Akihabara Station » styrene

Akihabara Platform 1/2N: Texturized

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:17:35 +0000

I’ve decided to focus on a tiny sub-diorama of Akihabara Station. The platform section that I’m working on represents the very northern end of platform 1/2. This section of the platform has a relatively simple roof and support, and so should be a nice, easy introduction to scratchbuilding.

The bit I'm working [...]

Baby Steps

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:39:28 +0000

I’ve been overwhelmed, lately. Or, at least, I haven’t had much spare time. Hence, I’ve gotten almost nothing accomplished. Inspired by one of KenS’s posts on JNSForum.com, I have decided that I need to start with something small to get the ball rolling—very small.

I begin with only this:

What is (or [...]

Laying Asphalt

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 05:25:59 +0000

Without any kind of warning device, the local commuter train is likely to strike village traffic!

Shōgatsu has a road, or part of one. The as-of-yet unnamed village (suggestions, anyone?) needs a road connection to the outside world—trains run on only a very irregular schedule and often bypass the station.

Building the road [...]

Pouring Concrete on Shōgatsu

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:05:16 +0000

Plastic screen retaining wall and abutment.

Not literally, of course. In addition to planting hundreds of trees (and yet, the mountains are still rather bare!) I’ve been constructing retaining walls and abutments. The process is really simple. I find an area of the layout that needs a retaining wall; I’ve left these areas [...]

Street Access to the Taxi Stand

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:14:12 +0000

The Streets of Akiba

I’ve very nearly completed modeling the streets surrounding the north-west corner of Akihabara Station. The photo may not look like much, but the street outline—meticulously cut from scaled satellite imagery—is fringed with scale curbs and pedestrian ramps. I have still a bit of cleanup to do, and I also [...]

AKIba station PLAza—Facade

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:47:22 +0000

AkiPla circa 2006

Here’s my current target: A strip mall under Akihabara Station called Akiba Station Plaza, or AkiPla for short (note: Since my trip to Tokyo, it’s become an Ishimaru, a chain of electronics and home-appliance stores). You’ll need to click on the pathetically small thumbnail to see it clearly. It’s plastered [...]

Construction Techniques

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:11:44 +0000

Quinntopia recently asked about my construction techniques. I never really thought to say anything about that, but perhaps I should. So here are some thoughts, if not actual methods, on how I’m proceeding with the construction of Akihabara Station.

First: Materials. This one is simple. Styrene. I love styrene. Everything is being constructed [...]

Taxi Stand (タクシーのりば)

D.E. Goodman-Wilson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 01:32:15 +0000

The unpainted taxi stand

I’ve begun cutting plastic for Akihabara Station. I love this part of modeling. I’ve got the parking loop and taxi stand (taxi noriba in Japanese) complete. I just need to paint it. I’ve also got some of the adjoining sidewalk and plaza complete. After painting, there are stop- [...]