The first step, after drooling while looking at the box picture, is to unload the box and make sure that all of the parts are inside. Here is a picture of the contents of Fryxell Feed & Seed:

After verifying that all the pieces are accounted for, identify each of the pieces.  Carefully cut out the window and door openings – I found that multiple light cuts with an x-acto knife worked the best for me (an attempt with a small wood chisel led to splitting, the knife did not).  I used one of the window frames to verify the opening size and used a jeweler’s file to make adjustments as needed.

Once all of the window and door openings were cut out, I primed the walls inside and out.  After allowing time for the primer to dry I then brushed on a couple of splotches of rubber cement on each wall (outside only).  Make sure to get the cement on the areas that would be natural for peeling paint on a building, usining pictures of real buildings to help with locations.  After the cement has dried (I waited overnight, but an hour would most likely be enough) I painted the walls with the final color, using as many coats as needed.  You can see the cement from the shiny spots in the picture:The final step, after the topcoat has completely dried, is to use tape and stick it to the patches of rubber cement.  Pealing the tape off will take the outer layer with it creating the desired effect (repeat as needed for the desired effect).  I used blue painter’s tape, but have heard of people using duct tape.

I recently purchased this excellent kit, Fryxell Feed & Seed kit #181 from JL Innovative Design, and decided that it would be my first venture into laser-cut wood models.

The kit contained all of the parts needed for construction, cast detail parts, and enough extra material for the minor changes I made to the model.  The parts were all relatively clear and free of flash, though some cleaning was needed.  The plaster cast for the stone foundation at the rear of the building was a nice touch and was packaged in bubble wrap for protection.

Included in the box was a detailed instruction sheet, having instructions on one side and the drawn to scale building plan on the other.  A cut list was in place for each step of the building process.  There were a couple of minor annoyances from the instructions:  the first was a lack of detailed pictures or diagrams explaining some of the steps (causing much flipping of instructions from the description and the plan on the back) and also that in the dock area of the plan the vertical spacing of the supports was not very accurate.

I kept my changes to the model to a minimum amount, the major change was in adding a ramp to both ends of the dock and also cutting the roofing material into individual pieces instead of one large piece.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being worst, I would rate this kit as follows:

• Overall: 9
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 7
• Value for price: 9
• Overall quality: 9

This kit was good for a first kit, please stay posted for details and techniques I used in completing the model.