Spano's Service Station
Most of Miller Engineering's structure kits can be built "as-is" and look just fine. But many of them can be super-detailed to make them standout focal points. With its large windows and doors, their Gulf gas station begs to be embellished with racks of merchandise, waiting room seats, soda machines, repair bay tools, and countless other details.
Not to mention lighting. Since lighting kits are available only for the N and HO Gulf stations, I purchased the N scale kit in the hopes that parts of it could serve in Z scale. Unfortunately it was a waste of money—none of the parts were generic enough to be useful. I was more or less on my own.
What was nagging at me was a photo of Miller Engineering's illuminated HO Gulf station (second image at right), where the tower is lit. In N scale, the tower is dark (third image at right), and the reason is because the N and Z scale kits are both designed with the main building roof splitting the tower horizontally in half, interfering with the installation of any lighting fixtures. In order to light the tower, I had more cutting and soldering to do than anticipated.
As an added effect, I also wanted to illuminate the GULF letters on the tower. The kit has etched brass parts with raised letters that are to be painted orange and installed into the openings. I intended to leave these parts out and instead install colored translucent plastic to allow the light to shine through the letters and simulate neon illumination.
I had purchased an N scale illumination kit with the hopes it could be adapted to the Z scale station, but alas nothing was usable, even, the rooftop signs. These were made using laminated clear plastic which, while a clever idea, just doesn't look good—the clear plastic is just way too obvious.
Construction began with the tower. After bending and soldering the main tower part, the small square roof part had to be modified to prevent it from encroaching on the open GULF letters and preventing them from being illuminated. This involved shortening the side parts that are bent upwards; I simply filed the edges with a flat jeweler's file until they were about half their original size.
The square portion of the main building roof where the tower is attached had to be cut out; I used a nibbler tool to remove the bulk of the metal, then cleaned up the opening with files. After bending the edges of the roof, I soldered the tower into the opening created for it.
As of 26 September 2008, this is where the project stands. More as it happens.
The original Miller Engineering kit would be used largely unmodified.
In the HO scale version, the tower is illuminated.
In the N scale version, the tower is not illuminated.
The modified tower roof part is clamped to the tower walls prior to soldering.
The tower is soldered into a hole cut in the building roof.
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