Last stop for the rest of your natural (or unnatural) life! Before you get in line to break boulders you gotta line up for processing! No drugs or other contraband will smuggled into our top-notch facility. We have every detection method at our disposal. You might as well squeeze out that vial of oonak now because we'll just find it eventually!
This picture shows the side of the station that the prisoners see.
After I had built the Prison Train, I needed to have a station of some kind! I decided on a large induction-type building that could thoroughly inspect, record, and prepare new prisoners for entry into the general population. I used typical train station baseplates to start, and then hit on the idea of using regular baseplates back-to-back to fill in the large walls.
However, on the other side I wanted a big wall of glass to let in light.
I wanted to have a large interior that would be easy to see into and would have adequate lighting. Brian Theimer, a Baylug buddy of mine, has been keeping me steeped in trans-green thin-walls. It's a good thing too, because I used almost all of them for this side of the station.
Here you can see how the regular baseplates saved me from having to stack up LOTS of 1xn grey beams to fill in this side. I turned two pairs of 16x32 baseplates back-to-back. They happen to fit snugly between the leftover space of a 1x2 thin-wall and a regular beam. Then I layered on the tiles going for the NY subway effect. Getting the lettering readable in the space provided really wore down my nails because I had to recompose it at least a dozen times!
Each end of the station has a BIG door with a couple guards. I'd originally planned for the doors to open out and form a three-sided temporary holding area for when the prisoners disembark. I also used the baseplates back-to-back arrangement again. You can also see the large station ID number.
With the door open you can see some interior detail on the back of the door as well as a glimpse of the bio-scan station, your first (and most important!) stop in the processing procedure.
However, before we step into the interior, we need to make you aware of all the ways we'll be watching you while you're being processed! Resistance is not only futile, it's just downright stupid! First we have a small hunter craft capable of tracking down and blasting to bits anyone who doesn't wanna pound rocks to bits for the next few millenia. This craft has the same landing gear and landing pad as the guard car on the train, so they can switch duty stations if necessary. The wings also rotate down and forward for takeoff and flight.
There are many guards at the station, both inside and out. The ladders to the respective gantries and watchtowers are retractable in case of emergency.
In addition to the removeable roof, I also designed the large red and black wall panels to swing out. The large wall of windows, which also support the second story guard platform, is then easily set aside. Once that section is out of the way, there is easy and complete access to the detailed interior. Once again the baseplate arrangement gave me two large walls of studs on the inside that were perfect for some lights and other "dressing."
We're back at the bio-scan station now. Each inductee must stand on the pad for a full scan. His info is then recorded and displayed along the top of the far wall for the entire induction process so that the guards and processing agents can quickly find their status display if there are any problems.
I had the idea of making each station color-coded according to what procedure was being handled there so I made the lines on the floor and the computer consoles match. It was hard to find consoles in so many different colors, but I think I only have one or two doubles. Finally, I gave each station a red or green light to indicate whether the agent is ready for the next inductee.
I was tickled when I discovered that there was enough room between station chairs for a table with mugs. After all, quizzing the scum of the universe is thirsty work because they're often not too well versed in the intergalactic graces!
Getting some "mood" shots required several photo sessions, but I finally got some decent pics. I'm happiest when I can get a shot that makes you feel like you're inside the model, and I think that the following pics do that rather well.
I like this shot because it looks like the guards are watching the sun set.
I really dug how the green "wash" of light fills the interior. Being able to open the large red and black walls helped to throw a lot of light on the end of the hallway which really adds some nice depth to the shots.
"Step right up, maggot! We won't fry ya, we'll just tickle your double helix's a little (if ya have any)!"
These last shots more clearly show how the inductee info is displayed so that both the guards and processing agents can view them. Here's the view from the guard level on the second story.
Getting this shot proved quite difficult. I'm still not satisfied with it, and I prefer the last picture much more. However, I wanted to have two shots through the windows because I think that the green "wash" looks pretty.
