Which method do You prefer for buildings ?

Yes, I did mean those town buildings ; the contryside buildings are rather "japanese". In Germany they are sold under the Rokuhan name, Noch is only the distributor/reseller.
PS : a few minutes ago I saw a message from Shapeways, they changed their prices for FUD.

I saw them, the white ones?

Etsy has some different card stock models, as well.

Hello again ...

Now I have already built several kits : some made of plastic (Kibri, Vollmer, Faller) and some Archistories kits. I must say, all look fine once built. The only thing I mean is that plastic seems more "resistent" than cardboard (and perhaps thin wood like for other laser cuts). I wonder how laser-cuts, either cardboard or wood, will look in several years, compared to plastic ? The materials aren't they "moisture sensitive" ? This is important because the initial work to assemble a laser kit is about three times the work for a plastic kit. I don't wanna spend more time to build things which are less durable. Unfortunately I live near the Rhine, and in summer humidity goes up to 80%.

I remember that in the past I lived in another village with less humidity. I spent several years to build a layout with Arnold tracks. They looked fine, realistic black, when there were NEW. But then came the problem with the ... RUST !

I think I will rather "bet" on plastic ; some former houses by Kibri and Vollmer are still available on the bay, they look "standard", I must only avoid half-timbered houses ... And there is still Shapeways !

I wanted to take the "scandinavian" houses by Archistories as "american" village houses, I think they could fit ... But if I take a standard Kibri house, paint it with dark red or blue and add white profiles by Evergreen at the corners, it looks almost the same !

The plastic structures last forever. I have Kibri and Märklin that go back to the 1980s. You can also strip them and repaint if you get bored with them. Many of the details are oversized. I like to replace downspouts with a more appropriate size wire. Brick is also oversized and I like to cover it (or at least break it up) with vines.

I find the laser structures more dimensionally correct and reasonably durable. I augment the structures as mentioned above. If you want to try one that is inexpensive and easy to build, I'd suggest a GClaser barn or outhouse. Both are prototypical for the past 100 years.

Brass detail is great not much harder than plastic. You need a good pair of cutting pliers and most kits are designed to be glued, although some of us old guys will still solder.

I think something that helps with all my buildings, regardless of type, is that I try to build them as scenes: a downtown city block, a farm yard, a corner gas station mounted on a stabilizing substrate. Then I mount the scene.

Mark