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Another Poor DPM Kit
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<P mce_keep="true">[quote user="tstage"] <P>[quote user="WIAR"]I spent about 30 min. sanding-down the rear wall's edges to get the structure perfectly square, because without that effort, "Cricket's Saloon" would've looked off-kilter from across the room let alone up close. Plus, who the heck can measure .02 inches on an N scale structure??[/quote]</P> <P>WIAR,</P> <P>You spent a half hour sanding the edges? Did you use the method outlined on the DPM instruction sheet? That really speeds up the "squaring up" process immensely.<BR></P> <P>Since I'm in HO, I can't speak for the N-scale kits. However, the DPM kits I've put together have been good quality kits. Yes, you have to sand some of the edges so that the walls are flat to one another but they do walk you through the process. And, because of the thickness of the walls, I've found the HO kits to be very sturdy.</P> <P>I think the brick and window detailing on the newer kits is quite nice for the price. The only thing that I don't care for with the older DPM kits are the window encasements. They're too thick and bulky.</P> <P>Lastly, besides purchasing a pair of calipers (which an inexpensive pair can be picked up for ~$20), if you want a quick and dirty method for measuring minute measurements, use a piece of paper. Most 8-1/2 x 11 paper is 3.5- to 4-mil (0.0035-0.004") thick. For calculating 20-mil (0.02"): Stack 5 - 6 sheets of paper on top of each other. Voila! 0.02" <BR></P> <P>Tom<BR></P> <P>[/quote]</P> <P>Yep - I sure did use the flat sanding sheet technique DPM suggested, and it was about 30 min. while watching Iowa hand South Carolina their lunch in the Outback Bowl. Maybe I was stopping too often to check the fit, and maybe the sandpaper was too fine a grit, but it did take that long. </P> <P>Maybe you do get what you pay for, and I'm certainly not averse to doing some kitbashing and scratch detailing work to enhance a kit's final result. But I've worked with several DPM products and their quality is consistently poor, especially with the casts of the smaller pieces. When the castings are for textured surfaces that are supposed to match-up and form a seamless joint (like brick work), you can only do so much to make it look right when sanding/filing will obliterate detail.</P> <P>Oh well, it was worth the price I guess since it was a gift. If you consider a kit to be basically the "foundation" for your own unique detailing work (which I do - no disagreement there), with DPM you have to put more effort into getting that foundation to look right than what I think is acceptible. I want to put the <U>bulk</U> of my effort into that detailing work, not correcting manufacturing errors in the kit's components.</P>
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