DaveInTheHat
Active Member
This is my first laser cut craftsman kit. I got this kit with a gift certificate that I won in a contest. I've actually been a little nervous about building it. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because the cost is about a third of what I spend per year. My hobby money is very limited. I probably spend about $100-$150 a year, most of that goes for paint, glue, building materials, a few people, and cars. So, having a craftsman kit to build is something kinda special for me.
I was really impressed with the kit. It's made by Best Trains. The box is really nice. Embossed printing and its like something that jewelry would come in. The picture of the finished model is really clear, which makes it nice when you need to see small details on how things go together. This was a really nice kit to build. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Inside the box there's a couple pages of great instructions and all the pieces have been carefully packaged and thoughtfully arranged.
This is a simple kit. All the pieces are cut perfectly. The windows and doors at made by Titchy and fit in the openings without any problems. The metal castings are nice. They do need a little bit of clean up, but nothing major. Mostly just a little flash.
The are two ways to build the kit. A short version and a long version. I chose the long version with the addition on the back. The wood for the kit is color coded which makes it really easy to use the right pieces in the right places without having to measure anything. Only the corner pieces and the trim around the roof need to be cut. That was done quickly with a razor blade. I used Titebond wood glue and had the building together in about an hour. Most of that time was waiting for the glue to dry. I added 45 degree pieces in the corners to help keep is square.
After the walls were together and cleaned up a little from some excess glue I gave them a coat of ink and alcohol.
I sprayed the building with Aqua Net hair spray and threw salt all over it.
I sprayed it with coat of Folk Art Antique white.
Next a heavy coat of Folk Art Black Cherry.
I rubbed the salt off with a small wire brush and painted the trim Antique White.
The windows and doors went in easy. I did run into a bit of a problem with the "glass" that came with the kit. It has a printed outline on it and I cut it on the wrong side of the line, so they was all too small. I ended up using Scotch Tape for the glass. Sticky side out and then a coat of DulCote to keep dirt from sticking to it.
The roof is card stock and it's cut to fit. It fit perfect. The tar paper is peel and stick stuff that works really nice.
The roof shingles are peel and stick too. They're in strips. A little tedious, but I love them. They look really great.
So this is finished until I get it mounted to a base.
After I get it glued to a base I'll do some weathering and add the signs and the castings and all that other little stuff. I'm planning to have those Woodland Scenic painters painting the building. I'll have a small section with fresh paint on it. I'm thinking about having some other construction going on too. Sort of like the building is being rehabbed.
I was really impressed with the kit. It's made by Best Trains. The box is really nice. Embossed printing and its like something that jewelry would come in. The picture of the finished model is really clear, which makes it nice when you need to see small details on how things go together. This was a really nice kit to build. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Inside the box there's a couple pages of great instructions and all the pieces have been carefully packaged and thoughtfully arranged.
This is a simple kit. All the pieces are cut perfectly. The windows and doors at made by Titchy and fit in the openings without any problems. The metal castings are nice. They do need a little bit of clean up, but nothing major. Mostly just a little flash.
The are two ways to build the kit. A short version and a long version. I chose the long version with the addition on the back. The wood for the kit is color coded which makes it really easy to use the right pieces in the right places without having to measure anything. Only the corner pieces and the trim around the roof need to be cut. That was done quickly with a razor blade. I used Titebond wood glue and had the building together in about an hour. Most of that time was waiting for the glue to dry. I added 45 degree pieces in the corners to help keep is square.
After the walls were together and cleaned up a little from some excess glue I gave them a coat of ink and alcohol.
I sprayed the building with Aqua Net hair spray and threw salt all over it.
I sprayed it with coat of Folk Art Antique white.
Next a heavy coat of Folk Art Black Cherry.
I rubbed the salt off with a small wire brush and painted the trim Antique White.
The windows and doors went in easy. I did run into a bit of a problem with the "glass" that came with the kit. It has a printed outline on it and I cut it on the wrong side of the line, so they was all too small. I ended up using Scotch Tape for the glass. Sticky side out and then a coat of DulCote to keep dirt from sticking to it.
The roof is card stock and it's cut to fit. It fit perfect. The tar paper is peel and stick stuff that works really nice.
The roof shingles are peel and stick too. They're in strips. A little tedious, but I love them. They look really great.
So this is finished until I get it mounted to a base.
After I get it glued to a base I'll do some weathering and add the signs and the castings and all that other little stuff. I'm planning to have those Woodland Scenic painters painting the building. I'll have a small section with fresh paint on it. I'm thinking about having some other construction going on too. Sort of like the building is being rehabbed.