Country House - 1:72 Mini Art

[Paul A H]

Country House

1:72 Mini Art

Whilst the range of model buildings available to modellers working in the smaller scales is growing, it seems but a drop in the ocean compared to the thousands of items available in the larger scales. For some time now I've been coveting Mini Art's 1:35 model buildings, jealously eyeing up Mike's and Dave's reviews and wishing that Mini Art would branch out into 1:72. Well now my prayers have been answered, with this Country House marking the 27th kit in the Ukrainian firm's more bijou range.

The kit arrives packed into a sturdy top-opening box, the lid of which is adorned with a nice clear photograph of the finished model. Inside are 34 sprues containing a total of 110 parts. Unlike many of Mini Art's larger scale models, this kit is 100% injection moulded. The component parts are colour coded in brick red, terracotta, white and grey plastic. The quality of moulding is absolutely superb, and the kit certainly looks the part on the sprue.

The model looks like it should be pretty straightforward to assemble. The basic structure of the house is made up of slabs of plastic with either brick or tile moulded on the outsides. Details such as the stonework, door and window frames are moulded in white plastic, which will make painting much easier. While we're on the subject of painting, Mini Art have chosen to use four colours of plastic in order to give the purchaser the option of assembling the model without painting it. If you're after something quick for the wargaming table, then fair enough. If you want to use it as the centrepiece of a diorama, then get your brushes warmed up!

The instructions deserve a mention as they are so good. They are printed in full colour on glossy paper, and are superbly clear. If you go wrong whilst building this kit, then you've probably been holding them upside down.

Conclusion

If, like me, your appetite for decent small scale diorama accessories isn't matched by the supply, then I can heartily recommend Mini Art's new range. This kit is a high-quality offering with a pretty reasonable price tag. My only slight gripe is that the brick and tile effect is a little too perfect and uniform, but that can always be addressed by the builder. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[John_W]

Very reminiscent of the Faller buildings for model railways.

[steveinns]

As much as I like the look of these buildings, I have difficulty trying to decide what country of origin they represent. Possibly more Western front than Eastern ?

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Looks decent and the modular system has a lot of promise, I'm really hoping they will introduce a range of damaged wall & roof sections to match the existing parts.....If they do, these kits will suddenly have massive appeal to wargamers.

[Julien]

As much as I like the look of these buildings, I have difficulty trying to decide what country of origin they represent. Possibly more Western front than Eastern ?

Does seem a bit generic?

Julien

[sharkmouth]

Looks decent and the modular system has a lot of promise, I'm really hoping they will introduce a range of damaged wall & roof sections to match the existing parts.....If they do, these kits will suddenly have massive appeal to wargamers.

They would also have to address the fact that none of the releases I have so far have any indication of interior (no walls, floors, etcetera).

Regards,

[steveinns]

With the style of architecture, it wouldn't look out of place in a late 19c or early 20c northern european railway layout ?