building these? How easy is it, how good/realistic do they look.
TIA,
Alfie
I bought a pack and assembled a few sections. Even with card stiffeners, they are very light in weight and the joins between sections are visible, but I guess they're OK for portable layouts, or if you have curved platforms. For straight platforms on a permanent layout, I opted to go with pine boards, 0.75in. thick, topped by 0.125in. matt grey artist's board, of which I happened to have a sheet. The platforms were screwed to the baseboard from the underside. For the stone edges and platform walls, I scanned the Metcalfe sheets, did some editing, and printed strips of them onto adhesive-backed full-sheet label paper. I cut supports for the end ramps from the Metcalfe stiffening card. My track is mounted on cork ballast strips, giving a rail to platform height of about 0.5 inches. My station building is by Metcalfe, based on the Haworth Midland Railway style station on the Worth Valley line.
For platform fencing, I used LMS black plastic fencing (Ratio?) attached to short lengths of thin brass rod fitted into holes drilled near the back edge of the platform. Attached with fine copper wire, superglued, then touched up in satin black, the supports are almost invisible.
I have made their platform kits, I am not what youwould call an expert model maker, but I am pretty happy with the results. The quality of them is not the same as their other buildings as a lot of the cutting and shaping is done yourself, but If you are good with cutting and glueing then a decent job shouldnt be too un-achievable.
One thing i think lets it down is the tarmac sheets, as they dont join very well. Paving stones or something similar would probably look better as you could hide the joins in the sheets, although not sure on the authentiicty of using pave stones on a platform.
Personally, I did not find joining the sheets too much of a problem. I used some UHU along the edges that were to be joined, and once dry, although not completely invisible, the join did not 'stick out' too much.
-- potter55(at)ntlworld.com
authentiicty
I did say I wasnt very good at modelling :)
authentiicty
Oh I agree, Im teaching myself to lay scatter and ballasting (under my track so it doesnt ruin my track) Only thing that is annoying is waiting for the damn glue to dry..
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