I had time to nearly finish one of 4Ground's larger kits, halting only when I discovered that their laser had ruined one of the window frames. I've still got to see of they'll replace the sprue.
After stalling on that project, I happened to be trawling the Internet looking for new ways to convert euros to MDF. 3D-DZYN's production is halted for the rest of the year for reasons I can't go into here, and the really colorful kits by wargame-buildings.com have left the marketplace. Luckily, Sarissa Precision has a huge catalogue and happened to have a few buildings on sale and shipping rates that are criminally low. I was able to pick up two new buildings plus the optional peaked roof kits for only $29 shipped. How am I supposed to pass on a deal like that? I'm only human!
The kits arrived here in Germany in less than a week, packed with a candy, which I did appreciate, even if my parents drummed into me the importance of not taking such things from strangers. The box with all four kits was half the size of the one containing my most recent 4Ground model, which was almost a surprise.
As expected, the kits are pretty basic. There are no moving doors or extra gubbins. The sheets are thin, but it's MDF so it's not a real drawback. The point with these is to affordably fill out your western town, which isn't going to happen with $50 4Ground kits unless you have piles of cash.
One thing that surprised me was the accuracy of their laser. There are no over cuts and the lines are perfect. Parts fit together quite well on test fittings.
I hit the interior walls and the windows and door trim with white spray. The facade got a brush of GW's Squig Orange, unthinned to leave in the brush marks.
The roof was washed with varying thickness coats of Dryad Bark to give it a streaky weathered look. As the paint started to dry, I wiped the paint away with a paper towel to leave it looking more like untreated wood and to camouflage the dark tab ends you see at the ends of the roof.
The back of the facade got sprayed white, just like with the barber shop; in both cases I forgot to mask that part and chose to live with it. At least my mistakes are consistent.
The kit went together smoothly. Are there things I'd change, of course. The roof is a bit too steep and tall, peeking over the top of the false front. The window frames could have been thinner, but that would have required an additional sheet. There are also really no frills. The first thing my wife said when she saw the completed model was, "Do the doors open?" Finally, it could have used a sign.
On the other side of ledger, there is a lot to like about this kit beyond the great price and ease of assembly. The proportions are the best I've seen, ignoring the steep roof. It's long and narrow, unlike the more toy toy-like kits out there by other manufacturers. It really replicates the dimensions of 19th century western buildings. The facade is more delicate, which is helped by not having to beef up details to accommodate moving doors. I can't get past what a nice model this is. It hits a sweet spot for being useable for gaming while looking really good.
One other benefit to this model is that it feels anonymous. Everyone can spot the 4Ground kits a mile out. They're nice, but every western gamer owns Rogan's Bar. Seeing an easily identifiable kit pulls one out of the sense that they're seeing a unique and interesting setting. It's like watching "The Phantom Menace" and seeing the characters use a Schick razor as as a communicator.
There is something very gratifying about making a few tweaks to a kit and seeing it come together as something unique. A few hours of work resulted in a model I really like. A really nice, personalized old west town is possible with kits that go together easily and only require a small bit of effort to sharpen up. I see myself coming back to Sarissa again and again.
Looking forward to seeing the whole town!
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