A small wooden train station, in N scale, built for JB Bournisien’s project for Clés pour le train miniature, a French magazine for beginners. The featured photo was taken on his layout.
Status :
Done
,
Evaluation pending
,
Présentation pour un Merit Award
Estimated progress: 99%
Last update: 27 October 2026
I hadn’t planned on submitting this model for the Achievement Program, but all things considered, it might be a good fit. And even if it doesn’t win a Merit Award, at least I’ll have a better understanding of how it’s evaluated.
Construction
The model is made entirely of plastic. The station sits on a “wooden” base, since it needs to remain interchangeable with other buildings. JB provided me with the template for the layout.
One detail to think about: align the planks
Another detail to think about: don’t step on your work in progress
The windows were created by masking off transparent plastic with tape; the exposed areas were then airbrushed white.
The posts of the small loading platform are made of plastic that was sanded with sandpaper to replicate the grain of wood.
The wooden pallet at the front and the back of the station are made of a painted, ribbed plastic sheet.
The roof ridge is a sheet of household aluminum foil, applied after painting.
Details
The staircases make up the bulk of the detailing. They are painstakingly assembled from plastic. Other details include chimneys, downspouts, and gas or electricity meters...
Conformity
Courtenay Station is a very pretty station that served as a very, very loose inspiration for me.
Daryl Mitchell cc-by-sa
The train station is a blend of several inspirations found online. I was particularly drawn to the red color, which is often seen on the Canadian side.
Note the window that has been boarded up
Apparently, the station manager got fed up with his window on the platform side being broken so often.
The elevated platform attached to the station is modeled after the old platform in Courtenay, BC, of which the only surviving photo dates from the time of its construction.
The train station consists of three sections, from left to right on the right side:
the freight area
the railroad workers’ offices, including ticket sales and a viewing area to observe train traffic
the waiting room
Finishing and Lettering
The train station is primed in black, followed by a coat of white applied “from above.” This exaggerates the shadows, giving the model a beautiful look.
The only masking I’ve done was to separate the wall from the roofs
The roof was painted blue-gray, and then the various tar shingles were given a few color variations.
Paint applied is RML23.
I didn’t use any masking tape because the complexity of applying the decals outweighed the effort required to hand-paint all the details neatly.
All white parts have been handpainted
I had to make some touchups to the red parts.
The various markings are printed on transparent decals, sealed with varnish, and applied.
Scratchbuilt
The model is entirely scratchbuilt.
Evaluation for a Merit Award
Pending
Construction: /40
Details: /20
Conformity: /25
Finish and Lettering: /25
Scratchbuilt: /15
Déclaration de qualification (SOQ)
Identification of parts built from scratch
All.
List of all commercial components used in the model.
None
List of materials used to build the model
Evergreen plastic
0.5, 1, and 2 mm sheets, ribbed sheets
Various plastic profiles
0.4 mm transparent sheet
Household aluminum
Tamiya Ultrathin Cement
Cyano21 Black
AK White Putty Hard 103
Vallejo paints
74.602 Black primer
71.045 Cement Gray
71.131 Concrete
71.003 Red RLM23
71.001 White
71.027 Light Brown
71.105 Brown RLM26
71.284 UK Light Mud
70.956 Orange
71.317 All. Sv. Gol Light Blue
Wash 76.515 Light Gray
AK Paints
AK11850 RAF Extra Dark Sea Gray
AK11013 Pale Gray
AK Weathering Pencils
Black 10001
White 10004
Red Primer 10020
Red 10031
Vallejo Acrylic Varnish
Matt 28.531
Transparent decals for inkjet printers
Galerie
The different elements are cleaned before painting
