4Ground Log Cabin Construction

 

Yesterday, I finished building a two-story log cabin from a company called 4Ground (in the UK) and I have to say that I like the look of the finished model. The second floor and the roof are removable so that you can place figures inside for skirmish style games. The model comes with a "difficulty rating" of "4" ("1" being the easiest) which means that it takes a bit of modeling skill to assemble it. However, I think that most war gamers will be up to the task. It's just that it will take you awhile to build it. I worked on the model over the course of two days. 

The only tools that you need are maybe an Exacto blade or the end of a paint brush to detach the pieces from the sprue. In most cases, your fingers will do the job. White PVA glue is needed to attach the pieces together. All pieces use the mortar and tenon style of fixture to attach the pieces together, using white glue.

Side view of the model.

I made one major construction error, but couldn't change it because the glue had alread set. The front of the cabin should have two upstairs windows and the back of the cabin should have one window. I mistakenly switched them around.  The walls all have an outer wall and an inner wall and I had already glued all the wall pieces together before I discovered my error. However, the cabin still looks ok.

Close up view of the front. I mistakenly put the back side window in the front of the  house
and it was too late to change it after I discovered my error

Rear view of the cabin. The two second story windows should be in the front of the house.

Work in progress showing the near completion of the first floor.

You can see some of the sprues in the background.

The kit pieces are laser cut on MDF wood. You have to punch the pieces out of the MDF sprue with your fingers or the tip of a paint brush or similar tool. This is really easy to do. All the pieces are marked with a number and the kit includes a step-by-step pictorial that shows you each stage of the construction.

First and second floor sections are completed.
The chimney and roof are the final pieces to be constructed.

The finished model sits on my game table.

The finished model looks good as is, but most people will probably want to paint the model and glue it to a base.

In summary, this is a good looking model that has a couple of fiddly bits in the construction ( the front porch posts and beams that support the roof gave me a lot of trouble). It is not a kit that you will finish in one evening. I worked in a series of 2-hour sessions over the course of two days. The kit price is $36.00 for the wood model, which seems reasonable relative to other resin alternatives that are on the market.

I recommend the kit and I would purchase it again if I was making the choice. I wish that 4Ground would make a barn to go along with it. I also have a two-story block house ($79 price) to build and while it is rated a "4" level of difficulty, I'm not quite ready to give it a go because it looks more complex than the cabin.