Modelling 122th Street - Part 1

An entire city block to be modelled here.

Among the many tasks to complete in Villeneuve is a small residential area located by the cement plant made of a few streets, mainly 122th Street. This area is relatively large and densely built, mainly two storey apartment buildings and no commercial kits are available that could reasonably replicate the real thing. For this reason, I'll have to scratchbuilt everything in styrene. While I'm not trying to create a perfect copy, I'll try as much as I can to be close enough without going crazy.

As you can see, about 9 structures will have to be built. The yellow line shows the area I'll have to build to fit the layout. To make thing easiers, I've decided to build this area on a separate plank on my benchwork. This way, it will be easier to design, build and apply scenery. When done, the plank will be permanently attached to the layout.

Most structures are extremely mundane, being clapboard cubes with porchs and verandas built in the 1930s and 1940s. But it doesn't deter me taking the subject matter seriously. While I would loathe such buildings in real life, I believe replicating them in a prototypical manner is the only way to truly capture how the area looks. The gritty working class borough is a nice addition to this part of the layout and I won't cut corners.

So far, I've bought all the supplies and started building structure #1 which is a small garage. My goal is to build the structures in order, place them on the plank then apply scenery. I have no idea how much time it will take, but this is a relatively relaxing job I'll do when I'm motivated. My main focus will remain on completing key structures like the overpass, D'Estimauville Avenue grade crossing and the automobile repair garage there. As for the cement plant, it will likely be the last piece since I'm still gathering data and drawing it.