European Farmyard. 1:35 MiniArt

[Shar2]

European Farmyard

MiniArt 1:35

The latest release from MiniArt in their series of diorama kits is this large European Farmyard. Unlike some of the other kit this one does not come with a base. This is understandable as the completed farm is pretty large and the modeller has the option of building it either in an L shape or in a long I shape or any combination they can think of. The instructions actually show four variations and even though the kit comes in a large box to have a base that covered all options would make it much more expensive and require an even bigger box. As is usual the main building parts are produced on vacform moulds for which there are eleven sheets of vacform parts and an additional seven injection moulded sprues. All parts are in a medium grey styrene.

As with other vacform kits, it’s not necessary to cut all the way through the styrene to remove the parts, just score with a sharp blade and snap apart. Care should be taken when scoring the corner parts of the building as these make up prominent joins and whilst it is a ruined building these corners are meant to be intact. Once the parts have been removed from the backing sheets they will require a good sanding on the mating surfaces to ensure a tight join, care and patience prevail here as it will mean a lot less work with filling and sanding later on. Once all the vac parts have been prepared they can be glued together and onto the base. It is up to the modeller how they proceed with this but I generally build the building first, fill any gaps as required, then give it a coat of primer before painting it in the basic colours. When this is done, then the injected parts can be built up, painted and attached to their relevant positions.

The injected parts in this kit, comprise of the cart that is seen in a number of MiniArt kits along with the ladders, fences, gates and picnic tables. The kit specific items include a complete set of windows, window frames, shutters, the main barn doors with a smaller door inset into one. There are quite a few parts that aren’t mentioned in the instructions such as drain pipes, street lamps and there seems to be a surfeit of doors, both standard and Dutch type, thus giving even more options for the modeller.

The key to making these kits is preparation. Taking time in cutting gout and sanding the edges will make for much better joints, but also take care when gluing. The plastic ready accepts liquid poly type glues but use sparingly as any spillage will melt the details away which is actually quite difficult to hide unless doing a damaged building, which these really aren’t. With the construction complete give the parts a coat of primer before adding any top coat, after which you can weather to match your specific scenario.

Conclusion
This is another great kit from MiniArt which gives the modeller so many options it will definitely be one to plan out before building. A good sized base will also be needed, which is actually quite useful in this instance as the scope of the diorama is huge. I will certainly be putting this kit to good use once I find a board big enough for my plans. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[HOUSTON]

Dave,

Excellent review..very well written with nice photos to boot...

Thank you

I can just see this diorama being used as a lone farm on a long winding road as motorcycles whizz by.

[Shar2]

Thank you for that very kind comment Houston. I like you're dio idea, just goes to show how versatile these sets can be.