JAMES HICKMAN builds this Modern unit in N Scale.
In this article I am building the N Scale Kestrel GMKD39 Modern Industrial Unit kit.
Found around the country, these styles of units were very popular in the 1980s so this kit could find a home on many layouts. The Kestrel kits are very easy to construct and can be completed very quickly. They are simple kits out of the packet, but can be enhanced to produce an even more pleasing finish when they are constructed.
To begin, the first thing to do is to remove all the components from their sprues and familiarise yourself with them. Laying them out on your work area also allows you to check all the parts are there and are intact. The components were removed using a sprue cutter and scalpel. The flash was then cleaned off using sanding sticks.
The first stage in construction is to fix the windows frames in place. This is done with the use of a plastic glue. Take care when fixing the windows in place on the end piece as this does stand a certain way up. Have a look at the brick moulding and you will see some vertical bricks round the opening, these will sit under the window and so this is the bottom of the panel. The window pieces have small and large openings, with the small ones designed to be at the top.
An optional stage here is to add glazing to the windows. Glazing isn't provided in the kit, but for this example I used some plastic packaging I had around from another kit and cut out small squares to cover the windows. These were then fixed onto the back of the window pieces with the plastic glue, and trimmed down. Clear plasticard can also be used here if no plastic packaging is available, and if you want an even more realistic looking glazing, you could use Deluxe Materials Glue 'n' Glaze.
Now we can start assembling the building. Start by attaching the brick side panels to the front brick section. Note that the two side sections are identical in size, so can be placed either way round. This allows you to decide which end of the building requires a blank wall and which requires a window. If you have two of these kits, you could swap them about and give one unit windows at both ends and the other no windows at all.
Now we can attach the cladded sides to the brickwork. Again, all construction is carried out here using a plastic glue. Once these are attached, the front can also be attached too.
Now the final side can be attached. Glue the rear section into position. At this point check all angles are square and flush. If you need to make any adjustments, now is the time.
Now the sides are all together, the roof can be attached. If you are going to be viewing the completed model from the front, glue the front panel first and visa versa. If there is anything misaligned when the roof is put into position, it will be less noticeable if done in this way. If there are any gaps here where to much was removed when it was removed from the sprue, these can now be filled. I used Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty on this kit.
And there we have it! The kit is completed and ready to plant. There is nothing wrong with using the kit as it is, but as always, I wanted to take it a little further. Read on to see what I did.
To start enhancing the kit, I attacked the brickwork with my usual paint-on/wipe-off method. I coated the brickwork in a suitable mortar-coloured acrylic paint and worked it between the bricks. I then gently wiped off the paint covering the brickwork, leaving behind the mortar lines.
Next, I painted the cladding. Some companies tend to clad their buildings in their company colours, like our buildings here at GM HQ, but other builds would be clad in a generic grey. I had not planned as to what the building would hold at this point, so a generic grey was used to cover the cladding. From here a darker grey was thinned and used as a sporadic wash, simulating a build up of grime. To obtain a more realistic finish, consult an online image search to see how the grime builds up on the real thing.
From here, the rear door and shutter were painted with the same dark grey as was used for the wash, but this time it was applied without being thinned. The windows also had a very thin wash before the building was glued down to the base, and that is it. The additional painting only took about half an hour to complete, not including drying times between coats, so as a project, the whole model can be completed in an afternoon, and you end up with a result comparable to a prebuilt resin model.
The image above shows the model after it has been planted on our base. From here it is just a case of adding the details around the model, for example a parked car or someone unloading a van behind the unit to set the scene.
Whatever building you choose, the Kestrel range of kits are nice low-cost kits with high potential. Why not start your Kestrel project today?