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In-Box Review
135
Grocery Store
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by: Scott Lodder [ SLODDER ]

This kit is the interior fixtures for a WWII period grocery store. The box art tells a good story of what this kit is all about. It has a tall cupboard with shelves and a cabinet. Out front is a large “L” shape counter. The accessories are: big baskets of potatoes or apples, trays of vegetables, a bag of flour/grain, various bottles and canisters, a cutting board, a wood plane (?), note book, scale and cash register.

All in all there are 33 resin pieces and a small PE sheet.

Key measurements:

Cupboard 55mmH x 15mmD x 32mmW
Counter is 25mm high
Counter 64mmW x 30mmD (at deepest), 16mmD (narrowest)
Counter height – 25mm
Bottle is 9mm high

Closer Look

Taking a closer look at the kit shows that this is a nice addition to your stash. The wooden pieces have lightly brushed texture that should mimic wood tones very well. Other textures that look good are the baskets, the grain, and even the cash register. The wicker baskets show nice tight weaves. The grain in the bag is stippled resin, not just a flat casting. The cash register has ornate moldings on it very much like period registers.

Historically

A quick look in Wikipedia for grocery stores shows that on first take this kit fits the bill. The loose product on furniture like fixtures is spot on. In Europe this style of “Mom and Pop” stores is very prevalent and could even be used in dioramas later than WWII.

The cash register is a nice touch of history. The cast details are reminiscent of period registers. The PE sheet has ‘buttons’ to add even more realism. These are really small parts so be very careful.

The Model

This construction of the kit is straight forward. The biggest challenge for you will be the PE buttons on the register; they are really, really small. The rest looks very basic. The bigger pieces have typical resin blocks. They are in easily removable locations so they should not be too bad. The counter has a pretty cool feature, it’s reversible. The top has wood grain texture on both sides so it can be flipped over and the “L” can go on the left or right side.

One big question is the existence of a shelf. One of the pieces is an obvious shelf (6th photo with the register.) The instructions don’t show the intended location for it. The only place I can think it could go would be underneath the “L” counter. This would be a feasible location, but not a practical one because you really won’t see it.

Size

The counter is roughly scaled out to 87cm (34 inches) high. That’s within normal limits.
The width scales out to be 2.24m wide (88 inches), again within normal limits.
The bottles scale to 12 inches. Again pretty acceptable.

Impressions

This kit impresses me quite a bit. The potential is really good. If you do a diorama of a shop interior this would fit. If you do a war damaged diorama this can easily be used to fill in as debris. The quantity of parts and details is great and can really fill a scene.

The details of the pieces are good. The resin looks very workable. What test fitting I did look like the parts that do get assembled will go together well.
SUMMARY
Highs: Good details, wide variety, lot of pieces.
Lows: Price, other than that none to report.
Verdict: Good solid kit, a must have for an interior shop.
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 336
  Suggested Retail: $30
  PUBLISHED: Dec 13, 2009
  NATIONALITY: Czech Republic
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 82.50%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 85.93%

Our Thanks to Plus Model!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Scott Lodder (slodder)
FROM: NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

I modeled when I was a teenager. College, family and work stopped me for a while. Then I picked it back up after about 12 years off. My main focus is dioramas. I like the complete artistic method of story telling. Dioramas involve so many aspects of modeling and I enjoy getting involved in the ...

Copyright ©2021 text by Scott Lodder [ SLODDER ]. All rights reserved.



   
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