American model builders structures

[nachoman]

Does anyone have experience with American Model Builders kits? There are at least two that I am considering for my layout, the small church and the company house. The description says they are laser cut wood and easy to assemble. Are these the kind of kits that are basically a box of raw materials and an instruction sheet, or the kind where there are a few precut and shaped pieces that need to get glued together? How are they for adding extra details or kitbashing, or slightly rearranging the floorplan?

[Sumpter250]

I don't know about American Model Builders kits, but typically, laser cut kits have locater tabs and slots, and all the pieces are cut to size and shape. It's more like many of the plastic kit buildings than the "craftsman kits" ("Are these the kind of kits that are basically a box of raw materials and an instruction sheet" ).
Kitbashing is always possible, but with laser cut kits you will have to have some experience with wood construction.
If the kits are cut sheet basswood, common tools, and a lot of gentle handling will be enough for kitbashing. If they are cut microplywood, you might need slightly more sophisticated tools to kitbash. In either case, straight assembly is really no more complicated than a plastic kit.
Painting is probably better done before assembly. I did have to paint some pre-assembled laser kits, and it's do-able, but the masking takes for ever.

[thumsup]

I have very little hands on experience. What I do know, or at least believe is not to use a
water based primer. It well raises the grain of the wood and affect the finish coat of paint.
Just my 2 cents.

Joe

[Londoner]

AMB structure kits are amongst the best. They almost fall out of the holding sheets and the ends are cut so they inter-lock making it easy to keep the building square. I have made several and am currently making the elevated warehouse.

What they do not have is signs or scenic detail castings. This is made up for with the ease of construction and exploded diagrams in the instructions so you see exactly where everything goes. Highly recommended.

Ken

[Saltwater Cowboy]

This is the one I've built. Extremely nice kits and fun to build. I highly recommend them!



Matt