Platform Canopy

Purchased and reviewed by Brian Podmore


I bought two of these kits to complete a station platform that had been devoid of a canopy for some considerable time. My other large terminus station had a specially designed canopy I made from lime wood, (pre laser technology days), so this was to be a new venture for me and providing a well-designed, precision built end product that was reasonably priced, is what I was aiming for.

All the parts in the kit come ready to put together. I wanted a long canopy so I bought two kits with the idea of fitting them together. This would provide me with a length of 27 inches.

What follows are a number of illustrations and ideas that made putting it all together an easy job. There are basically two parts to the kit, the roof and the legs and trusses. First, the roof assembly. This could potentially be the difficult part as some of the pieces are very thin and the current instructions do not suggest how they might go together. Fig 1
The roof top comes as two separate pieces as shown here in Fig 1. I surmised that it would make the construction of the roof an easy task if tape is used to hold them together as shown below. This could also be left on after construction as it cannot be seen from the outside and would make the whole structure much stronger. Fig 2
I used plastic insulating tape to hold the two roof pieces together. Alternatively paper glued there would also be a strengthener, (Fig 2). Fig 3 Fig 4
Looking at the sheet provided I could see that the end pieces were probably stuck onto the ends of the roof top so I proceeded as shown here. I trimmed the tape and, using Bostik All purpose clear contact adhesive, stuck the roof onto the end piece in the vertical using the table as a base for the end piece as shown, (Figs 3 and 4). Fig 5
The roof is then glued to one end piece. Already, it is a sturdy build thanks to the tape holding the two roof sections together while they set on the end valance. Next I decided to fix the two side valance pieces down either side – shown in Fig 5.

The valance was to fit along the bottom edge of the roof, (which was at an angle) and onto the end valance. I applied glue first along the end of the side valance and then along the top inside edge of the side valance. I introduced the valance from the bottom up making sure that the contact adhesive held it in place. Check that it is square to the end valance and leave it to set. Repeat for the other side valance, (Fig 5) Fig 6
In Fig 6 both valances have been glued in place. The structure is now left to dry. Check that the valances have not moved as they are very thin and that there is glue in all the right places, (particularly at each end). The second kit can then be built in exactly the same way so that you end up with two identical roof pieces that will be joined together, (Fig 6). Fig 7
Once dry, one of the roof pieces will need to have two strips of reinforcement card stuck at its open end as shown here. This will ensure that the two roof pieces come together and stick firmly to each other, (Fig 7). Fig 8
Here is the view from outside the roof. Its important to get both parts to line up with each other and to hold them together until the glue sets. I achieved this by arranging them vertically again, (Fig 8). Fig 8. Fig 9
A note about the structure. As there is no end piece joining the two parts together the tendency is for those ends to ‘splay out’ slightly, (Fig 9). Fig 10
Also the valance does not appear to completely stretch across the entire length, (as a result of leaving out the end pieces), but this is not a negative as I constructed card strengthening pieces stuck on the back to hold the valances to each other and then used a piece from the redundant end valances to fill the gaps seen in Fig 10. Fig 11
Two small pieces of card and two valance pieces to fill in the slots were made first as shown here. These were then stuck to the inside of the front and back valances to fill the gap and add strength to the two roof sections. Gluing the two roof pieces together and leaving them in a vertical setting as shown here helped to fix them together and keep everything square. Once dry this part is then ready for painting. I will fix the glazing in place once the painting is completed, (Fig 11). Fig 12
The roof trusses are easy to construct by simply using the slots provided and extra thickness for the posts is supplied in the form of more leg sections that can be slid into place and glued. I glued these in place using PVA glue. The structures can then be painted, (Fig 12).

Painting the two structures:

Fig 13 Fig 14
The roof topside was GWR Freight grey and valances GWR coach cream, (Fig 13). The trusses were painted dark brick, the legs light brick. The cellophane sheets included in the kit are more than enough to cover the skylight windows. I cut the lengths to coincide with one of the struts and glued them in place (fig 14). Fig 15
The finished model is shown in fig 15) in situ, on one of my platforms. It’s a very light construction. I’m pleased with the result and being reasonably priced it makes for an all-round good product. I look forward to other O gauge kits from this company.