Knuckle Duster's photo etched buildings

[Oldben1]

Hello,
I was looking at some possible buildings for Cthulhu/Old West and I stumbled upon some buildings from Knuckle Duster that looked interesting.

http://knuckleduster.com/shop/index.php?route=product/category&path=1_31_63


Anyone had any experience with these?
Thanks!

[Elbows]

My buddy Lee is the guy who designs and cuts these.  I like them, though I prefer 4Ground and some Sarissa stuff.  The main thing which puts me off is the actual photo-etching, and I don't like wood (vastly prefer MDF).  They're very robust and useful...and priced quite competitively.  I used to have a bunch of his prototypes but gave them to a charity auction. 

[hentzau]

I have a couple of the shacks, which I picked up for the "bad" part of my town.  The price is certainly right, they throw together in a few minutes, and as Elbows states are very sturdy.  I too prefer MDF over plywood, but that's just me.  I haven't figured out a good way to paint/finish them yet.  They are a bit big and blocky compared to 4 Ground stuff (which is a majority of my buildings right now, if you don't count the Ertl buildings.

And somewhat offputting was they little name etched in the bottom of each of the side wall panels.  Can't see it from a distance, of course, but I know it's there.  No clue why they decided that was a good idea.

All that being said, Forrest over at Knuckleduster is a great guy, has great customer service, and I highly recommend his stuff based on that alone.  If you're starting out and want something relatively inexpensive and quick, go for it.

[Oldben1]

well, it looks like I'll being staying away from the photo etched buildings for now, especially with the name etched in.  I'll look into Knuckle Dusters other buildings instead and weather them myself.

Thanks for the replies!

[hentzau]

It's not that big, as I can hope you see from the picture, and once you have it on the table you probably can't see it at all.  But it's on every piece of the build...all four walls, the floors, and the roofs.  This should also give you an idea about the material and what the finish looks like out of the envelope.

Note that I have only bought some of his shacks, I'm not sure if it is like that on any other pieces.  Oh, I do have some of their signs, no weird name etching on any of those.  Those are great.

[Black Burt]

I have the stable and am pleased with it.
It doesn't have a little name etched on the wall panels.
A very sturdy building as said above.
I have many MDF buildings and think it fits in OK with them but maybe I'm just not fussy
 

[Oldben1]

This is going to sound silly, but I already have 2 plasticville buildings for the OldWest.  Maybe I'm being to picky.  It looks like you could weather them with inks or watered down stain.

[hentzau]

This is going to sound silly, but I already have 2 plasticville buildings for the OldWest.  Maybe I'm being to picky.  It looks like you could weather them with inks or watered down stain.

When I get around to finishing it, that's the route I'm going to go.  With maybe a grey drybrush to weather.  Haven't quite figured out how to tackle that one yet.

[Heisler]

You need to seal the wood first, either with a clear wood sealer or by priming in it. The wood, like MDF will just suck up straight ink if you don't seal it. I prime white and then apply different inks; raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna,or burnt sienna or combinations there of for natural wood (depending on what kind of wood I'm trying to represent) or for a nice silver grey color thinned down black fabric dye (it might be fabric ink) by Scribbles. Black RIT fabric dye is very purple, so don't use that.

[Elbows]

One thing I will say...many of the TCL buildings you get interior furniture with it, and interior walls/staircases.  They're very cost-competitive in that realm.  Oddly I think the smaller shacks are far less competitive cost-wise. 

The stable/livery is great - very playable.  Overall a strong line.  I can even get them at discount, but honestly I don't like plywood.  Also because I use buildings to promote my game, I tend to stick with pre-painted 4Ground stuff, since it's a better finish than I can normally manage on buildings. 

[Oldben1]

Hey I found this:

http://www.thewarstore.com/product71053.html

This seems more my Plasticville style!

[Elbows]

I have the Perry Civil War house and actually wasn't really impressed with it (though it was nice getting some fences and barrels).  The Old West one came out afterwards so maybe it's a bit better.

[Black Burt]

I have the store and was not that impressed, also it does seem a bit small alongside the other MDF buildings, for a few pounds more you can get a 4Ground building which is so much better.

[Oldben1]

You guys are a bunch of spoil sports!
Now I don't know what to do?

[Elbows]

Eh, no worries - just being honest.  The Perry plastic buildings simply aren't that great.  Have you considered stuff like Sarissa?  They tend to be a bit cheaper, simpler to build, etc.  What's driving your decision - budget, assembly time, etc?