I was able to pick up this kit at a train show this weekend. I had seen the built up versions on the net and on layouts....I had not seen an unbuilt kit yet. So when I got home from my travels I opened up the kit. It contains two bags. One has the dry transfer decals, instructions, printed and clear window stock, printed interior and black paper for view blocks. The other bag contains all the plastic parts, some on trees. Four walls, a roof and a number of detail parts are included. At first look I was impressed by the parts. They are tooled to make assembled buildings easy to produce but the detail is pretty good. The only issue I could come up with was the thickness of some parts is excessive to make them rugged to withstand shipping and handling. The side walls attach to the store front with a good tab and slot method. Once the structure is assembled it should be VERY stable. All of the other detail parts have very nice positive locators on them. IE the fire escape has nice strong pins that plug into the back of the building almost not needing glue. All the parts have similar positive locators....a BIG plus for novice and first time builders.
Looking over the kit and test fitting is all the further I have gotten....and with a few other projects on the desk right now it may be a while before I build it....But a HUGE Thanks to the folks at Woodland Scenics for issuing these as kits. There are still folks out here that prefer kits!! I see some minor mods to mine to make it different than all the others out there. If you have ever been tempted to buy one of these WS kits....go for it......even a first timer will have no problems. I will do a how to paint and build later.
