Plastic kits

[Thimble Hall]

Hi, yesterday  after toying with the idea for some time I ordered some of those plastic kits.. Chrys  something. It is a long time since I did anything with a plastic kit, years ago with the kids and Dad.. just aircraft. I watched someone on youtube painting one with nail varnish which didn't help. Is there anything I need to know before I start these. I am Ok with cleaning off the ends etc prior to gluing and I seem to remember I used plastic cement years ago, but should anything be prepainted and how do you achieve the look of wood on plastic.. Final question, just how realistic are they. Any help appreciated before I start.

[havanaholly]

I love the Chrysnbon kits, Jeannine.  I use the Testor's in the RED tube with ventilation.  On the kits that are supposed to be wood finish (like the icebox you can hardly see in my pub's kitchen:  https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=testors+model+cement&qpvt=testor%27s+mode+cement&FORM=IGRE and the wooden parts of the bathroom fixtures I used regular Minwax stain:

For painting the polystyrene I use my go-to Rustoleum matte gray aerosol primer and acrylics, and for a gloss/ enamel finish I do a coat of clear nail polish (like on the cookware).

[grazhina]

The only one I've used is the one for the big Victorian stove and I found it to be beautifully detailed. I quite liked it.

[jdodyd]

I like the Chrysnbon kits a lot.  You do have to use the model kit glue like  Testor's (available at your local Walmart in the section where they sell boy's toys and plastic car models).  I've used both paint and stain on them and it generally works quite well.  They seem to me to be slightly smaller in scale than most dollhouse furniture and that can be very handy for some of the dollhouses with smaller rooms.  They are usually quite detailed and have a lot of small pieces that you have to separate and do some sanding in spots.

[pgwyn]

I built the bathroom kit and it was relatively easy to do.  My painting didn't turn out as good as some pictures I have seen but it can be done.  I really liked the scale of the bathroom kit.  The porcelain pieces I have were to bulky for my house.

[Thimble Hall]

Thank you both, I can see the wood finish Holly I am quite surprised I would have thought it would have soak in to work, but I can see it, well done.

I bought the kits just a few minutes to the closing second on miniature.com 20% Halloween sale and I am not exactly sure what I ordered, I will have to look up the email to be certain but I do know I ordered the kitchen stove for sure, the organ for sure and I think I got the icebox and 1 more thing.

One reason I bought them was for the detail and another because they don't look as clunky as some things

Thank you all for the help

[havanaholly]

The parlor  pump organ was the first Chrysnbon kit I ever built, I made a sweet little old granny doll to play it and made a roombox out of an ornamental birdcage to give my MIL for Mothers Day one year; her hobby is playing the organ, although hers is a full double keyboard and full pedals electronic job that takes up about 15% of the great room in her apartment.  That was when I discovered that Minwax does such a good job.  You're going to want to do a couple of coats, wiping off some of the surface of the first coat and also a bit of the second; the residue picks out the grain in the plastic.  There was an article in one of the first American Miniaturist magazines that I used to age the stove in the pub kitchen.  I bought and finished the cookware kit because the finished pieces were not only expensive but looked clunky to me.

[Thimble Hall]

Thanks Holly I didn't know they had a wood grain finish, makes sense. Mine are at the border waiting to be collected along with my 2 Victoriannas but I am waiting for 1 more parcel before I go.

[Thimble Hall]

I finally found the glue in another town and am all ready to start them now