We tested the wire mesh fence made by BUSCH (art.no. 1017)
In our real world, putting up a wire mesh fence is a cheap and quite popular
way of demarcating and protecting properties. So it is just consequent to
produce a miniaturised version for dioramas and model railway layouts. But for a
really satisfying result it needs modern production techniques - remember that
even a real chain-link fence is made from thin wire. In 2006 BUSCH, one of the
leading German specialists for modelling accessories, presented two wire mesh
fence kits for H0 and N scale, but the main difference between the two is the
height of the fence and not the thickness of the wire or the mesh size. We
tested the H0 scale sample which is suitable for 00 gauge as well.
The
spacious and informative package contains 24 round fenceposts, 2 small gate
frames (silvery plastic parts) and a transparent bag with 6 fence strips cut
from very thin aluminium wire mesh. Each of those strips which look like a very
close-meshed fly screen is 16 cm (6.3“) long and 2.5 cm (0.98”) broad. So one
can built the 1/87 scale model of an approx. 83.6 m (274 ft) long and 2.18 m (7’
2”) high fence.
But the first impression you get after you have put up a model fence according
to the instructions by BUSCH is quite ambivalent. You will like the very fine
accurate mesh but at the same time you have to cope with the chunky fence posts
on big round feet. To achieve a more realistic look, advanced modellers will
replace the plastic posts by thin steel pins and weather or even paint
everything.
In that case you would not have to care about the irregularly coloured plastic surfaces and some thin ridges either that have remained from the production process. By the way, almost each of the fence posts had been slightly bent which also suggests to replace them with some steel pins instead. Apart from that, some additional sloping support rods next to the posts would make the fence look even more realistic.
Although BUSCH uses an extremely thin aluminium wire for the mesh (only 0.1 mm =
0.0394 in), the model fence - converted to 1/1 scale - would still look rather
like a reinforcement steel mat that is used on building sites. But at least it
is still better than all the other miniature wire mesh fences available on the
common modelling market (maybe except some expensive low volume products by
specialised manufacturers). The fence strips can be easily cut to a suitable
size and thus be used for many different purposes.
While the very thin mesh looks quite impressive, the chunky fence posts
(which were even slightly bent) prevent us from giving the BUSCH set a better
mark. We paid 7 Euros for the fence kit (in January 2007) - for some modellers
that might be too much for an average product.
synopsis* | |
---|---|
Packaging (15) | 12 |
'First impression' (15) | 9 |
Originality (15) | 9 |
Closeness to reality (15) | 9 |
Wealth of detail (15) | 9 |
Fineness of detail (15) | 9 |
Closeness to scale (15) | 9 |
Condition of all parts (15) | 9 |
Quality of colours, prints or painting (15) | 12 |
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87 (max. 135) |
*Find out more about the test criteria for modelling
accessories
here.