Review by Martin Brechbiel/photos by the author
This structure was something I stumbled across in my travels. I thought it very interesting given it is a one-piece 3-D-printed structure delivered fully assembled, with a second assembled 3-D-printed section for the interior that slides into the house shell. Gold Rush Bay primarily makes smaller scale items, but there are a number of O scale structures that deserve attention.
This specific house design is gothic Victorian with the expected gable roof and a bay window. The interior section includes a bedroom, living room with chairs for lounging, reading lamp, and a fireplace. The house is 9” tall and 6” x 6” at the base. It arrives in white 3-D-printed plastic for you to paint using acrylic paint. It may need some light sanding or attention with a sharp scalpel to clear some excess printing “threads,” but I found that cleanup to be minimal and easily addressed. All that is really left to the modeler is to apply paint.
Therein lies a bit of a challenge. It’s rare that a modeler paints a structure at the fully completed stage of a project. There are parts and sections that one paints prior to it being fully completed because access to areas becomes constricted or limited. Such is the case here. Painting areas such as the eaves and the inside surfaces of the porch becomes just hard or impossible to reach with a brush, let alone even see without complicated contortions. But then if it can’t be seen, does it matter on the layout? Each modeler has to confront their own existential conflicts and should consult the works of Jean-Paul Sartre as needed. I simply tried to apply, to what I could see, a brush with paint on the tip. I may have succeeded.
After applying a rattle can of gray primer to the exterior, a measure of investigative re-search was involved in making paint color choices, i.e., many color photos of Victorian houses were perused. Thereafter, my stock of Polly Scale was inspected and measured. After considerable debate, colors were selected that might be almost appropriate for a house of this style. One could of course go lighter or darker as de-sired or mood dictates. Nonetheless, the exterior painting was completed and an interesting house arrived at in final form that will not be on many layouts. I know this with some surety as there was a little certificate included not-ing this house to be 38/500 produced.
In sum, this is an interesting structure that should be at home in many settings while it is available. It also serves notice as to just what might be possible to produce in O scale in the way of modest structures. Perhaps were the porch railing and other parts applied later by the modeler these would pose less of an obstacle for some, but most O scale modelers will be up to the challenge. I did not bother to paint the interior, nor did I consider lighting. Both might add considerable visual interest on the layout. The darker mood might go so far as to include sound effects featuring Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi. Those of you who take on one of these, please send the editor a photo or three of your painted model!
Carl’s Victorian House
(Interior Included)
MSRP: $89.00
Gold Rush Bay
P.O. Box 225215
San Francisco, CA 94122-5215
(415) 305-2456
