That wonderful gentleman Neville, at Guernsey Foundry, sent two of the latest of Snapdragon Studio's (3 Norleaze, Heywood, Westbury, Wiltshire BA13 1LQ England) Multi-part kits for 25mm Old American West Buildings. Snapdragon Studio has two deals on for their products -spend 100 pounds on Old West buildings and qualify for free items not available for sale and for their Field Fortifications 50 pounds and get three free items. Sounds like a good deal to me.
The two kits I received were OAWK1 'Golden Nugget' Saloon and 'Cattleman's Weekly' both cost 10 pounds. This is not a bad price for either of these two kits.
Both kits consist of the front facade, two sides back and roof. The parts are all interchangeable for a variety of buildings. The instructions indicate that the buildings should be constructed first then painted. I would dchange the order slightly and wash the parts thoroughly first to ensure that any mold releasing agent or other grease does not interfere with the superglue.
Gluing these together is a snap, I did not glue the roof on either building so I can use the interior later. Painting these buildings is something else. The detail is well done and if it will really be painted in detail there should be no problems. However, buildings of most types in the west were not generally painted so you have a great deal of variety of wood weathering styles to chose from. All the wood has a grain, the window areas are flat, there are hinges but no door knobs on the facades, the rear sections have heavy sliding bolts on the outside. When I finish these they will be quite a center piece for my wild west town, or most any other Victorian era frontier situation, in particular Australia.
Other buildings available include one piece buildings, facades, rear lean-tos, Mexican buildings and all sorts of parts and pieces to add to facades and towns scenery. The field fortifications include a variety of revetments, rifle pits, and artillery positions.
The overall impression these two building kits give me is one of a job well done on Snapdragon Studio's part. These buildings are well worth the money. I am not sure who in the US carries these, but if you are contemplating any Wild West actions, these should be on your table.
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© Copyright 1996 by Richard Brooks.
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