Charlie Foxtrot Big(ger) Buildings

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.

Charlie Foxtrot Initial Thoughts and smaller buildings.

I found some spare time today and managed to put together the workshop, log store, stone shed and extension from Charlie Foxtrot Models.

There wasn’t the usual heavy smell of burned MDF which was a plus. 

There’s lots of detail on the kits as well.

I started with the workshop. Nicely packed in a ziplock bag. Pieces already punched out with helps keep weight down for postage I presume.

Here’s the basic components. No instructions were included. However, the pieces have tabs and with some dry fitting and patience it’s easy to figure out.

Boom! Basic shape is done!

I watched Nick Skinner from TFL fame do a CFM kit and use textured spray. Taping off the inside keeps the insides cleaner. It’s not perfect but it does the trick.

Next up was the extension.

Here’s the pieces. Again zero waste.


I forgot to take a picture of it built and taped off before I took it and the workshop outside to be sprayed.

The log store is the only kit with some greyboard details. I’m not a huge fan of greyboard but it is useful.

Obligatory components picture. Wood detail looks good. Debating on just a brown wash.

Here I used PVA glue to layer the greyboard planks. The only fiddly part of all the kits.

The stone shed. Lots of detail. Another straightforward build so no instructions required.

I like he stamp on the bottom of the piece. It’s a nice touch of brand recognition. My only complaint, if you could call it that is there is not an undamaged door option. 

All in all, 4 very nice kits! Took probably 10-15 minutes to assemble them all including dry fitting pieces.

Some of the holes and plugs were super tight. Some of the edges of the plugs actually split. But it’s all glued together so not a big deal.

Charlie Foxtrot and Harry Potter

Around the time I was painting the Sarissa large farmhouse and building Chain of Command lists and watching lots of YouTube videos, I stumbled across Charlie Foxtrot Models.

I’d heard of them before and gone through their website once or twice but that was it. I was watching Nick from TooFat Lardies put together a hotel and decided to check them out further.

Well today I heard the doorbell and arrived to see the mailman walking away. I figured it was something I had ordered. My 5 year old pushed open the door and said “look it’s for me” grabbed the box and ran off into the house. (There’s a stamp on the exterior that reads Charlie Foxtrot Models, and his name is Charlie F., so close enough).

After a short foot chase, I got the box back and opened it up.

This will give me 4 medium to large buildings and two smaller ones. Hopefully I can get started this long weekend! Luckily in preparation for his I have some spray cans (textured paint) I purchased especially for this.

Over the last month or so, the oldest has been obsessed with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle line of games. We just finished reading the 7th book with him and watched all the movies (books before movies).

I saw that there were several expansion cards so I scoured the Internet. I think we are issuing one.

I enjoy deck builders and Harry Potter so this was a no brainer.

We also played a home brew Russian Civil War game but I’ll post about that this weekend when I have more time.