Story and Photos by Harry K. Wong
Ever since the development of the gas-powered automobile came the need to refuel these conveyances for continued travel. Some may be surprised to learn that the earliest motorists had to purchase gasoline from pharmacies and blacksmith shops! It wasn’t until 1913 that the first drive-in service station was established. Built by the Gulf Oil Company in Pennsylvania, this service station with its purpose-built refueling island and structure dedicated to auto repairs provided not only gasoline, but light automotive maintenance and repair services such as tire replacement, crankcase service, free air and water, and even printed maps to motorists. Together with smoother roads, service stations such as this enabled the private automobile to be the primary mode of transportation in America and throughout the world today.
Over the years, Walthers has produced models of several styles of service stations of varying sizes that reflect different eras. The latest gas station release from its Cornerstone line is this “Vintage Gas Station” with generic graphics for a fictional oil company. Comparing photos and reflecting upon my personal memories, the architecture of this kit is a perfect match to gas stations constructed for the Shell Oil Company since the early 1960s, if not earlier. Examples of this ubiquitous design are still seen everywhere across the United States, though most that still survive have been either modernized or repurposed for other uses.
Here we see the entire facility plus the pumps and signage.
The kit is packaged in a colorful cardboard box emblazoned with photos of the completed model. Molded in five colors (and clear plastic for the windows), this kit provides a main building with an office interior with counter, two service bays with lifts, and two complete fueling islands each with period-correct gas pumps, oil can display racks and a small canopy, a tall curbside sign out front, large simulated asphalt plastic bases, and a full array of smaller details to complete the scene. A multi-page set of instructions illustrated with line drawings guides the purchaser through the construction process.
As I wanted to get a better feeling of the scope of the project, I began assembly of this kit by tackling the asphalt pad and concrete base for the service station first. Three “asphalt” sheets are provided in the kit. The first one is designed to surround the separate concrete base for the main building, while the other two “plain” asphalt pads will become the driveway and fueling areas. Molded in gray, each sheet includes a simulated asphalt texture complete with simulated “cracks” on the surface. Each of these .062-inch thick sheets measures 10.4375 x 5.25 in. in size…
