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Sunday, 22 August 2010
I have cut the sides and I have finished the box roof which has the stair-step front. I think it will look pretty Victorian once the bricks are applied. Sides are taped on and roof is set loosely on top.
Posted by hilocreations
at 12:01 AM EDT
Saturday, 21 August 2010
Most of my time was taken up making prototypes - figuring what works for scale, searching my stash for findings and beads, drilling and finally finishing one. Now it should be easier since I know what I am doing (I think). I received a "fire kit" that I had ordered and set it up inside the oven and I love it. The little LEDs flash color and I may try a piece of yellow cellophane instead of the rainbow cellophane that came with it. Planning the lighting and where wires will go took up much of my time and yesterday I started on the roof which will involve some hinge and wiring so I can't really make much progress until that is done. Glued it together and now I need to find my tubing to create the hinge. This will also require more bricks! OUCH! I will spend some time on line looking for QS brick sheets as there is just too much outside area to cover bit by bit with foam egg cartons. I now have a major design problem to work out and writing here should help me. The various levels in the building are different widths and parts would normally be open. But the box has sides so my dilemma is to figure how to integrate the sides with the various levels. Options so far are to cut them off even with the walls or just brick them. The bottom level can be extended a bit to meet the sides which have to be wider to support the street level. I definitely want the curb and cobblestones to be a part of it. The upper level is set back a bit and has a clear piece of acrylic instead of a solid wall. This is to be able to see the barber shop but doesn't need the architectural interest of the shop level. This is the part that will require the most careful thought. It is a "Design as you go" project! I cut a piece of cardboard so I could try out the cut and it seems to be better. I think these decisions and trials are the hardest part of creating what I envision.
Posted by hilocreations
at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, 1 September 2010 4:19 AM EDT
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Today I have painted and grouted. It has been trial and error to get an effect that I like and I think I am there. First a coat of gesso, black thin acrylic, light grey acrylic - and I paint with my fingers! I want a very uneven color effect with much of the paint mixing together.
After I added the spackle I still wasn't happy with the results. Rubbed on more paint in spots and let things dry. It is now looking pretty decent. Not quite how I planned it to look, but it is an effect of old pavement. I am pretty sure the front opening will swing out okay. There are stairs from the courtyard up to Mr. Todd's barber shop and these will be open stairs so using blocks wasn't an option. There is a technique for measuring for stairs so for anyone wanting to know this is how you do it:  Decide how far out the stairs will go or how steep you want them, and complete a right triangle to the top of the perpendicular line. You now have a properly spaced riser. For this scene I will lay the paper pattern I just made on 2 thin pieces of wood (double sided tape between them) and I will cut the wood risers. The stairs themselves will be cut from very heavy brown file folder. It is easy to cut and work with and is a nice thickness for quarter inch scale. Plus it is almost as strong as wood and has a lot more integrity.
Posted by hilocreations
at 10:19 PM EDT
Updated: Thursday, 12 August 2010 10:58 PM EDT
Posted by hilocreations
at 10:15 PM EDT
Updated: Thursday, 12 August 2010 10:46 PM EDT
Saturday, 7 August 2010
I spent a lot of time on making brick panels - boring and not exciting to write about but I am so happy with the results. The sewer level is pretty much done except for pillars and some fill in. I then did the floor making large "slab" blocks and because of a very happy accident they turned out wonderful! I had originally made them on a single sheet like I did the bricks but they looked awful when I finished painting them. I had them glued down and I pulled the sheet up, cut up the pieces  and used the side I had glued. These were placed individually and then painted and mortared with lightweight spackle with the results as shown in the photo. I also have a new technique to add to my repertoire.
I built shelves for the back of the shop area and I also made a tube hinge for the front opening wall. The bent ends are inserted into  holes in the building wall and the cut parts of the tube are glued to the wall section and the front section as you can see below.
Brass hinge in place
Front slightly open
I forgot to mention that I also worked on the stair well and added peeling wallpaper, carpet (I still need to dirty it - very reluctant but it must be done!) and wore the stairs down in the center.
Posted by hilocreations
at 12:48 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 7 August 2010 1:00 AM EDT
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
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I haven't posted this week because most of what I have worked on was just finishing and planning. I did create some tiny hurricane lamps that will be lighted with optic fiber, and a couple of other fixtures as well. 
In the photo the oven is tilted because it can not be glued into place just yet but the effect looks pretty good.
Each paver is placed individually so this is a very long and tedious job.A decision needs to be made about making more shelves to attach to the front opening side - it would mean making a LOT more dishes, etc. It could be something to add later.
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!