Thanks Gary.
About Kits.
Kits come in all shapes, sizes, materials and luckly for us different items. From outhouses to skyscraper there is bound to be a kit of it that has been made. We've talked about those wonderful laser kits and about resin kits. That sort of leaves us with plastic and wood kits.
For my modeling, 1931, wood fits right in. Plastic on the other hand does not excite me for my modeling period or any other. Many modelers using plastic fall back on those days they were 10 years old putting together plastic models. I did it. Great fun! What was good for a preteen in 1955 doesn't excite me much when I see the plastic building offerings available today. Many of us have them. The standard yard tower, the station, the corner drugstore, the list seldom stops.
To
me I get uncomfortable not feeling that I'm looking at something legit when I go over to my friend's house and look at his small town. A couple buildings are 4 stories and that's it. The trouble I see is that the plastic models seldom reflect 'realism.' They tend to be shiney, very unprototypical. Of course, glass is glass, but I think you know what I mean. I've seen plastic stations on modules at the trainshow that make me want my $8 back!
Luckly there is a small simple solution to this shine issue. I don't expect everyone to repaint there plastic stuff, but this tip may help. After you have assembled/glued your model together let it dry overnight. Then the next day give the model a light wash of acrylic black or dark grey. Let dry over night. If need be add another wash. After the washes I like to add some weather using powders. Downtown I use black and on the edge of down maybe some dark browns.
If you read this and say, 'all my buildings are glued to the layout.' No problem. Fold a paper towel into a flatish tube and circle your building. Do your washes, throw the towels away. Weathering with powders is simple. If you spill this is a good time to lay down more ground covers you've been promising to do since you started reading this thread!
If I was a better painter I might be more acceptable to plastic. Buildings are tough projects to redue so many just sort of leave them with additional weathering. The one plastic product I do like are the bridges. I like to build them and I like them on my layouts. Brass is cool, but very expensive. I've built them in Z scale and I liked them.
Finally wood. For me and my modeling era wood is great. I model the back woods so not much brick about for sure. Wooden kits, to me, are really fun and worth the time when measured with the final result. They are fun to weather with washes and powders and I'm always challenge to find a better way to make them looks real.
A caution: Regular wooden kits, not laser kits, usually come with some designator that gives you a hint to difficulty. If the kit says 'Craftsmen' anywhere on the box you will simply get the approximate amount of sticks and probably suspect directions to put the kit together. NOT for the beginner for sure! Sounds like you should just scratch build. If 'Craftsman' is missing and your not a 'craftsman' then give the kit a try. It won't be as easy as a laser kit, but it will be doable for most.
I've mentioned I have one laser kit on the layout. I also have only one wooden kit. It is a great one. The Branch Line Water Tower. This took many hours, but it was worth it. If one was able to look through the hatch opening you would see I put in a layer of Realistic Water. I couldn't help it. Jim
