Back in early April, 2018, The N-Scale Architect made a post on Facebook and other social media sites looking for three candidates to build their 'Naval Gun Load and Pennsylvania F22 Flatcar' kits and provide their unbiased feedback on building the kits. They would provide the kits for free and gave a timeline to post feedback. I thought that I would throw my name into the ring, and low and behold, was selected as a participant. Shortly after being notified, I received the kit in the mail with a nice letter from the company's owner.
Over the next several weeks, between work, family, and personal obligations, I began work on the kits. The first task was to open and inspect the parts and instructions. All of the pieces were in great condition and had some excellent detail. The instructions were thorough and complete, and included many fine diagrams and photographs. Most of the parts are 3-D printed through Shapeways (I assume) and needed to be cleaned first. I have dabbled in some 3-D printing of my own and have found Goo Gone followed by a mild dish detergent and a thorough rinsing to be more than adequate for this task. After air drying for several days, the parts were ready for a coat of primer. I just used a regular spray can of gray primer and found that I liked this color for the main portions of the gun barrel. Following the primer, came some color coats for the gun barrel supports and the flat cars. I used an airbrush for this task with some Badger Model Flex paints. Assembly of parts was next, starting with the gun load. All parts went together easily without any kind of sanding. The wire rods on the gun load were a little tricky and I wish that I had painted the brass before assembly. Fine details on the flat car such as the stirrups and coupler levers were somewhat of a challenge and required a bit of patience. After painting the trucks, adding the axles, and installing them on the cars, I noticed that some of the stirrups were a bit too long and interfered with the movement of the trucks. Decals were next; wow are they small! Again, taking your time can really pay off. Since there were three flat cars, I would apply the same decal to each of the cars before moving onto the next decal. After installing the brake wheels, lightly weathering, the kits were completed and ready for a run around the layout. My minimum radius is 15" with Atlas code 55 track and turnouts. The load made it around my layout with no trouble whatsoever.
Review
Here are my thoughts about this kit: there is a lot of bang for the buck in this kit, being that it is really four kits in one, three F22 flat cars and the gun barrel load. Seeing that I was building multiple items at once, it was nice to be able to bounce back and forth between items while paint or glue dried. All of the 3D printed parts have excellent detail and hold up well to handling. Paint goes on smoothly and glue adheres properly if the material is cleaned properly. The gun barrel load assembles easily and looks quite good. While the flat cars are weighted sufficiently and there is not really much assembly, the detail parts and decals on the flat cars are quite a challenge to get aligned properly. Instructions for this kit are more than sufficient, but some of the detail assembly is definitely not for the faint of heart.
Conclusion
I have been an N-scale modeler for almost 40 years and have built many structure kits, from plastic models, to wood craftsman kits, to kit bashing and scratch building. I have only assembled a few rolling stock kits which include an American Model Builders caboose and an old Roundhouse caboose. I am NOT an armchair or display case modeler. Whatever I am going to spend a significant amount of time building, painting and detailing must have a place on my layout. This kit from the N-Scale Architect will definitely have a place on my layout as an occasional "extra" in my operating sessions.
Lastly, I would like to thank the folks at the N-Scale Architect for the opportunity to share my modeling skills and thoughts about their product. I most certainly will continue to purchase the products that they produce as they fit into the scheme of my layout,
