Frequently Asked Questions…

Are the Kits Easy To Build?

Yes, if you’re patient and you start small. If you’ve never built a craftsman style kit, try a small, inexpensive one. We have a few that are just right for first timers. And the same skills used in the small ones, translate into building larger kits; there are simply more parts and assemblies. After a few small kits, you’ll see that you can build them at pretty much any level. Since the guess work and engineering is taken out of the equation for you, much of building a craftsman kit consists of painting, assembly and weathering

There are just a few stages to building a kit

            Bracing Walls: Since they’re cut from basswood, they would warp when painted. Bracing with strips of 1/8” square wood prevents this and is included in every kit.

            Painting: When building a craftsman kit, parts and walls are generally painted before assembly. You can use hobby paints such as Polly Scale, or water based acrylics found in art and craft stores.

            Assembly: Instructions, templates and diagrams take you step by step in assembling a kit. As the kits consist mostly of wood, safe non toxic white glue such as Elmer’s can be used.

            Roofing: Generally roofing is cut from paper either into strips for rolled roofing. Lines are preprinted for cutting, they just need to be painted first. And if shingles are included, they are laser cut into strips and layed row by row, applied with glue or sometimes they are self-adhesive.

Weathering: One of the more satisfying aspects of structure modeling is weathering. This is the application of techniques to render a realistic appearance for your model. It’s easiest to breakdown weathering into layers; where each layer adds another level of realism. This can be done with a simple wash, made of India ink and alcohol. This black wash gets into all the small corners and details, highlighting them. You can also dry brush. This is done by taking a brush dipped into white paint  and taking almost all of the paint off( on a piece of scrap) so that paint barely comes off the brush when applied. This also highlights edges and textures. Colored, powdered weathering chalks can also be used. Adding a green chalk to a green wall, will tone the color down to a more faded look as it would appear in the real world. All of these techniques are easy to master with a few tries, and all of them work best when applied as subtly as possible.

Detailing: Probably the most satisfying aspect of craftsman kit modeling, this final steps adds layers of character. Chimneys, vents, trash cans, electric meters, crumpled newspapers, pallets…

How Long Do They Take To Build?

That’s hard to say. Firstly, everyone works at a different pace, and every kit has a variety of challenges. A small kit like our Brundel’s Repair Shop, would take the average modeler three nights to complete, working about two to three hours a night. The larger, limited run kits of course take much longer, but on the other hand, since there is more to do, you can leap frog between tasks as certain parts are drying. Most importantly, take as long as you need to, there’s no rush and that’s part of the fun.

What’s In the Box?

There are a variety of materials in each kit, but wood is the most predominate.

            Wall Sections: Primarily our kits use laser cut basswood walls. Precision laser cutting speeds construction as all walls are precut, as well as door and window openings. Our walls are not the tab and slot kind, but feature a straight cut where corner trim is added to the wall. While tab and slot can be useful sometimes, it can be a hindrance if you are altering the kit in any way.

            Scale Lumber & Stripwood : Craftsman kits have come a long way in the last 15 years. While there was a time when opening a kit box would reveal nothing but bundles of scale lumber and dozens of diagrams, things have changed for the better. While there are some assemblies that require scale lumber and stripwood, there are many features of the kit that are laser cut for you, easing construction and  reducing assembly time. All of our wood comes from NorthEastern Scale Lumber

            Architectural Elements: 95% of the doors and windows included in our kits are mold injected plastic from The Tichy Train Group. If a special door or window is required, it may be a multipart laser cut assembly, generally the freight doors.

            Instructions: Depending on the size of the kit, instructions vary. Our small Quick Kits usually feature 3 to 6 pages of instructions. Our larger, limited run kits can run up to 20 pages with a brief landscaping tutorial to depict the diorama as pictured. Both include numerous step by step photos and diagrams. Also included are templates, site plans and wall bracing plans.

            Details: Again, depending on the size of the kit, metal cast detail parts are included for items such as chimneys, barrels and vents. Studying the kit photos will reveal what parts are included. We also use a few plastic detail parts when metal is not an option.

            Signage: If there are signs and billboards in the kit advertisements, they’re included.

            Miscellaneous: There are several other components to be found in the kit, all of which are easy to use, and easy to assemble with a little patience.

What Do I Do If a Part Is Missing or Damaged?

Contact us immediately and we’ll send you a new one. Even if you spill some paint on a sheet of instructions or your dog eats a wall, give us a call or send an email.

Can I Get On A  Mailing List?

Yes, we send out a monthly newsletter via email. Click on our Mailing List link at the top of the page or click here.

Do All of Your Kits Sell Out? Are They All Limited Run Kits?

No, as we have two different lines of kits. Our HO Scale Quick Kits are always in production. Our limited run kits, which we offer usually once a year in December, do sell out. You can see some of our previously sold out kits, click here.

Will Sold Out Kits Ever Be Run Again?

No. Firstly, because we want to keep our word; secondly because we can only produce a certain amount at a time and need to make room for new kits.

When Is the Next Kit Coming Out?

There’s no set schedule for kit releases, except for our large limited run kit, which comes out in December. Our other kits coming out at random times, but we’ll usually have something new every two months or so. To keep your self informed, sign up for our monthly email newsletter and check the site from time to time.

Can I Get Some Advice When Building the Kit?

Yes, gives us a call and we’d be happy to talk about any technique or problem areas. And you can visit the Railroad Line forum, www.railroadline-forum.com. Find the Craftsman Corner threads where you can follow along with other craftsman kit builders, working on the same or similar kits.

Can You Do Custom Laser Cutting?

Yes, check out our laser cutting page or send us an email as to what you are looking for.

Do You Offer Custom Model Building?

Yes, but on a limited basis, usually dependant on time constraints. Give us a call.

Exactly How Big A Company Are You?

Good question. Actually it should read more like “ How small a company are you?”. We’re just a two person, husband/wife operation.  All of our kits and parts are made in the USA. We have not out-sourced our customer service department. When you call us, you can actually speak to a person. But we are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.........................not really, just kidding.

Are All of the Kit Designs Based on Prototypes?

No. For the most part they are a conglomerate of prototypes mixed with some artistic license. We prefer to pull pieces of buildings from here and there and mix it up. But occasionally we do model directly from an existing structure. An example is our Blacksmith Shop kit. Friend and modeler Karl Scholz discovered the prototype and sent us photos.

What does FOS stand for?

Actually nothing; Fos Scale is derived from Foscale, our last name.

Do you have a Blog and where can I find it?

Yes, it's www.foslimited.blogspot.com  . Occasionally we'll talk about kits that we are working on, but mostly it's about what's going on with our own HO layout.

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