Station on printed plans
With Shogatsu in storage until November, my attention has returned to Akihabara Station. Here’s where we stand: I have some viaduct station, some paper mockups of buildings, and a plan for the streets and sidewalks. Doesn’t look so bad, for basically a few laserjet printouts. I’m a little disappointed that I haven’t made much more progress since I started this project almost two years ago, but, well…some things just have a higher priority 
Diorama base—HDF on a canvas stretcher-bar frame
My major achievement this week was the construction of the base for the diorama. Wait! I hear you say: Didn’t I already do this? Over a year ago? Yes, and it failed. The basswood warped irreparably. So this time, I tried something new, something that wouldn’t warp so easily.
The canvas stretcher-bar framework
Taking a cue from Kashigiri, I used canvas stretcher-bars instead of cheap-o basswood for the frame. I got these on sale: Total cost, less than $5. A good price for a sturdy frame. It needs bracing in the middle, and so I’m using a little of my leftover basswood for this purpose. I think it will be OK.
Next up: streets and sidewalks!