Whitnash Station sign

Another one of my very early models - the station sign for Whitnash.

I think the basis is a Hornby Dublo cast metal sign. When i had it as a kid, it wasn't collectible or valuable, just old. I have a suspicion that the name was originally "Swindon" or "Crewe". Living in Whitnash, it seemed perfectly logical to me to repaint it and change the name to my home town.

Obviously, I wasn't going to let the lack of a real life station worry me. There was a railway line passing by the edge of the town, I crossed over it every day as I walked to school for years, so there could have been a station.

(Note to modern children, walking to school is is a process that involves putting one foot in front of the other, chatting to your mates and having a good time. You travel cocooned in a people-mover so can't do this. Your loss.)

Anyway, a coat of Humbrol and a little work with dry-print transfers (probably from WH Smith, Letraset being too expensive) made the changes. The little man comes from the Slaters range as I discovered that you could buy unpainted figures from the local model shop for a tiny percentage of the price for the painted versions. Learning to paint people is a useful skill. Mind you, those trousers could have done with a second coat, or at least I should have stirred the paint properly.

It's this sort of job that modern modellers seem scared to do. I know the results aren't perfect but to young Phil's eyes, they were pretty good. More to the point, it was my train set and I'll have the station name I like!