I had the saw out the other day and figured I might as well get started on another project I've been working toward for some time... I'm a big fan of the American Flyer Union Station, and always wanted to incorporate one on the layout in some way.
Long story short, I decided it would be fun to bash a group of them into a tall art deco structure. I'd also like the "focal point" tall buildings in my downtown to be unique, and this seemed a good way to go about it without having to scratch build:
I started with 4 Union Station buildings in various states of disrepair (two are the talking kind, two are regular):
First step was to gut them, and remove the braces. I also removed the floor from the 3 in the worst shape, then popped them apart so I could cut them in half with a miter saw:
After some sawing , sanding, and gluing, here's the first mock-up of the building with 3 stations made into half-length floors. Height of this structure as built below is ~35":
I grabbed a scrap piece of 1/4" plywood remaining from a scout project; this board will be cut up to become the missing side of the building.
I was originally going to have the plain board/wall be on the left side of the structure (see two pics up), pushed against another building. However, such a set-up puts the windows out of alignment and looks less... complete. I like this look better:
...but that leaves a big open side here and means I can't set it next to another building to hide it:
To address the open side, and keep the flat windowless piece from looking out of place, I decided to dress it up to replicate the design of the entrance piece with a layered look:
Here is the building laying on its side [tilt head 90 degree left to see it vertical 
]. I think I did a pretty good job making the solid piece architecturally consistent and art deco-ish in this test fitting:
Since I have the main body of the building roughly planned out and cut, I am starting work on the "zeppelin mooring tower" that will go atop the building. For the base of this tower, I took 2 of the entryway pieces, cut them roughly in half, and glued them together:
Atop the base of the tower (above) will be a mast (probably square). I plan to use these deco pieces (from an HO overpass kit) as the base of the mast & will see what pieces fit together best from there:
More to come! Once I have all mast and roof pieces cut, I plan to start gluing major sections of the building together...
