This is the time of year when a visit to the local hobby shop shifts from RC cars to trains. On our recent trip my son eagerly picked out a new house for his Lionel train set we display each Christmas. Despite the seemingly endless stacks of kits standing before him, he quickly found one that he really liked: a small log cabin produced by Bachmann. When we arrived back home, my son tore open the box and proceeded to assemble the kit. Since it was little more than four walls and a roof, he was done in about 10 minutes!
Staring at a monochromatic chocolate brown building, my son’s charm for the kit quickly vanished. I asked if he would like to paint it and I was happily met with a smile and an enthusiastic nod.
To start we primed the little cabin with grey paint which was allowed to cure overnight. Next we mixed up several different shades of brown to paint the logs. This was followed with a wash of Citadel Agrax Earthshade and later a drybrush with a khaki color. The doors were painted a dark crimson and later the frames were picked out with a bright red. The roof was painted much like the logs except with darker colors.
I think the final product looks great! My son did a wonderful job with just a little bit of direction from yours truly. Although this was a brand new kit, the plastic parts themselves were stamped with a copyright dated 1952. Who says you can’t make a nice model from an old kit? It may not be very detailed but with a nice coat of paint it sure looks good beneath the Christmas tree.
