MiniArt 1/72 Freight Shed
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Overview
MiniArt has really been plowing full steam ahead in their 1/72 building line, and the modular construction, coupled with the full injection-molded assembly (as opposed to their vacuform/injection combination in 1/35) makes these a fairly simple project to throw together. This latest one is a bit different in that it provides a bit of an interior.
The Kit
Like the other buildings in MiniArt's 1/72 lineup, this one comes molded in a whole slew of colors, from brick red to stone gray to wood tan. This is actually good for several reasons, as it helps organize the many parts and makes it easier to figure out what color to paint what section. As this is a modular assembly system, there is quite a few seams to work with here, which can cause their own potential problems.
Starting off the construction, though, the first step is to build the foundation. This is made up from six pieces of stone work, which then gets the extra interior bits in the way of a wooden floor. These floor pieces run the full length of the shed, although one piece will need to be trimmed to fit. These pieces will help keep the six foundation pieces properly aligned, which is good given the size of the finished building. This kit also includes a stone ramp leading up to the small wall with a door.
The next step is the walls, and these are also made up from lots of smaller pieces. These are brick, and do not have any interlocking edges, so the seams here will look a bit off. Some careful scribing work, though, should minimize that effect. Another issue that I've found with these is that it takes a bit of work to get the mating surfaces exactly right. This is definitely an area where taking your time will pay off significantly down the road. For parts count, the back wall is made up from twelve pieces, the small side wall from seven pieces, the front wall with the doors from thirteen pieces, and the small wall with a door from six pieces. All of these need to be lined up, so definitely take time here.
Once the main shed walls are up, the roof is next, and this is probably the most problematic assembly in all of these MiniArt buildings. The roof provided is a tile roof, and the tiles are overlapping, with a rounded edge. The problem comes where the small sections connect up, as you are left with half the tiles butting up one another as they should, and half the tiles split down the middle, leaving a very challenging seam to fill. At least these sections are securely connected with large plates locking each section together. There are also end caps provided, and for one side of the roof, an overhanging section, complete with bracing struts. Finally, there are rounded tile caps to run along the peak of the roof.
Conclusion
While simple on the surface, the complexity of the modular system makes this a challenging model to build. It is time well spent, though, as the finished model will have lots of potential use, as it is a generic European-style building that would look natural in quite a few settings, from the First World War to modern times. My thanks to MRC for the review sample.