This past Victoria Day long weekend had pretty crappy weather. As such we stuck indoors for larger portions of the time. So what better time to smash some building together.
I started with the "Brasserie". Comes in simple packaging with one page of instructions. The instruction sheet is pretty basic and only high-lights some of the more intricate pieces.
Here's all the pieces. There was no waste/excess material which helps keep the weight down. Although it is a little daunting being different from the usual MDF kits.
Basic building is complete. Bandage on my finger is not related to this project :)
I left the Brasserie façade off as I'm going to texture the exterior.
Here I taped off all the openings so I wouldn't get textured spray inside the building or on the roof.
I'm planning to shingle over the roof so that's not a big deal if paint got on but I want the shingles to adhere properly.
Up next is the Boulangerie. Same packaging with most pieces punched out.
It had interior walls on the main floor which was nice.
Here's a quick pic of the pain components to be sprayed. Again I left off the façade for ease of texturing. I also had to tape off the Juliet balcony above the doors.
The Café De Normandy was the tallest build (3 floors) and had a "L" shape on the ground floor. I would call this building the fiddliest, but it wasn't that bad.
All the bits. This kit had the most pieces by far.
The dormer window isn't glued on. I have the dormer's peak resting on the roof peak while the glue sets up to keep the correct alignment of the pieces.
What I liked:
No excess material meant less time spent cutting things out.
Kits were fairly intuitive. However, some are available on line.
They look great as is, and I haven't textured them yet or added details like doors windows or shutters.
What I didn't like:
A few of the corners on tabs and other small bits where damaged. This happens as there is no packaged/excess material to keep them from hitting each other. But it was all negligible.
Instructions - I'd have preferred a step-by-step guide.
All in all, I was very happy with these kits. Getting the skeletons together, texturing the corners and taping off areas I didn't want spray paint took maybe 25-30 minutes each with most of the time spent filling the corners and taping.
In my next post I'll show why I textured the corners.
I'm going to spend the next little bit tarting them up as I plan on shingling the roof.