#5: Colombage Skill

Framework Done!

After finishing the basic framework of the Tang-style station canopy, I rushed to the second floor to tackle the three circular windows. I had never built this type of wooden architecture before—but hey, LEGO has! This style is known as colombage, commonly referred to as a half-timbered house (German: Fachwerkhaus). In Chinese, it’s called “衍架屋”. Germany still has plenty of these houses, characterized by their exposed wooden framework and steep roofs.

The Window Dilemma

But here’s the frustrating part—I scoured all of Google and couldn’t find a single traditional half-timbered house with circular windows. Every example I found had square or rectangular windows. :O

I even searched through historical postcards of old wooden train stations. Many of them had massive roofs, but none had circular windows. Even the Bahnhof Großen Linden in Frankfurt, which retains its half-timbered style, lacked such a feature.

So I thought, “Maybe I should check Japan?” Since these stations were built during the Japanese colonial era, perhaps I’d find a match there. But even after switching my search to Japanese keywords and using a Japanese search engine, nothing! The closest I found was Harajuku Station (1924), Tokyo’s oldest wooden train station. It had three oval decorative elements, but they weren’t windows. So why did Changhua Station (1918), Wanhua Station, and Yilan Station use circular windows? A mystery for the ages...

Experimenting with LEGO Frameworks

Despite my grumbling, I had to start building. First, I tackled how to create a round window while incorporating the complex cross-colored wooden framework. At first, I was tricked by the cross-coloring, wasting time testing various LEGO cross elements, only to realize—cross bricks weren’t the answer! The trick was in layering and aligning the sections from the bottom up.

The LEGO 47905 brick, with studs on both sides, turned out to be essential for constructing half-timbered structures. Once I figured that out, the build went much faster. (Lesson learned: Experience matters!)

The Circular Window Challenge

There was no way around it—I had to use wheel arch pieces for the round windows. Thankfully, my kid was obsessed with wheels when he was younger, so I had plenty of them at home. After some trial and error, I found the perfect size combination.

 Circular window construction is a must-know technique for MOC (My Own Creation) builders. Online tutorials helped, but designing the window frame details was tricky. Eventually, I ditched the tutorials and used clips and hinge pieces for stability. This part of the build was surprisingly complex, especially ensuring the second-floor facade looked right.

The internal grid structure was fragile, so I reinforced it. The lower window frames also had to be thicker to align with the color patterns. Aligning the center grid of the main circular window took forever. At one point, I pressed too hard, and the whole section exploded into pieces! (RIP, my patience.) Lesson learned: Color-switching makes LEGO builds fragile—reinforce everything!

Final Adjustments & Reinforcements

Since the canopy and station facade were connected, I had to carefully balance the weight. The canopy couldn’t rest on the second-floor structure, so they had to be built separately.

To avoid making the build look too uniform, I experimented with randomized color variations. A fully white version looked too plain, while a mixed beige version looked much more natural—so I went with that!

The final challenge was making sure the entire section could be lifted off without breaking. More reinforcements were needed, especially around the grasping points.

The Side Facades & Unexpected Challenges

I didn’t realize until later that the station’s front and back facades were different. I initially built the back the same as the front, only to discover that the rear side didn’t have the Tang-style roof. So… back to disassembling and rebuilding!

Other fine details included adding pipes and adjusting the 1x3 thin plate connections that looked awkward. Thankfully, LEGO had 1x3 inverted bricks, which I had hoarded years ago—perfect for fixing this issue.

By late December, I was still making tweaks. Adjusting the roof exposed some flaws, so the three circular windows had to be reworked several times. But the core structure remained intact.

Side Windows & More Half-Timbered Details

Only near the end did I realize—the side facade was also half-timbered and had small circular windows! These were actually harder to build than the main three-window section because of angled elements. (My brain almost melted.)

But after pushing through, I managed to complete all four main facades. These four sections define the entire build’s refined appearance!

Completion & Reflection

All four sides are done! Massive celebration! 🎉

Building a half-timbered facade is a unique challenge, and I found a fantastic MOC tutorial on it. There's a growing trend of “intentionally messy” LEGO architecture, and this tutorial explains it well. If you dislike overly uniform builds, check it out!

Surprise LEGO Find: The 3x3 Window (51239)

While ordering extra bricks, I was thrilled to find that LEGO finally released a 3x3 window! This part has been in high demand forever, so I immediately bought some.

Right now, it’s only available in brown, beige, and purple—no black or white yet. I couldn’t even get brown, so I had to use beige. Fingers crossed that LEGO releases more colors (and lattice-patterned glass, please!).

A Unique Architectural Mystery

After all this effort, I realized: What if circular windows in half-timbered railway stations exist only in Taiwan? This mix of Japanese, Western, and traditional elements might be a one-of-a-kind architectural feature!

But then… why was the post-war Taiwan Railways Administration so eager to demolish them? Researching further, I found that WWII air raids severely damaged many stations, making restoration impossible. Such a loss!

Recreating Changhua Station (1918) in LEGO made me appreciate its beauty even more. Compared to later designs, this station was truly a gem! If only it still stood today—it would be the king of Taiwan’s wooden stations!

Lessons Learned

If I had more time, I’d reinforce the side facades more. Currently, they’re only supported by horizontal beams, preventing them from collapsing, but not fully secured. (Didn’t have time for a complete rebuild!)

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See Final Work in Display: The Timber Terminal – Changhua’s Golden Age Station 

01 Recreating - 02 Coloring  - 03 Parts Inventory  - 04 Karahafu Roof  - 05 Colombage Skill  - 06 Main Roof  - 07 Steam train  - 08 Vintage Bus  - 09 Tree and Shelter  - 10 Final