Daphetid: A Different Perspective
While I had the layout turned around for scenery-work across the back, I was gazing at the barren patch of earth destined to become Daphetid, and the different perspective led me down a new path. I'd wanted to make it more town-like, which is why I'd built the Assay Office kit from Wild West Scale Model Builders; but that little structure seemed a bit lonely, so I decided to assemble some building fronts into a flat that will run along the back edge of the layout, not unlike a movie set.
Daphetid flats, as I refer to the new project, will take the place of the water tower, which is being relocated down the track just a little ways, adjacent to the switch (where it appeared for a time on the original Gorre & Daphetid). As I had to wait for the arrival of the kits I'd be using for Daphetid flats, I decided to turn my attention to Daphetid station.
For a brief time I was tempted to bash a Kibri factory into a version of the brick station that appeared on Version III of the G&D (above), but I didn't think it architecturally fit with the more rustic, overtly Western flavor of the town. So I returned my focus to the freight depot (below), which originally appeared on Version I and moved around and disappeared and reappeared from time to time, until by Version III it pretty much stayed put in front of the switch (heck of a spot to spot a freight car, but there you go).
I had all manner of ideas about what to use for the freight depot, until I realized that I was spending more time thinking about what kit to bash than I'd have spent just scratch-bashing something together. After all, it was a simple enough little structure—it had only two doors, and two of the walls didn't even have any openings.
So I disgorged my drawer of lasercut scraps onto my workbench, and sifted through them looking for potential ingredients. Once I'd found enough appropriate selections (above), I spent an enjoyable couple of hours shaping them into a pretty fair representation of John Allen's original Daphetid freight station. The pieces and parts that I used (below) were scrounged from the leftovers of at least five different kits—possibly more!
With the basic structure completed in two parts (below), I finished it in my usual fashion, starting with a light coat of primer, followed by chalk tinting. The separate freight dock was stained with an India ink wash and weathered with chalk. Last came the roof, which was simply Builders In Scale corrugated metal with a heavy rust patina, per the original.
Thus, in a matter of a few hours, it was ready to install (below), save for the sign—I'm still undecided whether or not to include it (for one thing, I have no clue what it says). Also, back before I'd settled on building this particular structure, the station was originally going to be illuminated; however, since this building has almost no windows, I dropped that plan in favor of illuminating Daphetid flats instead. Here it is posing, just prior to permanent installation:
Original Gorre & Daphetid images courtesy of Peter T. Prunka.