HOW TO... ANGLICISE A GERMAN TOWNHOUSE KIT
When looking for plastic kits to enhance your 4mm:1ft scale / OO gauge model railway, 3.5mm:1ft scale HO kits are often overlooked. However, used towards the rear of a layout, they can help give a sense of false perspective. Anglicising these kits may seem tricky, but you don’t need an architectural degree to work out what makes them look foreign – simply compare them with buildings found around the UK.
With this Auhagen townhouse kit, obvious changes needed are the red pantile roof panels, the overly ornate stone trim and window surrounds, and the design of windows. The roof can be swapped with embossed slate sheets, and the stone trim is easily removed or modified. Thankfully, changing the windows isn’t as daunting as it sounds; rather than replacing them all, I’ll demonstrate a simple modification to make them look like traditional sash windows. Not content with minor changes, I’ll also be sharing some more drastic modifications to help you transform this kit completely.
As article space is limited and the focus is purely on the Auhagen kit, I won’t be describing the construction of the diorama base. Instead, visit this month’s BRM topic on RMweb.co.uk/community to see more!
Auhagen
(11 417) Stadthäuser Schmidtstraße 27/29 www.auhagen.de
Modelu
(2964-076) Round Coronet Top Chimney Pots
(2905-0763) Round Pipe Rectangular Hopper
(2955-0763) Half-round Guttering
(2957-0763) Half-round Guttering Stop Ends
