I realized I'd need to take a few steps back before I could go forward with the sidewalks. I determined I'd need to put in the grade crossings first, and before that I really should have the streetcar track laid, and for that I'd want solid dimensions on the terminal building with its arcade over the track. First steps on that structure are tests, in a way. I'm breaking new ground with this building, trying new techniques.
Firstly, I used my scroll saw to cut away the interiors of the arcade arches. The starting point for this is the classic Revell Engine House. This worked very well. My old saw doesn't have a variable speed control so I was concerned it might melt the plastic but thankfully that wasn't an issue.
Up next was modifying the station building walls and plastering them to resemble stucco. I hacked out a section of wall and discovered just how brittle this plastic is. Nothing a file can't fix, but worth noting. The good news is that Tamiya Extra Thin cement bonds it together. I used the cutoff bit as a test section for the plastering. For the stucco I used joint compound mixed with white glue, applied with a metal dental spatula.
I tried using a silicone tipped tool to apply the mix but it seemed to want to remove it more easily than the metal tool. Funny, I had expected just the opposite to be the case. While the putty dried I poked at it to see how it would react and it broke away in chunks but not in such a way that it completely fell away from the wall. It was fixed easily with more compound. The next morning I could sand it and found it to be well bonded to the brick. I'm really pleased with how this is going to look, and excited because it will enable me to "blank" several windows and plaster over them.
With these tests completed I can proceed with the next step, building the basic shell of the structure.
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