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Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Today (28th) I did glue tests to attach the window lights to the acetate. It seems the best but not perfect method was a very fine coat of Ultimate Glue on the wood and drop the piece gently on the acetate. Let dry. There were a few spots that didn't hold well but a bit of glue fixed those and at least the glue didn't show.  Windows look even more crooked now, but they will be along the side of the building and not visible straight on. I got one more egg carton and worked on scoring bricks for the cellar ceiling. 
They got layers of paint starting with a reddish brown, grey, and then black. 
Once glued up they were "mortared" with lightweight spackle which had some black added.  Once dry more black was smeared on to good effect. I also began the tiles that will cover the bottom floor and step up. A few have now been glued in and mortared just to see how they will work out.
Posted by hilocreations
at 4:04 AM EDT
Updated: Thursday, 29 July 2010 5:03 AM EDT
Monday, 26 July 2010
I finally took the plunge to make my own window lights. Very tricky and it took me a bit of experimenting to get it to work. I am using 1/32" basswood (I think) and it is very fragile. I have been thinking for days how I could make a jig and I thought I had it figured out. I cut very small slots in a piece of wood to hold the strips in place so I could file them where they cross. The only problem was that the wood slipped slightly when I was cutting the channel so they were uneven. I finally decided to just use one horizontal and one perpendicular as the only thing I needed to do was file the spots along the wood. This actually worked after I filed the slot just a tiny bit wider so it would hold the square strips in place firmly. My first attempts at gluing were a disaster. Zap-a-Gap CA glue didn't work well but once I decided to try Future Glue (plug here - my all time favorite glue) it went very well and I finished one of the two large panels. I am now trying to find out what glue would be best to glue the acetate to the frame pieces so it can all hold together well and be strong. Questions have been asked and experiments are now in order.
Posted by hilocreations
at 10:38 PM EDT
Updated: Friday, 6 August 2010 11:26 PM EDT
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Got more egg carton but other work called so I didn't get much accomplished today. The tunnel backgrounds are printed but need to be coated with some kind of fixative. I built the stairs going up to Mrs. Lovett's parlor by stacking wood pieces to the correct height to go through the upper floor. They were glued to the side wall. There is so much temptation to glue everything together and I need to restrain myself because it will be very difficult to decorate if I glue it. I need to decide if I should weather the stairs and leave them wood or try to find something that will make an appropriate runner. Wall treatment is another decision to be made. I believe bare wood, worn, brown heavy file folder card for wood and peeling wallpaper will be the way to go. Worn red carpet on the floor.
Posted by hilocreations
at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Thursday, 29 July 2010 4:58 AM EDT
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Posted by hilocreations
at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Thursday, 29 July 2010 5:17 AM EDT
Friday, 23 July 2010
Posted by hilocreations
at 3:59 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, 26 July 2010 4:12 AM EDT
Thursday, 22 July 2010
It was now time to plan the building which has three levels. The main part at street level is the Pie Shop (the worst pies in London) and above is the attic/barber shop. I needed to plan the floor openings and chute to run from the top floor to the cellar. I first graphed the layout of the Pie Shop to see where and how the chute could come down. Next was to see how it fit in with the attic floor and once those parts were planned I cut a rectangular opening in both floors. It will be some time before I am able to test this chute but the building is being planned for access so if necessary later I may have to enlarge the chute slightly. In order to keep the building fairly solid but not wanting to use thick wood I made a back from half inch plywood and cut grooves across to set the floors into. I shouldn't need to glue those parts so if I need to disassemble it for any reason I am hoping it can be taken apart. At least that is what I plan. I hope to use a tube hinge when it is time to set it up. I built counters extending into the shop, doorways, and window openings. I am trying to decide if I can do a decent job building the windows myself or if I should try to use ready-made plastic windows. Sadly, there are MANY windows! For the front of the building I used rectangular panels created with 1/32" strip wood and mitered the corners. Not perfect by any means but I like the effect regardless.  I had cedar strip wood with grooves cut that made nice upright decor, and other small stripwood was used for the base. I then painted the front inside and out with a forest green and used a very thin black wash over that when the paint was dry. I made the brick wall using Delight (similar but softer than PaperClay) rolled very thin and scored to resemble old bricks.  That panel was painted with a variety of colors and some white chalk dust was rubbed on the surface in some areas. The photo references I used showed white mortar with the red brick on old buildings, but as I see it now it seems very white. I may need to tone that down a bit.
Posted by hilocreations
at 2:29 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 25 July 2010 9:11 PM EDT
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Some time ago I thought I would like to do a scene from Sweeney Todd but it required a lot of thought to figure out what I would include and how I might accomplish it in quarter inch (1:48) scale. I finally decided to just take the plunge and start with what I figured might be the most difficult parts so the first thing I built was the barber chair. I knew that wood alone wasn't strong enough for the jointing that would allow the chair to tilt back so I made a base from aluminum over which I put leather covered wood. The joints were wired through the aluminum and they move freely.
I then carved wooden legs for the front and cut curved legs for the back.
The entire unit was then placed on a piece of wood which will be inset in the floor and will be hinged so it can be tilted back and the victim can be dropped down the chute.
Chair tilted back
 Chair shown tilted back as it will be in the floor
Once I felt that the chair worked well I set to work on the large oven and meat grinder that would go in the cellar.
Copper oven started
For the meat grinder, I used copper to form the hopper with a flared top. That was very difficult to keep together and in place but with many trials I was able to glue it again using Future Glue. I turned the extruder part of the grinder at the end of a wooden dowel and used camera and watch parts on the ends to simulate the grinder handle. I may have to tweak the pieces once I am ready to install them in the cellar but for now I am fairly pleased with them. .
Turned wood with hopper
Mostly finished hopper (needs a few tweaks)
Posted by hilocreations
at 1:32 AM EDT
Updated: Sunday, 25 July 2010 2:28 AM EDT
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and then painted with dark brick colors - reddish brown, grey, black - all mixed together to get uneven effect. Light-weight spackle was then applied as mortar and dirty fingers used to rub areas. Some sanded pencil lead also adds to the effect. I was only able to do the back wall today as I ran out of foam, but it will cover the roof and pillars and large tiles will be used for the floor. Need to buy more eggs tomorrow!
Grooves cut so I can now work on the most complicated floor, the Pie shop. A diagram from the movie set was my guideline for size and placement of architectural parts. I made a graph diagram for everything and proceeded to cut the walls, front, etc. from light weight fiber board that is often used for paneling in trailers. The building will have front opening doors so I can retain the outside architecture.
It was suggested to me that the back I originally designed was too tall so I removed it from the aluminum and cut it down. I have not photographed the back since it was cut.
