Introduction

Having a variety of structures to use when building a diorama is becoming more available, and AddOn Parts is continuing to add to their line of ceramic cast structures with a French Corner House.

Contents

Inside the box packed with foam peanuts and wrapped in bubble wrap you will find four ceramic cast parts making up the walls and two chimneys stacks as well as 3 resin parts for the roof and window shutters. There is also a little bag of ceramic glue powder for assembly.

Review

Like previous AddOn Parts items, the ceramic casting is superb. The walls show great detail, including the wood beam on the exposed wall from plaster chipping. The exterior shows some external structure supports as well as a drain pipe leading to the ground with great looking details. The inside surfaces of the building is flat and looks finished, making it easier for those who will to paint and/or detail the interior. The wall surfaces measure approximately 5” by 4” at the base, and stands almost 10” to the chimney. The windows of the building are cast solid on the interior, as the kit contains resin cast shutter. But this could be easily rectified by cutting them open and adding some balsa wood and clear plastic windows if desired. As for assembly the one end of the plaster wall will require sanding for a good fit.

The roof section and window shutters are cast in resin and look to show a metal roof section and wooden shutters. The roof details looks good and the shutter detail is decent, unfortunately with no cast wood grain effect. The resin cast parts will need to be sanded to remove excess resin from the casting process, but not a big issue.

The kit includes two plaster cast chimney stack to add the detail on the top of the chimney and they look great.

Unfortunately in shipping one wall broke, but being plaster it is forgiving and can be put back together very easily. It should be noted that this kit travelled all the way from Europe to North America via mail.

Conclusion

Overall this is a great looking diorama structure from AddOn Parts and should make for an excellent diorama. The casting in both the plaster and resin are good, and with a little work and detailing the kit will make for a great looking structure. The minor issues of the windows casted shut at the interior, no wood grain on shutters, and the unfortunate breakage in shipping are easily fixable. I highly recommend this structure for anyone looking to build a new diorama representing a French town or city.