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Welcome to my blog. Please feel free to leave a comment. I assure you I always read and appreciate everything you have to say. Unfortunately, thanks to Blogger being, well . . . Blogger, I can not respond to comments nor leave any on your blogs. They simply disappear into the ether. Occasionally I will remember to respond in the next blog post I put up, but usually these good intentions slip my mind. So if you want to ask a question or get a response to any comments you may have please leave an email address or other contact method in your comment and I will get back to you.

I have also added a separate page to the blog for the Tower of Magic with a brief summary of all the rooms of the ToM in the one spot. The link is just below this and above the main body of the blog, or you can just click here.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

2015 In Review . . . Part One

With another year almost gone, it's time yet again to start looking back at the projects I've completed in the past twelve months.


First for 2015 was the Sitting Room for the Tower of Magic.  It is absolutely not my favourite room in the ToM, but one way or another most of them do end up disappointing me.


My favourite part of this room is probably the grate in the fireplace.  It was made from plastic fence railing and wire mesh with red and black beads for coals and embers.  I think the effect is quite good.


My next project of the year was Pumpkin Cottage from the 48th scale kit by Petite Properties.  It was one of those kits I just knew I had to have the moment I first saw it.  The one thing I don't like about it is that it's one of those kits that's just open at the back.  I find this arrangement makes it harder to get the inside layout right and let's face it who wants to have to dust inside a 48th scale house on a regular basis?


Inside, the cottage has one large room per floor connected by a rather clever staircase (so clever in fact that I copied the idea for Orchid House later in the year!).  Downstairs is the kitchen and living space.


Upstairs is the bedroom.  I was going to put twin beds in here but sadly that meant that the bed closest to the fireplace actually ended up with it's covers poking into the fire - it looked entirely unsafe and thus unrealistic.


As much as I like the way Pumpkin Cottage turned out I wouldn't mind doing it again, this time totally differently . . . and I understand Petite Properties have now released this kit in the larger 24th scale version as well . . . .


Another 48th scale project came next, this time it was a castle (yes, yet another castle).  It is open to view on both sides with a solid front and back.  I'm not too sure I like this design as it means you can never see the whole inside at once and makes it feel a little like two castles instead of a cohesive whole.


On the other hand I really do like how the insides turned out.  Working in 48th scale meant I had more room to use for features that I just couldn't have squeezed into my earlier (12th scale) castles.  I finally got an opening to a secret passage (even if it doesn't lead anywhere) a dungeon and a fancy vaulted ceiling to name a few.


From the outside though I'm not so pleased.  It looks OK but it just doesn't really say castle does it?  I should perhaps have added more towers and turrets but even in 48th scale there is only so much room and the more complex the structure the more likely I'll make an even bigger mess of it.


Still, I learned a few things for the next castle, the next one will be better . . . . What, you didn't think four castles was enough did you?


The castle is the only 48th scale property I've done to date with 'people' in it.  The people are hand made from polymer clay and as no one seems to make moulds for 48th scale people they look only vaguely human.  Next time I want people in 48th scale I'll try some O scale model railway people and see which sort of person I like best.


After the castle came the bathroom for the ToM.  It's the final reason why I gave up on the ToM for a while.  It's all right I guess - the problem is that it looked all so much better in my head.


Alongside the ToM bathroom I worked on Orchid House using the 'Orchid' kit from Greenleaf.  This was my first plywood house kit and I suspect my last.  I found the plywood, well, annoying really.  It splintered and/or cracked (always in precisely the worst spot), it sagged, it warped, and was generally impossible to finish nicely.  Also, given my dislike of rear opening houses I adapted this kit to open from the front and to be a sealed unit which is a lot of work when you consider there is no reason the manufacturer couldn't make it the right way in the first place if only they would go to the expense of supplying a solid back wall and roof.  It really makes me feel sorry for people in the US where almost all dollshouse kits are made this way.


Inside, beams help stop the plywood ceiling/upper floor from sagging.  This piece of plywood was already bowed (i.e. sagging) when I built the house and by installing it upside down I have the rather unusual problem of a ceiling that sags slightly upwards.  The one redeeming feature of the plywood was that it was easy to cut extra door holes in the end wall to create access to the staircase I added at the side of the house.


For the most part, I worked on this house with the intention of using up as much as the old furniture I had laying about the place.  I did a reasonably good job of this but was surprised how little would fit into the house.  Even leaving out the internal walls and adding an annex for the stairs to maximize the floor area I still couldn't fit in as much as I had initially expected and then of course I spent weeks trying to decide how to arrange it nicely.

There is still more to come from 2015 in Part Two including some current projects I've not shown you yet.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Larger Boxes


 Next in the ongoing campaign to use up the various boxes and containers I've collected because I'll put some miniature scene in them someday is this little vignette of a wizard's work table in a white wall display shelf.


I do have to apologise for the poor lighting in these photos.  It is summer in Tasmania so of course we haven't had a sunny day (thus good light for photos) in ages, at least not when I've been home to take advantage of it in photos.  I'll try and get some better lit photos to show you soon.


The vignette consists of of a long table laden with wizardly essentials and some similarly laden long wall mounted shelves overhead.  I'll point out all the details when I manage to get a photo in which they can actually be seen.  For now I'm afraid you'll just have to squint and see what you can find.


In the matching box to the wizard's table I've started on something completely different.  This vignette has a padded back wall and features a sofa with gold brocade upholstery.  I'm not too sure about the white cushions though . . .  I do think I might add an arched front panel like this one to the wizard's vignette.



These plum coloured crushed velvet curtains will sit inside the arched front panel, they just need more time to dry first.


Do you remember the Oriental Folly from a few years ago?  This is what it looked like back when it was first finished.



And this is what it looked like last week after a few years of being in the same house as a couple of cats.  The paint of the roof had been scratched when they took flying leaps across the room to land on top of it, the front had been pushed off and after the first few times it hit the floor rather badly smashed.  Inside, the furniture had been pushed aside or broken when some lovable feline decided to curl up inside the house.


A little TLC later and the Folly again looks like this.  This time there are hooks holding the front firmly closed which should at least slow down the rate of damage in future.  I won't guarantee that though!


Monday, November 23, 2015

Ten Boxes



All nine of the 48th scale room boxes are now complete.  In no particular order, the nine rooms are:


Room one is an Art Deco themed room.  This room features a fireplace and sofa and chair from kits by Petite Properties.  The side tables are metal beads/tubes with the top opening filled.


Room two is an Arabian themed room.  It has hanging filigree bead lanterns.



The 'palm' leaves started solid leaves.  I snipped parallel cuts into the leaves on both sides of the central wire to create palm like look.



Room three is a modern kitchen.  It has a central island with breakfast bar.


A simple table and chairs were made from balsa wood.


All the cupboards and cabinets are solid balsa wood with pieces of card glued in place to create the illusion of doors and drawers.  All the knobs are blobs of gold faux lead lighting outliner.


Room four is a Japanese themed room.


 The recessed shelves hold a bonsai made with brown wire and a little lichen moss.


Room five is a Victorian style hallway.  If you've been wondering why the post title is "Ten Boxes" but there are only nine rooms, it's because I joined two boxes together to create this double height room.


Mirco beads in red and black make the coals in the fireplace.


The bookshelves under the stairs swing open to reveal a hidden door.


Room six is not a room at all but an outdoor balcony overlooking a view of Santorini in Greece.


Beads have been used as pots and filled with colourful flowering plants.


The table is made from jewellery findings with a felt umbrella while the chairs are wire bent into a chair frame shape and planks of balsa wood attached as seats and backs.


Room seven is a conservatory or garden room, again with lots of flowering plants.


The central French doors are from a Petite Properties kit (leftover from Le Petit Palais) while the windows are balsa wood surrounds with faux leadlighting outliner drawn onto clear acetate to create the panes.


The plants are all lichen moss with flowersoft flowers in either bead or balsa wood pots.



Room eight you've seen before as it was the second room to be finished.  It's the Roman dining room.




Finally, room nine is another you've seen and the very first of these rooms to be made.  The Georgian bedroom was made largely with left overs from Le Petit Palais.

 


All nine rooms fit into this recessed frame unit which can hang on a wall.  Once all the rooms were in place I added a sheet of clear acetate over the front to protect the rooms from such dangers as dust and cats.