News from your model shop - 26th June 2022

Hello

Don't forget to read our latest modelling tips and unboxing videos located at the bottom of the newsletter.

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We do wonder what could be inside this non-descript big box that arrived at the shop in Sandown on Friday. No marking apart from these two blue stars and stripes. If you have any idea what it could be, leave a comment on our Facebook page!

Petrol stations are everywhere nowadays to feed our motor cars (and maybe the driver) with fuel for the journey ahead. But petrol stations, service stations and garages have been part of our lives since way before the supermarket chains populated our towns and cities with these essential automotive pitstops!

If you are considering adding such a feature to your N gauge town, there are plenty of options to help you achieve a credible diorama. Gaugemaster's plastic kit of a petrol station includes the canopy, fuel pumps and a small shop and garage area to complete the scene. It represents a service station that would have been seen anytime from the 1940s onward, making it ideal for many dioramas.

Metcalfe produces a similar type of petrol station but this time in card. Again, the kit includes the canopy, pumps and main building and manages to pull off a look that would equally suit a village or larger town. But if you wanted to get really rural, you might find Metcalfe's general use industrial unit (with a few pumps placed out front) a better fit. This type of petrol station is still fairly common in rural communities providing a service to farm traffic and locals alike, just don't look too closely at their petrol prices!



Petrol pumps are easy enough to source should you decide to go down that route with both P & D Marsh and Langley producing credible white metal options covering the types seen from the 1920s through to the 1960s, ideal for those back and beyond country service stations.



Once you have decided on a building and forecourt design, you may wish to furnish it with a few props. Why not add a tow truck, a sign that lights up, or for larger forecourts, some storage tanks?



And finally, don't forget to add some figures. Figures are an important part of most dioramas to add life and interest to the scene. Whenever and wherever your layout is based, there are service station figures to suit. The ones featured here from Faller, Merton and Noch are just a few to give you an idea.

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• Parkside Models PC732 LMS (ex LNWR) 50 ft. Arc Roof Composite Corridor Coach OO gauge
• Auhagen 11353 Lumber Yard HO Gauge
• Airfix A04053B Fairey Swordfish Mk.I 1:72 scale
  
• Berko B251 Yellow/Green Distant Signal (Analogue/Fully Assembled) OO Gauge
• Busch 7729 Picnic Area Set HO Gauge
• Ammo MIG8022 Brushes and Tools Organizer
• Woodland Scenics TR3597 Set of 5 Small Palm Trees (3 - 3 3⁄4 in.)
• Peco LK-56 Inspection pit with code 100 rail in OO/HO Gauge
• Gaugemaster GMKD1003 BP Petrol Station & Garage Kit N Gauge
• Ratio 462 GWR Home/Distant signal (square post) OO gauge

You can access all the unboxing videos by visiting this page or simply click on the link called "videos" on our website.