There was a time when I looked at the nice stuff being produced by 4Ground and Sarissa Precision. I would admire their kits and wonder who on earth had enough money to buy all this stuff? Fantastic products. But their prices remain a flight of fantasy to someone like myself. So instead I made everything out of foamcore, cereal packet card and match sticks, with the occasional bit of balsa wood and a handful of matchsticks thrown in where appropriate. This worked fine on smaller buildings like my wild west Town with No Name. But when it came to making skyscrapers, it began to fall apart as my scenery began to warp after a number of months. It was a depressing time.
And then recently I stumbled across a company called TT Combat. I looked at the buildings they made and I began to get excited. Then I saw the price, and my jaw hit the floor. Not in shock in a 4Ground kind of way. It hit the ground because I simply couldn't believe how much you get for such a good price.
I had to give them a go. Now normally I'd manage to talk myself out of such buffoonery. But not this time. And I was delighted to learn I'd get a couple of sets for my birthday. This of course had me worrying in case the kits were cheap and ill-designed. But when I saw them on the big day, I wasn't disappointed at all.
My first kit then was the Police Station.
Here's what you get in the pack:
As you can see, there's very little waste on each sheet. What is conspicuous by its absence is the instructions sheet. I initially thought this would be bad thing, but a quick look at the photos of the buildings on the TT Website quickly lay any worries to rest.
And the details are fantastic! Look! Even the door handles have recesses in them.
As too does the police badge.
So the first job was to remove the pieces from the sheet. As you can see, there really is very little wastage on this model. In the past I've made the small wagon kits from Sarissa and 4Ground for my wild west scenery. I have to say I prefer TT Combat's laser cutting. All the pieces came away easily and without worry. Even the small circles from the balcony. I remember struggling to release a number of parts from the wagon kits. Now, they may have improved somewhat since then, but I was amazed at how easy TT Combat had made this job for me.
The first floor (or second if you're from the other side of the pond to myself) is made up of the following parts:
The roof parts:
And with a little bit f help from the base, we have the part dry fit of the ground floor(or first floor). It was at this point that I began to get very excited about the way the floors fit together to allow access to each level f the building during play. I'm not used to having this option and am rather excited about trying this out in my games!
It's worth noting that TT Combat's buildings are made with 3mm MDF compared to Sarissa's 2mm. Whilst I'm sure 2mm is more than adequate enough, TT Combat's Police Station feels incredibly sturdy. This is a very good thing in my book. As I also received Sarissa's Chateau for my B-day, so I'll let you know how well it fares later. Anyway, the ground/first floor looks like this once assembled with PVA glue.
And from the front...
I confess that the doors are wider than I would have made them, but I assume this is because they are designed to allow a model's base to pass through them.
Here's the first/second floor with balcony attached. The window sections add rigidity to the piece as they act as an additional means of connecting the walls to the floor.
I left each section to dry for a couple of hours before moving on to the next one. There's nothing worse than gluing separate floors together. Well, apart from world poverty. And terrorism. And racism. And..well.. you get the gist!
And with the separate roof completed, the finished building looks like this:
And what a solid piece of kit it is as well!
The sections are a really nice fit, making a solid building. The next stage for me is to seal the MDF. I didn't do this before assembly on purpose. I'm hoping the assembly will help the individual pieces to resist any warping. But as I am intending to seal it with a mix of PVA with only a little water, I doubt any warping would occur anyway.
Next time: Sealing, Glazing and Painting! As always, thanks for stopping by!
And then recently I stumbled across a company called TT Combat. I looked at the buildings they made and I began to get excited. Then I saw the price, and my jaw hit the floor. Not in shock in a 4Ground kind of way. It hit the ground because I simply couldn't believe how much you get for such a good price.
My first kit then was the Police Station.
Here's the first/second floor with balcony attached. The window sections add rigidity to the piece as they act as an additional means of connecting the walls to the floor.
Next time: Sealing, Glazing and Painting! As always, thanks for stopping by!
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