Review by Charlie Getz
Carolina Craftsman Kits offers a series of kits in very limited release. For this review, I built the Hamilton, an HO scale hotel with elaborate façade, fire escape, and vertical sign. The kit retails for $154.35 and contains laser-cut laser board, wood components, acetate, signage, Tichy fire escape, duct work, AC unit, sidewalks and a bag of “gravel” for roofing, but no instructions, although there are pages of assembly diagrams primarily for the front façade. The side and back walls are laser-etched cinder block/stucco. This kit is a fun challenge as it combines kit components with scratchbuilding skills. Even with the diagrams, you will need to customize and perhaps modify the parts to fit your vision.
For example, I discovered that the side and end walls were too low to line up with the second-story windows on the front façade. The roof would also be too low. So, I added a foundation overlaid with Foggy Mountain stone paper. Well, that solved the height problem, but created a façade issue as the cornice was now too short. So, I added an additional layer made from scrap wood to match the trim provided, though the roof is still almost flush with the front façade. I also elected to add craft stucco paint to the side and back walls for emphasis, painting the exposed cinder blocks a brown color to represent a Western adobe brick building.
The AC unit seemed too small for a building this large and the ductwork provided, too large (both assembled from laser-cut wood components) so I saved those for other projects adding a CC Crow seamed tarpaper roof, Suydam cast metal globe vents, a roof access stair casting, and billboard. I also added modified Roomettes interiors for the hotel lobby, adjacent liquor store and two upstairs rooms with lighting. I added figures as well.
I copied and re-sized the Hotel Hamilton provided signage to add wall signs, also installing the provided vertical sign and adding a few other signs from my stuff. The front façade, created from overlapping card layers, is outstanding and very effective. I also made the roof removable. The remaining construction was rather straightforward with traditional assembly and bracing.
All in all, this was a most satisfying exercise with a distinctive and different building as a result. Jeff says he will keep this kit in stock for a while so you may want to order one if interested, sooner than later.
Carolina Craftsman Kits
17987 Constitution Circle
Hagerstown, MD 21740
(301) 491-0797
