This model actually comes with two models, the Windmill and the Arcade house. There are also some smaller cutouts of a wagon, chickens, a horse, and many bags of flour.
For this review, I concentrated on the windmill. When I got the model, I was a little concerned. The instructions were not in English and the supplied translation was little help. Luckily, The diagrams of the model are really all you need to assemble the windmill.
I began to cut out the pieces for the base of the windmill and noticed how fine the detail lines are on this model. I test fit the first few parts together and they fit perfectly. Every piece on this model fit exactly the way it was supposed to, Some models require a lot of testing, trimming and fitting parts before you glue it in place. This model went together quickly because every piece fit the first time.
Several places this model has re-enforcements and pieces with extra tabs to help assemble it and keep things square. These pieces also fit perfectly. It was here I found the only "flaw" in the model. Part 38,
It is a former for the base of the tower. It fits perfectly. The flaw was this part did not show anywhere on the diagrams. Nevertheless, since it was obvious where it went, that was not too big a problem.
There aren't really any tricky spots on this model some parts are very small and the actual top of the windmill is articulated, but if you don't care about this you can just glue the top in place and not worry about several of the smaller parts.
This was my first model from JSC and if this is there standard, I will certainly be trying other JSC models.
My only actual dislike is the house and the windmill shared the same numbering scheme, which would not have been too bad if they were printed on separate pages, but some of the windmill parts were on the house page and some of the house parts were among the windmill parts. Still, once I got into the model I was able to figure out which was which easily. The cover of the model has a photograph of the actual windmill the model was based on. It is interesting to note, while the model depicts the windmill in pristine working condition, the photo of the windmill shows it to be in disrepair and very weathered.
Now that I have the windmill finished, I will start on the arcade house. Most models I just glue to a piece of cardstock or display by itself, but this one will look excellent on a base with some grass and plants and a few wagon tracks in the dirt. Therefore, when this is all done I will have a nice little windmill diorama.
Summary:
| Model: | The Dutch Windmill with Arcade House |
| Kit: | JSC |
| Designers: | JSC |
| Scale: | 1:200 |
| Difficulty: | Easy - Medium |
| Number of Parts: | 4 Sheet - 90 Parts 54 in the windmill, 28 in the Arcade house |
| Instructions: | Instructions are not in English, but it comes with a one sheet English translation. The instructions are pretty useless |
| Diagrams: | The diagrams are excellent! The only drawback is both models are numbered the same, so there are two 1's, two 2's...etc. |
| Fit: | Excellent, I didn't find a single flaw |
| Coloring and Artwork: | Excellent - extremely fine linework |
| Printing: | Excellent |
| Resources: | There is a picture of the actual windmill on the cover of the model |
