Distraction; DONE! 28mm wild west buildings finished

     Having had nothing aside from diet Coke to drink last night I awoke with a clear head and a quiet house, casting about for something to do that would fill the time until the Lions faced the Packers I remembered the remaining Gamecraft Miniatures buildings waiting on the workbench. I grabbed a cup of coffee and set to work. As before the models went together perfectly and the build was fast and smooth. Only at the end did I realize that I had made a mistake (which I blame on the lack of instructions - which I would not have read - but that is the excuse that I am going with) whilst assembling a couple of the models. The error was of small matter and easily made right, but I will point it out so others will not fall into the same trap.

     The first two buildings were near copies of the Saloon from the last article so I will not go into a lot of detail regarding the construction, needless to say they fit fine and I knocked them out in short order. But my feeling of elation lead me to make a mistake, let me show you with pictures (that thousand words thing, you know).

the parts laid out and ready to go

you should spread the glue thinly and evenly for the best results

you should clamp or weight the pieces while they dry

this is what I love about GCM buildings, they don't make me try to eyeball it,

 the place where the window frame belongs is unmistakable

with the sides and back done it was time to move on to the facade

with the clamps still in place I finished the front

then I found these in the bottom of the bits bag,

what on earth could these be?

they are clearly some sort of Victorian do-dad,

the kind of thing that had no practical purpose but made a definite style statement

brackets! of course, brackets, I have seen these many times on period buildings

so I promptly glued them in place

then added the ones that would go under the porch as well

(the Vikings seem to forming-up for something)

I assembled the walls and made sure they were square

I then added the fancy porch and thought myself well satisfied

the next building was identical except for the facade and brackets

and a fine looking building it is.........except.....

from GCM's site

         I went to CGM'c website to get some painting ideas while the glue was drying and was horrified to find this photo. What I had assumed to be brackets were actually architectural elements (called gee-gaws or dentils) the picture shows them holding another ornamental bit in place. Too late to rip them out as the glue had set I consoled myself with the thought that they looked pretty good as brackets.

      Suitable chastened I moved on to the largest of the models; the Livery Stable. This beast would pose a bigger challenge than getting my building bits right, the model is large enough that the glue did not have the tackiness to hold the wall sections in place while I monkeyed around getting the rest of the structure put together. I dry-fitted all of the parts to be sure that I wouldn't encounter any surprises during the assembly (they fit perfectly, of course). Lacking access to my stash of Legos I resigned myself to sitting and holding the first joint for ten minutes while the glue dried.

by far the largest model, it is also one of the simplest

after ten minutes I felt confident that the joint would hold

I added the next wall

another ten minutes and I could add the the last wall

constantly check the squareness of the model,

on a building this big any error will show

I got lazy and used the building to hold the roof square while it dried

it was reinforced, those long bits actually belong on other models,

I thought they were scrap bits

this thing is a beast, 28mm Perrys for scale

you could have a shoot-out INSIDE the model

it dwarfs the other buildings

the town square seems to lack something.....

something that featured in almost every Western Movie,,,,,,

what was it? 

A Hangman's Platform! Nothing like a gallows to cheer up the Public Forum

and there it was, next in line,

I have to say that this was the most intimidating kit of the lot,

all those pieces, no instructions

then I noticed that the framing was rabbeted

and that the size of the frame matched the size of the platform

the steps went together quicker and easier than I thought they would

just a little patience for the glue to set

then the fun could begin

when doing jobs like this I find it easier to add every other step

to avoid bumping the freshly added item with my fingers

then go back after the glue is set and add the rest

  

the cross-frame for the noose is next

and the "last walk" can be added

when adding the steps it is best to be sure that the treads all overhang on the same side

with a Perrys gunman for scale

     Aside from the misuse of a few parts (all my fault) this went as easily as the last batch. I think these are some darned fine models and will probably be buying some more. I am thinking of writing the GCM and asking for a load of the brackets as I find the little extra detail to the porch frames really makes the models come alive. I could also properly add the roof details that I screwed up. Put me down as a thoroughly satisfied customer.