The kit
In the Greenwood produce a range of good value, laser cut kits. The shop reviewed here was £6.00 with free shipping.
On opening the nicely presented box, you get the unmistakable waft of burning wood! There are some rather thick plywood parts and a sheet of instructions. No glazing is provided. The chimney parts are bagged separately.
The build
The parts slot together well and are a good fit. I had an issue with warpage on the side walls. A block of balsa glued to the inside fixed this. Press the parts under a heavy weight until the glue has set. The build progressed quickly with the shell being completed in about 20 minutes.
After assembly give the model a coat of primer. This takes paint much better than bare wood.
Painting
Paint the bricks with a salmon red colour. Try to paint the surface only. The gray primer then looks like old mortar. The woodwork was painted green. The signage and interior are from the Scalescenes high street shops download. Glazing was made from some Javis thick clear sheet. The curtains are just an off cut of purple card. Some weathering was added to the roof.
To add depth use some thin card to make the window lintels.
Conclusion
This range is great value for money, the only caveat is the warpage problem and the thickness of the wood parts. The roof ,wall thickness and barge-boards are over-scale to a large degree. It would be fairly easy to replace the roof. This would probably be a good idea anyway, if you are making a row.
A thin shim of brick detailing for the front of the chimneys would also be a good idea. Finally, adding some glazing material would be helpful for beginners.
You can buy this model built to order.
