NSL Review: Paw of a Bear Kit

Paw of a Bear is a fairly new structure and detail company that manufactures kits in HO, N & Z scales.  Today I review one of their latest offerings, Curtis Bro. Plumbing Supply craftsman kit, available in N & Z scales.

The Kit

N scale Curtis Bros. Plumbing Supply
Price: $79.99
Manufacturer:
Paw of a Bear
1180 Fox Ridge Drive
Earlysville, VA 22936
www.pawofabear.com

I have built many laser cut & craftsmen kits in the past and unfortunately many of them in my opinion have been average to poor.  Before I opened our sample kit, I already had those low expectations sitting in the back of my mind, but I tried to remain upbeat.  When I opened the box there was the usual laser cut wall sections, roofing, windows and doors.  What I liked to see was the selection of strip basswood and many parts for details.  I quickly realized that this was a hybrid of a laser cut kit and a craftsmen kit.  Laser cut kits are usually where all of the parts are cut for you out of various materials such as plywood, basswood, card stock, and others.  Most craftsmen kits are basically a step away from scratch building.

Everything was packaged well and all laser cut pieces were very clearly marked, which you don’t see often.  I pulled open the instructions to familiarize with parts and the suggested method of construction.  They were very well detailed and included illustrations for all of the critical steps of construction.  If this was not enough you can go to the website and view the even more detailed tutorial on the site for the Z scale version (construction is the same as the N scale version).

Construction

One of the biggest reasons I have become disgruntled with so many laser cut kits is because many parts don’t seem to fit properly.  I assume this is because the designers don’t compensate for the kerf of the laser, thus parts being too small, mostly trim.  The other is I do not like sticky back material many companies use for kit assembly.  I was happy to see that none of this was not on the back of any of my parts.  As I built the kit, all laser cut parts were cut perfectly, I didn’t need to fight with a single piece.

With my sample I decided to stay with the basic method of construction that is outlined in the instructions.  However the kit has the potential to be very flexible.  You can very easily modify it in endless combinations, some options are detailed on the Paw of a Bear website.  The base of the kit is built on a very sturdy base cut from Masonite.  Noted in the instructions and giving an example of the flexibility of the kit, you don’t need the base if not desired, but it makes a great jig for glue up.

The construction went along very smoothly and issues I came across were slim to none.  The windows were one of the only areas that I had problem, they were cut very fine and broke very easily.  After the first two I knew the week spots and was fine, fortunately there are a few extras cut just incase of breakage.

The kit also came with three selections of roofing material, tarpaper, fish scale shingles and corrugated metal.  You have enough of the tarpaper and shingles to use them in whatever arrangement you would like, only a small amount of the corrugated metal is included for the dock roof.

Details

The biggest feature of this kit that really impressed me was the amount of great details added.  You have a choice of two different laser cut signs to add to the roof and a meddle of printed signage to customize your kit.  Many easy to build pallets that you can order independently if you would like from the site were included as well.  You also were given a set of crates that are excellent details, they were cut from a material closely resembling pine.  A few of the other details were a pair of tables, material for paint cans, oil drums, pipe bundle, electrical meter and even door knobs.

The one detail that bothers me is the stairs that are around the dock.  They are cut from Masonite and feel out of place.  I would have liked something that more closely resembles the dock and looked like it was made from wood instead of concrete.

Overview

Overall I was extremely  impressed with the kit and would recommend adding one to your layout no matter the era.  Normally I would suggest that a kit like this would be for moderate to skilled builders but because of the level of aid to help you build it, I would say that a beginner could  successfully build it.  It is also a great structure to begin with if you are interested in scratch building because of the challenges it gives you to over come.  The amount of care that went into the design of this kit is very apparent from the quality of the laser cut pieces and the amount of bonus details included.

I am excited for Paw of a Bear to enter into the model railroading world and I look forward to seeing what great new kits they unleash onto us in the future.

• Tim Purcell’s TNT Transfer (6)
• Tim Purcell’s Plaza Hotel (15)
• The City of the GreatScaper (6)
• The Baltimore Streetcar Museum (4)
• Structural Beginnings (18)

About the Author

Chris Brimley — Co-founder of N scale Limited, Chris was bitten by the model railroading bug when he was 14, originally working with HO scale he soon discovered the limitless possibilities of N scale. It was only a few years ago when Chris decided that it was time to break free of the kit bubble and begin scratch building structures. The few structures Chris has built have gone on to acquire multiple Best of Show awards in NMRA and non-NMRA judged shows. He is also a member of the budding Junction City N-scalers modular club based out of Ogden, UT that will strive for the best of what N-scale modelers have to offer.