Thursday, February 14, 2019

Sarissa Precision South East Asian Huts

My tropical Asian village is expanding, with some new Sarrisa buildings to add to the ones previously purchased from Warbases.  The upgrades made to these kits aren't much different to what I did in the previous post, so I won't go into the details again here. But in summary, I've done some distressing, carved in some planks and wood grain, and added thatched roofs and a bit of lumber.

First up is the planked wooden house:

Sarissa Planked House K002

Sarissa Planked House K002

Sarissa Planked House K002

Small Planked House:

Sarissa Planked House K003

Note: When assembling the side walls on this kit, please note that they are not symmetrical, so you have to be careful when you add the outer frames or the posts won't line up properly with the windows. 

Sarissa Planked House K003

Sarissa Planked House K003

Watch Tower:

Sarissa Watch Tower K007

Note: some additional lumber was added to the top of the tower to improve sturdiness and also the visuals.

Sarissa Watch Tower K007


So how do the two brands compare to one another? 

Sturdiness:
The Sarissa buildings are produced in 2mm MDF, while the Warbases buildings are 3mm MDF. Now for the Sarissa buildings, outer support beams are included, so some sections of wall will reach 4mm thickness. However, many structural elements, such as the under floor building stilts and porch railings, remain at 2mm. There were a few times I was concerned I was going to snap these thinner pieces either during removal from the frames or during the assembly. The Sarissa buildings also have fewer but longer stilts, so I feel the crush risk is a little higher with them (I play at the local shop, so have to worry about transport damage). So I'm going to score the Warbases buildings higher in this category, but that said, it's not like the Sarissa buildings are at imminent risk of collapse.

Size: 
Overall the footprint is pretty close between both brands buildings, so no real advantage to either side.
Sarissa Planked House vs. Warbases Kamalig Hut
Left: Sarissa Right: Warbases
Sarissa Small Planked House vs. Warbases Nipa Hut
Left: Sarissa Right: Warbases
Included Details: 
Each brand has their relative strengths and weaknesses. Sarissa has 3D support beams on the outer walls, while Warbases are just etched in. Sarissa etches beams into the interior floors, while Warbases leave the floors plain. Warbases included shutters and widow covers, while Sarissa does not. Warbases is good at hiding the seams where pieces joins, while Sarissa's can be lazy in their obviousness.  A perfect example is in the image below, where the the head of the stilts can be in the floor.  On the Warbases buildings, the walls run down the same seam lines as the stilts and hide the joints.


Sarissa Joints

Final Verdict:
Both companies make very nice buildings and I'm happy with my purchases from each.  If I had to pick one over the other, I'd likely give Warbases a slight edge for the sturdiness of their designs. And if you are willing to add in extra details such at thatching, I think their MDF nature isn't so glaring on the table.

Sarissa and Warbases Huts Together


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