MiniArt

1/35 Ruined Church

Stock Number: 35533

Reviewed By  Michael Delano, IPMS# 45465

MSRP: $22.95 Review Sample Provided by Dragon Models USA: www.dragonmodelsusa.com [Editor's Note: see also a review of the church with included diorama base.] This being my first foray into MiniArt diorama buildings, I wasn't sure what to expect with this kit. I was very pleasantly surprised upon opening it, however. This particular building is labeled as a 'Ruined Church'. It looks to be in the Gothic architectural style judging by the apparent incomplete lancet arch. The kit comes boxed with approximately 35 parts (not all of them are used with this particular building) along with a bonus set of Dragon's "Winter Combat (Eastern Front 1924/43)" German figures. For purposes of reviewing the MiniArt kit, I decided not to include these in the review.

The kit itself includes one gray plastic sprue that includes window and shingle details along with two sections of vacuformed plastic that includes the inner and outer wall halves. If you have experience with vacuform model kits, then this particular kit should give you no problems at all.

Assembly and finishing is very straight forward on this one. I began by cutting out and assembling each of the inner and outer wall halves. It is important to note that you must be extremely careful when cutting out the parts from the formed sheet - one small slip of the knife can result in a problematic hole in the wall that will need filling. Also, make sure you are using a new blade to ensure a clean cut. Once my walls were assembled, I gave the whole thing an overall spray of flat black to lay down my pre shading. Once dry, the entire assembly was given several light coats of Floquil Oxide Red. Coupled with the black under coat, I was very pleased with the results. The final touch was masking off and painting the stonework and decorative shingles. This was done with Floquil Lark Light Gray followed by a dry brushing of Tamiya Sky Gray to bring out the highlights. Overall, I was very pleased with this kit - it's ease of assembly coupled with what I think to be excellent molding would make this a fine addition for anyone who enjoys diorama components. Many thanks to Dragon Models USA for the opportunity to review this kit!