Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Work Bench #3 - More Gamecraft Miniatures Buildings

These are the other two MDF terrain pieces I purchased from Gamecraft Miniatures. Much of what I wrote about the Small Cargo Module applies here: 15mm, made for Ambush Alley's Tomorrow’s War, and expect a wood smoke smell after getting the parts out the package.



The larger piece is named the Garage/Shop Module (15MTW003) and has the Optional Raised Detail (15MTW003-1) added. The cargo door and the building itself are a little small to hold most 15mm vehicles, so I'm not sure about calling it a garage. It works fine as a workshop or storage building, though.

The Small Module (15MTW001) also has the Optional Raised Detail (15MTW001-1) offered for this piece. It could represent a small residence, office, or storage building by itself. On the other hand, Gamecraft Miniatures made it just the right size for another option: stack it on top of a larger piece in the same product line. Placed on the Garage/Shop Module, it becomes a second story office or on-site residence.



Assembly was fairly simple, but I did run into an issue not present on the Small Cargo Module. I used super glue for the initial assembly followed by watered down craft glue to seal off any gaps. The roof and corners were still uneven after assembly. The MDF parts fit together well, but not perfectly, resulting in small gaps. I spread some filler (the same stuff used to fit holes in drywall) over the top and on the corners. A day and a little sanding later, the issue was mostly resolved. Some of the gaps can still be seen, but are not really noticeable at table top distances.

I used almost the same painting methods as on the Small Cargo Module. The only difference was going easy on the weathering for these pieces. I wanted them to look used, but still kept up.

The laser etched detailing is pretty good. It is deep enough to be seen after painting, especially if using thinned paints and washes.

The optional raised detailing does add to appearance of the pieces. It has a much stronger effect than the laser etching and is clearly visible even from across the room. It also almost doubles the cost of each piece. Personally, I like the optional detailing, but I can see how the choice between it and more pieces for roughly the same price might be an issue for some folks.

Overall, these are good, solid pieces that I'm looking forward to putting on the table. I plan on buying more when time and finances permit.

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