European Four Storey Shop Ruin

[Paul A H]

European Four Storey Shop Ruin

1:76 Airfix

Although Airfix are best known for their huge range of plastic kits, they do occasionally branch out into different, and perhaps unexpected, areas. Lately they have put together an interesting and expanding range of resin buildings in the same 1:76 scale used for their small scale armour kits. This piece, the European Four Storey Shop ruin, complements the other resin buildings in their range such as the European Ruined Workshop and European Ruined Cafe.

The model arrives in a compact box adorned with a photograph of the finished article. Inside, the model building is safely sandwiched between two chunks of expanded polystyrene packaging. The building itself is cast in hard, white resin which has a matt finish. I’m not sure exactly what type or resin it is, but it looks and feels very different to the resin that most manufacturers use for aftermarket detail and conversion sets. Regardless of the materials involved in construction, the quality of the casting is excellent. Surface details such as brickwork and roof tiles are perfectly represented and there is no sign of bubbles anywhere. There are a couple of details that don’t feature true to scale realism, such as the thick floor boards and the equally thick roof tiles, but other than that this is a really nice rendition of a ruined building.

Construction will be simplicity itself as the model is supplied in just one piece. The only assembly required will be the addition of the optional photo-etch brass window frames and the clear plastic film windows (although given the condition of the building I wouldn’t advocate the addition of too much glass in the window frames!). The window frames fit perfectly into place on the model, although they will need to be cleaned up a little to remove the attachment points that are noticeable here and there.

Conclusion

Although I’ve known about these buildings for a while, this is the first time I’ve been able to handle one and I have to say I’m very impressed. The building should look great if finished straight from the box, but could easily be turned into a truly stunning centrepiece for a diorama with a little more work. The matt finish should greatly aid paint adherence too. I’ve already got a diorama in mind featuring Airfix’s forthcoming Cromwell tank and I can’t wait to see which other buildings will join this range in due course.

Review sample courtesy of