Put Your Foot Down and Drive!

I was originally going to put all this together into one blog post, but there's so much work involved in this excellent MDF kit from TT Combat, I thought I'd showcase the story so far...!

The Gas Station is made in 3mm MDF, and as you can see from the opened kit, there's not a lot of wasted space on the boards at all.
 And whilst it's a relatively straight forward build, the first thing that strikes you about the kit is the level of extra detail TT Combat have gone to.  There are signs and adverts all over the building.  And that level of detailing goes all round the building.  You don't see that on the wrapping.
 You even get handles for the petrol pumps.  I decided not to remove these from the frame just now for fear of losing them.  Just got to remember to not throw out the frame instead...
 So, excluding the pump handles, here's the parts removed from the frames.
 And as per usual, here's my dry fit of the pieces. I love the extra detailing on the windows at the front of the store.
I'll be adding perspex to all the window during final assembly.  Once again the dry fit shows me that I'm going to have to paint whole sections of the model before I stick it together.  It's always best to discover this before you begin playing with the glue...!
 So my next job was to size the MDF.  I used my trusty PVA mixed with a small amount of water.  Because this kit has a removable roof allowing access to the interior, both sides of the building needed sizing.
Once this dried, I began work on the detailing.
This was quite a time-consuming exercise.
But as you can see, it's worth taking the time to get everything done properly.  Even the Dino's eyeballs...
 Here's the shop front.
 And here's the back.  This piece took a little over three hours to get right.  It was, however, very therapeutic.
So what's next?  Well, there are adverts on both ends of the shop, so they'll take a while.  And I want to get all the little details onto the petrol pump.  I'll get the windows glazed before painting the interior of the building.  Then I'll be able to put it together, paint the rest of the building and add some weathering.

It's not a quick build, but it is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

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