The original

Ingredients

• Modeling cardboard – as always….
  
• Transparent film - glass
  
• Thinner cardboard – chimney tops and roof stripes
  
• Tooth picks – chimney construction
  
• Balsa wood – freight platforms and wooden beams.
  
• Long thin metal rod – gutters and ladders
  
• Metal wire – ladder steps
  
• Piece of a soft wood – roof construction
  
• Metal coffee container cover – entrance steps
  
• Piece of plastic tube 1 cm in diameter – round opening at wall
  
• Mosquito mesh – window bars

The building procedure..... 
 
The parts and drawings can be downloaded as a ZIP file here.
Click on the pics to see larger views.  
 
The parts used in this project look like this:

And the building drawing looks like this:

 
Walls
 
In this structure you do not paint the parts right after cutting them, first you apply the bricks to the surface of the cardboard. As a rule you need to engrave horizontal and vertical lines when the vertical ones come between those in the line before 

You need to engrave parts F-K and some thin stripes that act as corner pillars. Because of the method of putting the parts together you need two types of stripes- 3.5 and 5 mm. The 3.5 mm come on parts that are put between two other parts, meaning, F-H, the 5 mm come on parts I-K. On parts I and J you need stripes on one side only – left side for part I and right for J. To get the correct cutting length and angel simply attach the stripes to the parts and cut accurately . I first engraved the main parts and only then did I glue the stripes and engraved them for it is easier to use the ruler this way, after applying putty to seal the connections you will need to engrave the stripes once again but it is easier if you first engrave them now and then simply going over the grooves, you will have the walls built so you won’t be able to lay the walls on the table and engrave them using the ruler. 

Corner details

 
Engraving
  
For horizontal lines I used a dull old knife with a thick blade so it will not cut through the cardboard but engrave it. For vertical lines I used a 2 mm screwdriver to fit between the horizontal ones simply pressing it to make a groove. At first I did try to engrave the lines using a scalpel but when not cutting through, I couldn’t achieve real looking “bricks” because the grooves were too thin to look like gaps between bricks.
 
These bricks are 2x5 mm so you need to make the horizontal lines 2 mm apart, but because I made the vertical ones each row at a time I moved 2.5 mm each row because of the fact that the bricks come between the ones on the lower row. The two K parts are headed to the same direction so you need to engrave each one on a different size.
 
This tedious engraving work took me two days in order to finish all the bricks.
Make sure you leave 1.9 mm from the bottom for the larger stones, which the whole structure “stands” on. These are 1x0.63 cm and you can use the dull knife to engrave the vertical lines as well because they are long enough to handle.

 
In order to make the opening in part H drill the hole using a drill bit the exact diameter as the inner diameter of your plastic tube, cut a ring 2 mm thick and glue it over it. Make a cross bar inside the hole using three pieces of metal wire; one horizontal and two to make a vertical one, glue them using Super Glue and add a piece of transparent film from behind. 
 
After all that comes the painting part. First paint all the walls red as a basic color; on both sides for parts F-K and on one for parts H-J, the other side of these is white. Make sure not to go over the large bricks, then, with 3 or 4 different shades of red using a fine brush paint each brick a different color. The best way is to look at an actual brick wall and deciding on the shades you prefer. You do not need to paint the different colors of bricks of the stripes at this time, do it after applying the putty and sanding it. For a perfect line between the red bricks and natural looking lower stones use a blade inserted to the groove between the two. 
Make sure you dilute the paint so it will not clog the grooves but at the same time giving an equal layer. 
  
When going to glue the two K parts to parts F and G you will notice that the K are a bit longer, that is because you need to file the upper end of those parts to fit to the angle of the roof so you will probably loose some material in the process. 

 
Windows 
 
Before gluing the walls together you need to make the windows. It is kinda hard to put them after the walls are glued…
The ledges and frames are cardboard, the horizontal bars are made of 
1 mm thick stripes I carved out of matches. 
The bars for the small windows are made of the mosquito mesh cut to exact size of the window and glued to a same sized transparent film using clear parts glue. 

Floor
 
The floor is painted using very diluted brown oil paint giving it a very woody look. It should come flush with the entrance to the station which is 1.9 cm. In order to achieve that, cut stripes of cardboard 1.75 cm thick and place them beneath the floor. 1.75 + 0.15 (thickness of cardboard) = 1.9.
Now you are ready to glue the walls. Remember to glue them correctly, part H between parts I and J, parts F and G between the two K parts. 

Roof
 
You have four different kinds of roofs in this model.
File one end of each roof side so they will not have a gap at the top.
Same thing for where roof is laid over the walls (Parts I-k).

 
The roof over the office is made using stripes of the thin cardboard. These stripes are 2 mm wide, the length is cut after gluing the two B parts so they will make a perfect tip. On one B part cut the strips the exact length and on the other make sure they are overlapping the others. To achieve the exact distance between each stripe use a piece of cardboard exactly 5 mm wide.
 
Make two support pieces for part L and make sure the roof is glued to it (Picture 4). 
The large roof is engraved with a pattern to resemble wooden planks, Make whatever pattern you wish. It is too painted with a diluted red oil paint.
 
The small construction on top is engraved as well. One pattern is used for the roof and another one for the two M parts. It is painted the same color as the floor. Behind the two N parts are pieces of mesh cut to the size of the entire part. No glass is added there. 
 
The awning above the loading platform is painted with a mix of silver and brown colors to give it a metallic look. File the edge of the part so it will connect to the wall. 

Roof construction
 
You need to make six triangles, three connect to the walls and three to the roof itself so it will stay detachable. The space between each triangle is 2.1 cm so put the first 2.1 cm from the wall but the second and third 4.7 cm apart because that is the space for the triangle connected to the roof. I used a 0.5 cm thick wood; 2.1 + 0.5 + 2.1 = 4.7.
 
Again copy the angle of the wall and file the edges to get the right connection. This awning leans on a wooden construction made of balsa. I used a 2 mm thick balsa so in order for the beams to be square I simply cut them 2 mm too. They are the exact height between the platform and the upper stripe. And the shorter ones are such a length that the roof will have an angle a bit less steep than the large one. Another beam goes beneath the awning the entire length. File the ends of the supporting beams so they will too connect correctly.
 
 Chimneys 
 
Both chimneys are 0.7x0.7x2 cm. Parts are not given, simply cut the parts, again two parts smaller than the other two in order to make a square, make sure the chimney stands up right on the roof. Calculate the angle and cut the parts accordingly. Cover the parts with putty, sand, engrave some bricks and paint the same method as the walls. Cut four small pieces of toothpicks to hold the top, before putting on the top paint the inside, sticks and bottom of top black, then glue the top which is the same size as the chimney itself - 0.7x0.7 cm. Paint the top white.
Paint some stripes of thin cardboard same color as large rood and a few same color as small one. Glue four pieces of each stripe to the base of each chimney and cut it so you will have a base. Because the larger roof is detachable make a small squared hole from beneath the chimney as a smoke escape…

 
Ladders
 
In order to make the two ladders to reach the roof you need the metal rod, I used a gas cable I took of a lawn mower, and a metal wire.

 
For first ladder cut two pieces of the rod 3.5 cm long and 8 pieces of metal wire 0.7 cm long. Glue the wire in equal intervals using Super Glue. The glue will hold but because it is a metal-to-metal surface be very careful not to break it while you work. Then paint the ladder using black spray to give it a smudge free look. Apply several coats to hold the parts better. 
 
For upper ladder first bend the two rods in opposite directions, add two short pieces to attach the ladder to the wall and repeat the same procedure.
 
Lightning poles
 
The lightning poles are made of metal wire inserted to holes in the roof. I used the plastic cover of a thin electric wire to thread over the wire as connectors.
 
Gutters
 
Using the metal rod glue parts to the edges of the roofs. For drainage bend the rod exactly the right angle and file a small dent to connect it better to the round rod. Make sure not to glue the drainage to the rod on the large roof…it will not detach. 

Steps
 
For office entrance make 5 small rectangles out of the metal coffee container cover and one a bit larger, use the rod as supporting poles for the large one to be the exact height of the entrance and metal wire for supports of the small steps. Glue and paint similarly to the ladders.

 
For platform steps use two parts of cardboard glued together on top of a larger part. The lower one is 2.2 cm, then 1.8, 1.4, 1, 0.6 and then only one part 0.2 cm wide. Glue all parts and sand thoroughly the reach a smooth surface. Pay attention to the fact the platforms are not the same width at the ends, the one with the notches comes along the wall between the corner pillars.
 
Freight & goods
 
I have built a box using stripes of matches, a few lift platforms using the same stripes and sacks using a material called Sculpy that hardens in the oven. Of course the possibilities are endless…. Look at the picture for some ideas (Just one I have found…)

 
Weathering
 
After painting all the parts during construction you can now get to the weathering. Stain the parts and make them look “real”… Up to you where you want the dirt.