Tabletop World Stone Bridge Unboxed and Primed

 Getting things started in the new digs with a project from Tabletop World!  The brand new Stone Bridge just arrived this week so here it is.

As you can see the box has been dropped on a corner and looked like it had gotten wet as well.  Needless to say I approached opening this with some trepidation.  I did notice right away that this was a sturdier box than TTW usually uses.  There regular boxes are thin with a lot of give but the packing method compensated for that as you will notice.

As per usual with TTW the box is well stuffed with old newspapers wadded into balls and used as very effective shock absorbers.











You can the bridge emerging from the newsprint wadding.  Completely cocooned and well protected from shock.

 It needed that protection this time and it worked very well.  No damage to the model at all.

One of the big reasons I'm a total TTW fanboy... aside from how cool all there stuff looks... is the amazing care and attention to detail in the model prep and shipping.  Here you see the pieces right out of the box come pre-cleaned and pre-fit.


 I literally just placed these guard shacks into their snug fit slots... no gap, no irregular surfaces to file.... heck... it might even have made a small "click" as it sat into its position.

The lanterns for the bridge lighting fit the same way looks like I'll be able to leave them as separate components for transport purposes.

This is exactly what I want when I buy a premium kit... no tools required, especially no power tools, to beat the kit into shape...... BooM! There it is!





The roofs come taped onto their building structure and it seems to help with the transport survival.   It also makes a great box for the fiddly bits!

                                                                               


 The small parts are bagged and placed inside one of the building sections which is then taped shut with packing tape.

  The smaller parts are expertly cleaned and pre-fit just like the big parts.   This step save you some serious time and moves the risk of breaking a part during cleaning away from the purchaser and onto TTW...just WoW!







So the unboxing went well and its time for the Primer.  Yep... from previous experience I know that these things have already been washed and have practically zero mold release residue... I've occasionally given myself an adhesion problem with a sub par wash job so well just shake up the can and let it rip!

.... aaaaand FAIL! 

Your fabulous host is demonstrating just how rusty you can get when you step away from the bench for a couple of months....  I was certain that I was spraying these black!   Guess again.... its a dark camo brown... AAAiiiieeee!!! I had to spray ALL of it.... seriously!?!...  ack!  

Ok , ok, breathe.... Imma go with:

"I primered the model this brown color instead of black because its a water feature and it would have a different tint to the weathering due to all that muddy water being splashed all over it during every day and night of its working life.... not to mention storms!  Did I mention storm surge and .....browwwwwn?"

Yep THAT is my story and I'm sticking to it!  Yep... I suuuuure am..... really.... it's true, I say,  TRUE!