European City Steps - 1:72 Airfix

[Paul A H]

European City Steps

1:72 Airfix

These rather nice stone steps are the second item we've reviewed from Airfix's resin buildings range this month, following on from their rather nice European City Fountain. As with the fountain (and the yet-to-be reviewed Polish bank and Czech restaurant), it is labelled as 1:72 scale rather than the 1:76 scale used for earlier buildings in this range. This should be taken as a guide rather than a rule though, as on their website, Airfix advise it can be used with either scale and it would be a pernickety modeller who would disagree.

As with the other items in the range, this is a one-piece model that requires no assembly. It looks pretty robust but is well packed in expanded polystyrene just in case. One word of advice though these things are easier to remove from the box than they are to get back in! As with the other items in this range, this fountain is cast in the hard, white resin. The level of detail on this piece is just as good as the other items in the range and you can have a lot of fun painting and weathering the stone blocks to make it look as realistic as possible. I've painted these building before, and the matt finish of the resin makes it very easy to apply paint and weathering powders to. The steps also have a wire handrail pre-fitted. If you take the time to add a streetlight or some other points of interest, you can really bring the item to life.

Conclusion

I like Airfix's of resin buildings very much. They make an excellent platform for dioramas and would look just as good on the wargaming table. With a little extra work they will look really special, and I can just imagine finishing this with an abandoned T-34/76 at a jaunty angle. Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of