Yesterday, using my new workspace, I constructed the frame and base for Akihabara Station. It was quite straightforward. The base is two sheets of 12″x16″ hardboard (aka high-density fiberboard, aka “Masonite”) abutted to make a base of 12″x32″ total dimensions. I chose hardboard because it is thin (1/8″), rigid, and resistant to warping. It’s made of wood fibers bound together in a resin, and pressed under very high pressures into a dense board. Also, it’s very cheap, and easy to acquire.
To the undersides of the hardboard, I glued a basswood frame. Along the outside edges, I used 1/4″x3/8″ strips; the 3/8″ plus the 1/8″ thickness of the hardboard puts the total height of the base at 1/2″, a nice round number. Along the centerline, I used 3/8″x3/8″ basswood to support the center edges of the abutted hardboard sheets. Then, just because, I put in two more of 1/4″ by 3/8″ ribs. I used a couple of nails to support the center line, and once I can get ahold of some 3/8″ brads, I’ll nail the hardboard to the frame to reinforce the glue. As is, though, it feels pretty sturdy.
The whole thing is just a bit shy of a multiple of 280mm, the standard length of Tomix track, but it fits perfectly on my new shelf. Next step is to seal the hardwood, and begin tracing out in pencil where everything is going to go. I’m gonna have to get some more station viaduct and track, too.