Xīn lóng International Airport - Main Terminal Pt1

I had been planning on using a piece of packaging (in this case from a pack of rice crackers) to be the base for the main terminal building, however when it came around to it that plan has been modified. Instead I have fallen back on a method I used in my large-scale 1:600 airport, Imogenia, which is to use cardboard construction.

What I liked about the cracker packet was that it was curvy and had the look and feel of big windows at the front under each of the arches. The difficulty of it was that being an odd shape it was hard to get the side connector buildings to fit well to it and I wasn't sure how I could make the windows work. I had initially hoped that I could leave them unpainted and see through, however I'm not sure that is feasible. Below you can see a portion of how the cracker packet terminal looked after initial painting:

For some reason the first application of paint wasn't very successful either and became very flakey when dry. I may return to using this packet but I also had the feeling it had a rather 1960s look to it which wasn't especially befitting of a modern Chinese airport. As the connectors fit well with the cracker packet I can perhaps use it to represent an older incarnation of the airport - a US one perhaps?

I had previously used cardboard buildings with success in my earlier airports and though a simpler shape they often look more modern, plus their windows fit the style of the pier connectors too. As you can see below the new terminal is built from cardboard pieces masking taped together with cardboard ribbing inside. I was able to make it fit over the existing connectors so they did not need to be modified.

The terminal modifications went hand in hand with further tarmac painting. Above you can see the rough painting of boundary areas at the edge of the terminal front and under the piers in dark grey. Below you can see I also added a new roadway running up the side of the West connector:

Once the structure was in place it was time to paint and add the windows. I also added a slightly overhanging roof to the building. Compare the before and after shots below:

I am very pleased with the look but it still isn't finished yet. In the next part I'll add some extra touches to the terminal building.