As many of us are familiar with laser cut card-stock building kits I won’t go into the details of handling/building with paper except to say they are superior to plastic in my opinion. True to scale and even more detail than the plastic kits we have been presented with for many years. Plus the material is opaque when lit from within for added realism. Biggest challenge with paper is gluing small parts and straight alignment!

Onto the recent Himmelreich build-kit with Marklin item #89709 which is modeled after the “Bahnhof Himmelreich” located in the Black Forest having served the Hollental Railroad. As is stated in the item description the building is as it was before renovation. Numerous photos are available with a simple google search which all in all confirms a very good translation of the building into Z gauge.

The build-kit is another collaboration with Marklin and the firm Modellbau Laffont who have designed and constructed kits for Marklin including the big Hamburg Dammtor station a few years back. Overall an enjoyable kit to build, but maybe too much for one session, I spread it out over 4 days working on it here and there. Many small parts require tweezers and finesse. Perhaps the kit lacks the solid material construction of an Archistories building, but it is non-the-less an interesting architectural model. The finished build looks good to me, but the station signs are those that need to be carefully cut out of the instructions with a matt knife: ugh! These signs are something to consider toning down in the future; they identify the building but cheapen the look of it too. No partition walls, if you plan on realistic lighting you will have the added step of masking. And finally chimneys need better design than are offered by this manufacturer.

The odd pairing of Himmelreich station and the German Express Class 03.10 (Marklin 88856) locomotive is pure fiction; they are used here to illustrate scale. Stay tuned for more on the 88856 loco which is brilliant and beautiful.

Good luck and have fun!