Xīn lóng International Airport - West Pier Connector Pt1

Though I've been working on Wright Field of late that doesn't mean work has stopped on Xin Long. Indeed since I've come back from holiday construction has begun on the pier-terminal connectors using my old airport construction stalwart - balsa wood. Here's a progress report of work on the West pier connector building.

Before I started on the terminal connector I had to finish the remaining airbridge supports - as detailed in an earlier post these are made of balsa. They also provide a useful boundary for the piers themselves which are not stuck down to the mat at all. Below is the East pier with its four single airbridge points - two on the side and two at the end:

Without access to Evergreen plastic I have had to fall back on balsa in a big way. Fortunately I was recently able to pick up some sheets at a model meet for only $5 and these have proven very handy for constructing the terminal-pier connecting building. The only problem with balsa is unlike the plastic sections it can only really create square sided buildings. Below you can see the early stages in construction of the West pier connector and its basic components:

This early phase in construction is very simple and only crudely abuts to the main terminal:

Fortunately I was able to add extra balsa sections to give it a more interesting architectural shape and build a collar region which adjoined it to the main terminal more closely and interestingly. Here is the final form prior to painting:

The next step is to paint the connector and apply windows to it.