What quality are the Design Preservation Model Structures?

[nbrodar]

I have a sizable village of DPM kits.  They are inexpensive, nicely, if a bit sparsely, detailed, and good fodder for kitbashing.

You will need to square up the wall castings, and most of the details/windows/doors are molded in.  So they take a might longer to paint then some others.   One trick I've found is to paint the walls the window color first, then do the brick. If you have a steady hand you don't need to mask off the windows, but masking will make the job neater. 

Here's a kitbashed Laube's Linen Mill (on right):

Nick

[Phoebe Vet]

You will need special clamps or blocks to keep the joints square while glueing, and a steady hand to paint them, but other than that I like mine.

[nof]

I have only built two kits so far, one heljan engine house and one DPM freight terminal.

The DPM kit required sanding in the corners to be sqare and the roof was needed to cut out from a piece of styrene. It was difficult to put together the sides because there was no grooves or similar to help holding them in the correct position. The windows and doors are molded in the same piece as the rest of the wall which made it hard to paint them in a color different from the wall.

On the opposite the Heljan kit had grooves in all pieces that should fit together (walls and roof) the grooves hold the peices in the correct position while applying glue, very good! The windows was deliverd as separate pieces that could be painted before mounting in the openings on the walls, also very easy.

Regards

Nils-Olov 

[tstage]

Otis,

DPM makes some very nice kits.  However, you should be made aware that you'll need to do some sanding and squaring to make them fit together well.

They are primarily brick and stone structures.  Some of the wall surfaces need to be sanded to square them up.  The reason for this is explained in the directions.  And there are also some helpful hints on how to best accomplish this.  The kits aren't complicated to put together.  Just take your time and don't rush it.

And, like an styrene structure: If you plan on illuminating the inside with lighting, at a minimum make sure you paint the inside walls black so that you don't get the "aura effect" when you light them up.  After you paint the inside walls, you can always paint over them with a lighter color.  The black paint will absorb the light coming through the walls.

Tom

[Otis]

I have just come across this brand of HO structure (DPM) and wonder about the quality.  They are much less expensive than many Cornerstone structures.

http://www.dpmkits.com/

Are they smaller, less detailed, have any drawbacks?

Be interested to hear from any of you who have them.