The Bottom Line
Chrysnbon kits are a mainstay for most miniaturists. Chrysnbon produce a wide range of highly detailed extruded polystyrene furniture and accessory kits commonly available from craft and miniature stores. Their detail and price make them a very appealing choice for miniature settings or for kit bashing to build new items from their parts.
They are fairly fragile and are not suitable for play use by children, although older children may enjoy many of the pieces in Chrysnbon’s accessory range.
Pros
- readily available
- easy to assemble
- well detailed
Cons
- furniture is somewhat fragile
- made from extruded polystyrene plastic
- limited range of furniture and styles
Description
- Chrysnbon kits are readily available and reasonably priced.
- Although the kits are made of plastic, they are designed to a high degree of detail and scale.
- Kits are available as single items (mainly for the chairs), as sets, or as packages of accessories.
Guide Review - Chrysnbon 1:12 Scale Dollhouse Furniture and Accessories Kits
The Chrysnbon range is beautifully detailed and easy to assemble, with simple instructions.
To finish these kits you will need:
- A general purpose plastic solvent or liquid weld cement- the brush on type give a better bond. (or you can use a tube model cement for plastic models).
- Paints- either acrylic or enamel, although acrylic clean up easier. For a better finish use a very thin undercoat before you paint. The furniture kits come with a staining pack to produce a stained wood finish. These packs are often too dried out to use. Any water based stain will work.
- A modelers knife - to separate the pieces from their plastic sprue connections.
- Sandpaper or small files - to clean up any excess plastic on the parts.
Furniture choices include a lot of fairly common turn of the century chairs, tables, what not’s, a parlor pump organ, a tea table, bathroom pieces, parlour stoves, grandfather clocks, old fashioned telephones and a treadle sewing machine.
Accessory kits include dishes, cutlery, pots, baking pans, glassware, candlesticks, mannequins, milk cans, coal scuttles, spice racks, kettles, containers, ladies dressing table accessories, Christmas plates, bathroom accessories, picture frames, and decorative objects.
The books Chrysnbon Cut-Ups by Judy Berman, the founder of Chrysnbon, and Chrysnbon Cut-Ups II by Millie Beachman are good references for beginners wanting to adapt these kits to other purposes.
Judy Berman designed these kits to be used together to create scenes of kitchens, parlours and baths reminiscent of the turn of the century in many American homes.
Epoxy based resins can be used to safely create the effect of liquids in Chrysnbon containers, although depending on the heat produced by the resin, you may need to pour it in layers to avoid melting the styrene.
