Harley Benton Bass Guitar Kit P-Style

I bought this kit as a challenge for myself as well as to enter Thomann's diy kit challenge. My plan was to shape the headstock, paint the body and neck. Using no power tools.
I can say that the kit has close to decent quality - with a lot of room to improve. With the provided mechanics, it is a neck diver for sure. Body was 4-piece and neck's single piece. Lots of small holes and dents on the body due to the selected wood. (I wish I could upload photos here) Sealer wasn't applied well. Sanding wasn't even either. So I sanded the whole body to P320 grid. Before starting the paint job with nitrocellulose spray cans.
Neck sealer was a lot better comparing to the body. I am still not sure if the fingerboard is an actual wood or a composite material. But it is dense, dark and has a nice silky feeling to it. Like Ebony... With TV Yellow, it made a nice contrast. It is like an F-brand bass painted in G-style. haha Frets were surprisingly well installed! Kudos! Almost no sharp edges (no more than a short filing/sanding can get rid of). I only needed to polish them to improve playing and look.
Tuning machines are decent, but very heavy. My long term plan is to drill 3-6mm holes to the pegs to provide some weight relief to fight with the neck diving.
No soldering is a plus for peeps are not used to that. No noise or other electro-mechanical issue with the electronics.
Bridge is decent but lightweight. I will change it with a Fender HighMass bridge as I did with my Squier J-Bass.

In short, It was very easy to build, instructions weren't needed. For anyone who is confident with their hand skills and arm muscles, can do the job and enjoy the process, in my honest opinion. (Though, I am an electrical engineer with decent hand skills and my own guitar tech for over 10 years. ) At this price point - though it could be a lot better), It would be great start if you want to understand basics of guitar/bass mechanics, start building your own instrument or just want to make a gift for yourself or a friend/kid.

As soon as I received my P-Bass kit I began to re-shape the neck top. I used a jig saw and after grinding it, it looked cool already. At first I assembled the complete guitar, so that I was able to make alterations if needed. And it was needed. Many pre drilled holes did not correspond. I didn't see this as a problem as I dare to say that I am rather handy working with wood. Especially the holes at the neck, where the tuning knobs are to be placed, didn't all match. So I used cocktail sticks with wood glue. After drying, I grinded it with the machine using graduation 400. This went smoothly and I drilled new holes of 2mm. As the tuning knobs would cover the old holes there was no further problem. Than I had to drill another hole when mounting the pick ups. I found that the black earth lead was too short, so I connected a longer lead with the initial one. It is a personal choice to spray the body or to use oil or varnish. In both cases it needs a very good grinding starting with 240 than 400 and 600. I decided to spray the body glossy black. I started to spray 3 layers of primer (Motip 1 spray can) and when it was dry I grinded it again with 600. Than I was able to spray the body black. I used a (1) Motip spray can. I am not a regular sprayer, so I would advice to take your time and using a flat piece of carton on the ground and make sure the body is placed on 2 or three little objects (like egg cups). This makes spraying easier when starting with the side of the body. When the front was done, (it dries quite quickly) after an hour I could turn the body to do the rear side. Don't spray to fat! Better is to spray several times smoothly. If you would get a drip no problem; DON'T try to wipe it away or using a paint brush - just let it dry and with 600 sandpaper grind it away and spray that part again. After three times spraying the body looked fine to me. Although it might be so that not every part is as glossy as other part of the body. Don't be let down! After drying for three or more days you use some car polish and smoothly rub this in. It will be shining all over. Now it is time to assemble the bass. Make sure not to damage the body when using screws etc. This is why I advice to assemble the guitar at first, so screws go easier.... After tuning the bass I am very pleased with it and it is great fun making your own P-bass. Of course keep in mind that a guitar of this price should not be compared with a real Fender P-Bass. But it sure is a good instrument and also the sound is okay!