My first kit bash has begun: turning a MTH Bank into a Union Station

That looks great! Keep posting! JohnA

Great looking station

Thanks, guys.  I appreciate your comments.  This is a fun project.  I've put my other MTH buildings on alert

Beautiful work IRON HORSE. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice job so far.  Can't wait to see the finished product.  Can you use the existing roof and cut it into the appropriate size pieces?

I also turned my MTH Bank into a train station.  Nothing as elaborate as yours, I kept the building intact, just cut a large opening in the side wall, now front, and used a sliced up Ameritowne Bank flat to create the entrances.

Well done!

Peter

@IRON HORSE posted:

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Mike

When I first saw that photo, I thought of the White House; or, at least, a compressed version of it.

Looks good John. Glad you are enjoying the kitbash.

Great job! You already figured out the most important part of the project:  Clamp a straight edge to make your saw cuts straight and accurate.  That MTH plastic is a bear to cut through.

Bob

@RRDOC posted:

Great job! You already figured out the most important part of the project:  Clamp a straight edge to make your saw cuts straight and accurate.  That MTH plastic is a bear to cut through.

Bob

I totally agree.  Another important part, it seems to me, is making it square so when it is time to make the roof, floor and back wall, everything lines up.  I used paper and a pencil and drew the outline of the structure.  I then lined everything up on the paper outline and then glued it together.  This shows the paper and lining up the first piece. 

I sincerely appreciate the feedback.  Thanks, guys.

Mike

@PRRMP54 posted:

When I first saw that photo, I thought of the White House; or, at least, a compressed version of it.

Dave,

I laughed when saw your reply.  I can see why you thought that.  I guess if all else fails, I could paint it white and...

Making this out of just one structure is very clever.  Looking good !

Thanks, Earl.

I glued it instantly with dabs of zap-a-gap and the kicker pictured here.  I then glued all the seams from the inside with Plastruct plastic weld and let it completely dry overnight.  Both products are ideas I got from Harry Heike's model building demos on Wednesday nights with Mr. Muffins Zoom call.  Now I know why Harry uses zap-a-gap first and then the plastic weld.  You can pick this puppy up in one piece now without it falling apart!

Does anyone have a suggestion for removing the first city bank decal?

Mike

Update:

I built a substructure out of 1/2" scrap plywood. I glued it together and nailed it with a nail gun and wood glue.  Overkill?  Perhaps.  But I don't have to worry about the fragile joints falling apart.  I will screw the gray plastic MTH shell to the substructure and it will be a solid structure.

I then used scrap pieces of paper and taped them along the top roof line to create a template.

My next steps: 1.  Cut the roof out of 1/8" masonite scrap using the template, 2.  paint the plywood substructure gray and the masonite roof flat black.

The clock you see is the Lionel clock I bought from Trainworld.  Cool, isn't it?  I put a new battery in it (it was old stock from 2015 so the battery was dead -- Trainworld, you should have given me the heads up!) and it works with watch precision.

Mike

Looking good.

Ron

Awesome progress! JohnA

Really nice!

Peter

@IRON HORSE posted:

Does anyone have a suggestion for removing the first city bank decal?

Looks great! I've always liked that Lionel clock too. It will be a nice addition to the scene. In terms of removing the bank decal, I've had luck removing lettering from plastic rollingstock using rubbing alcohol and a magic eraser. Perhaps the same would apply here.

The key was to go very slowly and take your time. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, but a few minutes later, it was gone.

Your biggest risk with the magic eraser may be slightly discoloring the grey plastic. It might be worth testing first on one of the interior pieces of plastic.

@IRON HORSE posted:

Does anyone have a suggestion for removing the first city bank decal?

Mike

I painted over mine, but I left the 1934.  I liked that.

You could paint a rectangle patch over it and replace with a new decal of your station name or the city name or even the railroad name.

Ron

@Alex W posted:

Your biggest risk with the magic eraser may be slightly discoloring the grey plastic. It might be worth testing first on one of the interior pieces of plastic.

Alex,

Thanks for the input.  I tried a magic erasure on a scrap piece last weekend, and it does shine it up a little.  I purchased some Micro sol decal remover from the Kalmbach store, and I am going to try that first.  However, I just read the bottle and it says it may not work with decals with a coating over them, which probably applies here.  Thanks for the rubbing alcohol/magic erasure idea.  That will be step 2. 

Mike

@Ron045 posted:

I painted over mine, but I left the 1934.  I liked that.

You could paint a rectangle patch over it and replace with a new decal of your station name or the city name or even the railroad name.

Ron

Ron, thanks for your comments.  Your post inspired me for this project before I started: 2/22/2019 Update - How can I paint a building that looks like marble? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

I've been very careful in cutting because I am trying to avoid painting the building for now because, if you look at some of the photos I posted, you can see I still have a lot of work to do the finish laying track and road bed on my 2nd and 3rd levels of my layout.

But I saved a PDF of your topic because some day down the road I may come back and marble my station in an attempt to make it look like your building. If I were to come remotely close to your look, that would be a major achievement -- love your station!

I've considered making a little rectangle sign like you suggested.  That will probably be step 3 if step 1 or step 2 don't work out for me.  As far as keeping the 1934, I agreed.  In fact, I could have added that roof section but it made my building too tall for the space I have on my layout.  Here is what it would look like:

The height would hit the bridge over my building.

I was pleased with how the "First City Bank" decal/paint came off using Magic Erasure, Microsol, Sprayway and some good old fashioned elbow grease (actually, it was more arm and hand then elbow and a lot of it).  By the time I finished a Saturday morning marathon phone call, the lettering was gone.  I actually think the Sprayway glass cleaner may have been a key because the small bit of alcohol, I think, helped a lot.  The process left a small bit of sheen but really not noticeable. 

So here are some photos showing the signage gone, the roof and back assembled and painted, and the Union Station Miller Engineering signage on top.  My next steps are to add LED lighting inside and drill a slot through the roof for the Union Station sign wiring.

Mike

Your kitbash is coming out great! I'm excited to see some shots of it all lit up. You've really captured the look of a Union Station.

That is looking real good!!

So what are you going to kit-bash next? You know it gets addictive!

@bigtruckpete posted:

So what are you going to kit-bash next? You know it gets addictive!

Thanks, bigtruckpete.  I'm thinking how some buildings can be cut in half and you can use the back as a building flat on a different part of the layout.  I've always heard or read or saw layouts where this has been done but I've always been afraid to try it because, let's face it, these buildings aren't cheap.  But, I agree, this is yet another fun part of the hobby and once you jump in, you're in for good.  Addictive!  I've really enjoyed the planning as much as actually the bashing. 

Mike

I added 3 sets of two 4.5 volt LEDs to match the Miller Engineering sign input.  I also painted the bright LEDs with a coating of orange paint to soften the light.  But when I tested the lights, the wires stood out through the windows -- so I had to paint the wires gray to blend in.

And here is the finished station with lights.

Mike

that is a wonderful build

Very nice job Mike.  The clock is a nice touch.

Thanks Dave and Coach Joe.  I appreciate the feedback.

Mike