Not in all cases, but usually the trouble with colored plastic is it looks like colored plastic. In this case that's true, but this can be fixed by adding paint so one winds up with a good looking, convincing model. Otherwise you have a colored plastic model. Although the surface area for the building sides that will need to be painted is the most, it's not quite too large to paint by hand but close, so an airbrush is preferred if you have one. With some of the rest it's actually better to paint by hand including window frames and doors. I used concrete for the steps and foundation, this is an SP depot so I used yellow ocher for all the sides and dormer with a dark brown trim, and the roof has been painted in a faded green (I don't know what shade it's called but I start with a dark green and add white paint a drop or two at a time until it looks right) by airbrush. It is recommended to paint the parts while still on the sprues and touch up if or where it is needed. These I used in this application are water based paints so there’s no need of denatured alcohol for a thinner. I lost the instructions almost immediately but no one needs them any way. So with some attention this is a decent model to build in general but a good starting place for novices wanting to hone their skills.