No serious disease in this mini house. Just a nasty cold that hit Miss Kitty and then me...the queen of cleaning snot. It's been 2 weeks for me and its still lingering.
Scale
This house is "technically" sized half scale (1:24) but its simple features and ornamentation, like the gables, door and window frames are more 1:12 to 1:18-ish. But then you can use 1:12 scale shingles and it doesn't look like a freak show, so I give up trying to be true to half scale. I'm sticking to half scale for interior decor and furniture, but the rest is a free for all of whatever looks good. Just in case you thought something looked a little off!The Shingles
As I mentioned in my previous post, I glued all the shingles with Le Paige No More Nails. It has the consistency of white caulking, and the quick dry version has less moisture, so it was the best choice for the shingles. There was a little curling when I painted, but nothing popped up despite even the most severe accidental soakings.Make 'Em Old!
The fresh shingle look didn't gel with the weathered siding. What to do? Wellllll, I remembered the fabulous shed Pepper made and her wood weathering technique.I took my white vinegar and my steel wool and put them in a jar over night. By the next morning it looked like nothing had changed. Oh, but science was happening! I'd like to say that all those science course in high school and university taught me something. But then I'd be lying. This chemical reaction is pretty cool!
Pepper had a nice ratio to make the wood a softer grey. I threw caution to the wind and used it full strength (I also planned on using paint on it, so I wasn't concerned).
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| Full strength solution (left) - Raw cedar shingle (right) |
The Process
Here are the comparison shots of just the solution on the shingles and the raw shingles. |
| Raw Shingles |
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| Solution On Shingles |
Then I brought out a soft grey/brown from Martha Stewart. I diluted it and did streaky brushed-on-blot-off technique on the shingles, focusing on ugly shingles, areas that didn't grey and areas with glue. Some areas just got a crap load of paint to hide the edges where I didn't want to get to close to my white siding.
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| The Fix-It Crew |
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| Solution And Paint Applied |
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| Solution And Paint Applied |
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| Solution And Paint Applied |
Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am
To add something more, I tucked a bit of moss in a few shingles. I also painted the exposed edge of the roof line and under any exposed shingles a deep grey. The entire roof was sealed with 2 coats of flat clear coat spray paint. It didn't effect the appearance, but I wanted to ensure it was well sealed. Those pictures will come with the next post. My camera and the USB cable were at war this evening.I made a little door knob too!
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| Door Knob From A Bead And Pin |
I have also added some landscaping. I edged out some flower beds and filled them with brown sand. I then topped the sand with satin polyurethane to seal it and prevent a sand storm every time it was touched.
I spent a evening watching Fear The Walking Dead and making a little mail box and house number set too!
I'm now working on the interior elements. I have a 1:25 kitchen (close enough) I bought on eBay that I've painted. I'm waiting on a few 1:24 items from Mini Etchers and Melissa's Miniworld. I also have my fingers and toes crossed that my green turf sheets a) arrive from China and b) don't look like crap. Michael's is my plan B for turf. But I'm really excited for my 1:24 bathroom set (toilet and sink) to arrive from Shapeways and also hope it fits the weird proportions of the bathroom.
I'm in finishing limbo until all the pieces arrive and I see what works and what doesn't.
In other news.......the room box still needs a floor. But I've made a massive dent on another mini project. It's not a dollhouse, but a play structure of a 1:12-ish scale that will be another Christmas gift. That will be a post for after the gift is given, but it's taken a few evenings so far and I still have lots and lots to do!
