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Walthers Cornerstone Series(R) Mission-Style Depot 933-2920
In August, 2006, Walthers introduced their mission style depot based on an ATSF prototype. That prototype is Portales, NM.
Review by Stephen Duncan. Model by Gil Freitag on his Stoney Creek and Western. The kit came without being cast in the Southwest colors photographed on the box. The parts which are turquoise on the box come cast in white plastic. A gentle spray of teal (the closest I had to turquoise in my paint kit) remedied that situation. The model went together quite easily and I was particularly impressed with how the roof went together. The joints were simple to construct and look quite well when completed. The glazing for the windows is rather thick, but this only shows if you are considering interior additions to the building. (Since the prototype was boarded up the entire time I lived in Portales, I did not bother adding interior details -- though it would be easy enough to do so in the future.) Some may wish to substitue more accurate window glazing. While putting the model together I had the impression that some of the structural wood pieces were a little out of scale, but now completed and comparing it with photographs of the original, I am quite pleased with how they were made. The modern building would require a little work in boarding up the windows and adding air conditioners, but I prefer to set mine back in the early 60s when M190 was passing by daily on her way from Clovis to Carlsbad and back with an observation car in tow. This is an enjoyable model which comes very close to the original. Portales is in the bottom of a very flat valley (Goober Gulch) where they grow the finest Valencia Peanut in the world (not like the cover photo with the lovely hills in the background). A single track passes on each side of the prototype to this day with various sidings dating from years past, many today in disuse. Altogether a nice new model from the Cornerstone series.
Other photos of the prototype can be seen on line:
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