Hi Gang,
I am building the Walthers N scale wood coaling tower for our club layout's engine facilities. This is a wonderful plastic kit. Everything is fitting together beautifully. The instruction are well written, the illustrations are well done, and you can see most things and where they are supposed to be on the model. This kit has many small parts and is not for the beginner. However, if you are a beginner, you can put it together if you TAKE YOUR TIME and actually READ the instructions as you are working.
I am putting mine together in sub-assemblies according to paint colors (none are suggested). Then after they are painted by airbrush, I will put the sub-assemblies together and brush paint a few of the details.
I have been working on this kit for three days so far (about two or three hours a day), and I expect it will be another day or two before it is ready for paint. You could probably put this kit together in less time, but it will also look like it has been rushed and not done well.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.