Haunted Beacon Hill Porch--Gothic Makeover

The original Beacon Hill, while lovely, doesn't necessarily lend itself to a Gothic theme.  To that end, I've been giving it a little facelift.  It's really still in the beginning stages, so you'll have to use your imagination a bit, but I figured I'd share what I've done so far. 

This is how it started:

The original Beacon Hill, photo courtesy of Greenleaf.

First, of course, I enlarged the dining room and built out the basement.  My next challenge is to update the facade of the house itself and, so far, I've started on the porch and one of the windows.  When complete, it'll be a combination of red brick and sandstone.  The windows are going to be a combination of stained glass and plain, diamond paned glass.  The square windows are, I think, going to be (opening) casements.

The house so far.

At the halfway point...

I lengthened the porch and added a front cupola.  The design is inspired by various stone colonnades I've seen in real life.  This is a great excuse, since I've always wanted to build one.  Eventually, there'll be a slight pitch on the porch roof, which will be copper.  I'm also waiting on the gable trim, and still making the crenelations.

Coasters make great weights!

The columns are an amalgam of found items.  The bases are wood spools from Michael's; the columns themselves are 1/4" dowels, and the caps are--again--wood spools that I cut in half.  So far, I'm pretty pleased with the results--and the price!  I think they'll look fairly convincing once they've been made into "stone."  And with all these arches, my Dremel is getting a good workout!  I come up from the basement literally coated in sawdust; hours later, it's still sifting down out of my hair.

Then, while I waited for a few things to dry, I started on the front bay window.  No, not everything on this house is going to be pointy, but I thought it suited the shape!  It's still a little plain looking, because I'm leaving room for decorative carvings.

Eventually the crenelations will carry around the front of the porch and cupola, as well.

So that's where I am right now.  It's starting to look a little bit different, which is gratifying.  Tomorrow I'm going to start on the rest of the windows and, once I'm finished with the basic wood shapes, I'll start on the carvings, ahem, Sculpey.  At first I was worried that sandstone would look too cheerful, but then I figured, hey, it works on Disney's Haunted Mansion, right?

Thoughts?

How To Make Your Own Medieval Or Tudor Salamander

Many of skills have been motivated by desperation.  I've learned to make things simply because there was nothing even approximating what I wanted for sale.  My window adventure is one example, and this is another.  I've always wanted salamanders (not the bed warmer, a representation of the actual animal) for my medieval and tudor dollhouses...but where are they?

If you look closely at historical architecture, really spanning an enormous period of history (anywhere from post-Roman to post-Elizabeth I) you'll probably see a salamander worked in somewhere.  They don't always look terribly lizard-like; as Durer's woodcuts demonstrate, most people, including the very well educated, had no idea what many animals looked like.  Salamanders have been represented as everything from lizards to snakes to gryphons.  

Salamanders were used as a charm against fire.  It was believed that they lived in fire (or, at least, were born in it), and, thus, were immune.  By representing the salamander somewhere on the building, medieval builders (and homeowners!) hoped to "borrow" some of its magical protective abilities.  Fire, then as now, was the single greatest danger a home--and city--could face.

Considering all this, it's sort of bizarre that there are no commercially available salamanders hanging about.  Oh, well.  Once again, it's Richard Stacey to the rescue and I decided to make my own.  While there are more complex ways to achieve a salamander, this is one I can actually manage.

I started out with...

1. Richard Stacey modeling dust in "gault".  You can obviously use any color of modeling dust you like.  For my next salamander, I may, in fact, use stucco powder.
2. A piece of wood for a base.
3. A salamander.  Mine was purchased by my husband at a craft store for 99 cents (about 50p), in the "make your own jewelry" section.  For true historical accuracy, you could go with just about any animal you like and call it a salamander, since that's essentially what our medieval forebears did.  So, if you really fancy that frog (or lion, or gryphon), use it.
4. PVC glue (I use Aleen's Tacky, but I realize this can be difficult to find outside of the States and Canada).
5. A few fine detail brushes.

First, I cut a piece of wood down to size (the size of your wood piece is the size of the finished plaque).  Then, using some glue (epoxy works a bit better than PVC, but it doesn't really matter), I affixed my salamander.  Above, I messed him about a bit until I approved of his placement.  Then, let everything dry completely.  Note that, if you're concerned about warp being an issue, you can lightly coat your wood piece on both sides with varnish and let it dry.  If you're really concerned about warp, you can let it dry wrapped in wax paper and sandwiched between two books.  The wax paper is to protect the books.  You would do this, of course, before you affixed your salamander.

I took some of my regular gault mixture and added more gault powder until it'd formed a thick paste, somewhat the consistency of marzipan, and used a detail brush to work it in around the larger crevasses. There were places where, due to the salamander's shape, it didn't make contact with the board.  This is something of a preliminary step, wherein you prepare your salamander for its actual coating.  Note that, if you're making a plaster salamander instead of a stone salamander, you can perform this same step with stucco powder--just thicken it up a bit first.

I feathered it out a bit at the edges, just to give myself an even surface on which to work.  If your mixture is being stubborn, you can use a bit of water at the edges (load your brush with water and then feather it).  Then, I let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Here's my salamander after the first coat.  Here, I'm using gault powder at regular strength.  It's a bit shiny, as it's still wet.

And here it is after its second coat.

And here's my mate tiling my kitchen floor.  Just wanted to see if you were paying attention!  He's doing a bang up job, I think.

Here it is, almost dry after the last coat.

And here's the public ovens, done except for some sort of ground treatment.

I really do love this fountain.

I was thinking gravel would work in here.

After my salamander dried, I glued it in place with epoxy.

I'm quite pleased with how it came out!

And there we are, done but for the hardware and ground.

What do you think?

But Where Can I Find This Stuff?

I've written a number of tutorials, many of which mention pretty strange materials--like lead tape.  Where the heck does one find this stuff?  These aren't exactly every day things.  Most of the alternative techniques I've developed, and materials I've found have been the result of desperation.  Hobby-specific supplies often aren't that great--or, conversely, they're fantastic but ridiculously expensive.  I don't know about you, but I have a limited amount of money to spend on miniatures and a family to support.  Nobody would fancy it much if I spent the week's grocery budget on minis.

Making matters more complicated, I'm in the US and most of you, my readers, aren't.  It's just not that easy to find suppliers who ship internationally.  Specifically, many of the materials used in my lead paned window tutorial are pretty obscure.  The good news is, you can get everything you need from one of my favorite sources: Amazon.  Amazon UK sells lead golf tape for £5.99.  You can also get DecoArt Triple Thick Brush-On Glaze for £4.99.  All of the windows I use are available from Hobby Builders Supply, which ships internationally.

Many things, like Americana craft paint, aren't readily available outside the US and Canada.  The good news is, other brands of acrylic craft paint are.  I happen to like Americana, but I by no means use it exclusively.  With the exception of a few very bargain basement brands, which are usually pretty easily identifiable by their misspelled labels (and other obvious flaws), all acrylic craft paint is pretty much interchangeable.  You might not be able to find the exact same paint in the exact same color, but you can pretty much eyeball it.

If I'm searching for a new color, I tend to splurge on five or six containers at once.  As they cost about 99 cents (USD), that's not too bad.  Also, too, I find that, for one thing or another, I use every color for something eventually.  I try them all out on a piece of scrap wood, wait for them to dry, and decide what I like the most.  It's important to let the paint dry completely before making any decisions; some burnt umber-type colors tend to be very ashy and purple when they dry.  I personally prefer a richer, warmer hue.

I hope these pointers were helpful.  If anyone has a particular product they're looking for, let me know!  I'd be happy to help.

How I Spent My School Vacation

Since Wednesday, the start of my "mini vacation", I've put 36 hours of work into the mystery project and I'm really pleased with the results so far.  As soon as I finish waking up--it's still rather tender hours, here--I'll head to the store, to purchase a few missing items.  Have you ever had that incredibly frustrating experience of thinking, "oh good, I have everything I need", and finding that to be basically true...except you're one piece short?  One piece!  

Ever since the warp incident, I put a foot on everything; as it turns out, I'm just shy of the pieces I need to fit out this rather enormous base.

I'm not normally quite so industrious; in this case, my astonishing work ethic is due to missing my husband.  The good news is, he's coming home on Sunday.  By all accounts, he's really enjoying his golf trip (he's off to warmer climes with his dad and brother).  Having nothing standing in the way of making minis is both the good news and the bad news!  

Yesterday, the remaining ingredients for the thatched roof finally arrived, so expect that last segment of the thatched roof tutorial to arrive soon.  I'm really excited!!!  It's thrilling both to take one more step toward completing the Wizard's Eyrie, and finally have figured out a way to create a realistic thatched roof.  I love thatched roofs, but have been so unhappy with how generally unrealistic they look that I haven't used them in my work at all.  I guess...expect a glut on thatched roofs now?

In the meantime, here's a preview of coming attractions...

My "mystery project", covered by towels.  Why towels, you may ask?  Am I expecting eager copyists to peer in through the windows?  Our younger gentleman, Henry, loves to chew wood.  So far, the only solution we've discovered is to put it somewhere he can't get at it: in a different room with the door closed, on a very high shelf he can't reach (such as the mantelpiece), or covered with something he doesn't care for, like a towel.  Otherwise, poor Henry can't withstand the temptation.

Me, with my charming and delightful better half.

Component I of the soon-to-be thatched roof.

Component II of the soon-to-be thatched roof.  Yes, really.  Confused, yet...?

Cheers for now!  I hope everyone's week has gone well.  My thoughts and prayers go out to those with relatives in New Zealand.  I truly, truly hope that everyone's families and friends are well.  My own family--even those whose vocations have taken them to dangerous parts of the world--are, thankfully, all well and happy.

A Brilliant Idea!

It all started last weekend.

Honestly, I don't know why it took me so long to think of it.  Why hasn't everybody thought of it?  The idea came to me when I brought the bakery up from the basement, and started working on it at the dining room table.  Dining rooms are, generally, under-ultilized rooms; why not take advantage of the natural light, I figured, and keep my husband company at the same time?  He was nearby in the living room, writing.

"Be careful you don't scratch the table!", he warned.

"Ah hah!", I thought.  "We have to go to Michael's and get some supplies!", I told him.

I bought some thin craft foam, and some foam glue.  I cut the foam into narrow strips exactly the same width as the base of the bakery.  If you try this, BE CAREFUL!  I though it'd work great to cut narrow strips with my table saw; it doesn't.

I elevated the bakery on a stack of books, so I could easily glue the strips of foam to the bottom.  I cut 8 strips approximately 1/4" wide by 3" long.  They're placed evenly around the base, so no one area has more pressure on it than any other. 

London is trying to figure out what's going on. 

The finished product. 

I used brown craft foam, because it's unobtrusive and dirt-colored.  For this to work, it's imperative that you use the right kind of foam, and the right kind of glue.  Regular craft glue doesn't form a strong bond to craft foam.  The special glue, though, is easy to find: generally, right next to the foam itself.

Another close-up.

Yet another close-up.

This fix is cheap and effective.  One sheet of craft foam, at 11" x 17", provides enough foam for many dollhouses and roomboxes.  It costs 0.95 USD per sheet, and craft foam glue costs 1.79 USD per tube.  The tubes are small, but a little goes a long way.  I purchased two sheets of brown craft foam and one tube of craft foam glue for a total investment of 3.69 USD.  That's enough to do all the projects I've got going on right now: the bakery, 4 roomboxes, the wizard's eyrie, and the merchant's manor.

3.69 USD, or less than two twenty five cent pieces per house.

Not a bad investment at all, I'd say!

What are your bright ideas?

Nonesuch House: A "Smaller Scale" 1:12 Scale Tudor

Nonesuch House--named for one of Henry VIII's palaces--was our first foray into the tudor world.  For you observant types, we started it at our old house, and completed it at our new house (hence the change in background).  Although the real Nonesuch House is much grander in scale, we were inspired by its woodwork for our smaller version.  Or, homage, really.  With only three rooms, Nonesuch House is quite small.

Nonesuch House is unique (for us) for another reason: it's entirely made out of recycled materials, including plastic.  Normally, our houses are made out of organic materials--wood, stone, brick, etc--but a miniaturist friend of mine convinced me to try plastic sheets.  

Nonesuch House's shell, which is available from Earth and Tree Miniatures, is MDF.  It started out life as the Keene.  The sheets I used are (so I'm told) made from recycled plastic, and available from Precision Products.

You can see a tutorial on plastic sheet "brick making" here.

 

Nonesuch House's front porch is based on a porch in a house in Leicester, UK.

Real tudor houses often featured either fountains, or more modest contrivances like buckets, in which visitors could wash their hands before entering.  Contrary to popular belief, our medieval and tudor ancestors were comparatively cleanly--especially for people living in a time where the concept of germs was considered heretical.  They did the best they could.

The front door uses hardware from Olde Mountain Miniatures.  I'm actually not 100% happy with the quality of the hardware--it bends and distorts very easily--but this is one area where there's not a whole lot available.  Very few companies make miniature hardware.

The fireplaces are electrified--against my better judgment, honestly.

The downstairs! 

The upstairs!

This is my attempt at an historically accurate window. 

The "cobblestones" forming the back wall of the fireplace are also made from plastic sheets.  The wood we used is 100% recycled.  In our case, it's scrap wood from other projects, as well as wood from other sources that were, for one reason or another, being cannibalized. 

 A detail of the plaster pargeting.

A detail of the fireplace, through the front window. 

The house is rather long and narrow, so it lives on top of a bookshelf.

The "slate" roof is also made from plastic sheets. 

A view of the whole dollhouse.

Nonesuch House, viewed from the side. 

Nonesuch House, viewed from the other side. 

A detail of the upstairs window.

A detail of the fountain.

A detail of the chimney. 

One view of the attic.

 Another view of the attic.

One thing I don't like about most dollhouse designs is, they leave the back of the dollhouse blank.  Here, I tried to rectify this, and make it more interesting.  Real houses aren't blank!

The real Nonesuch House features extensive pargeting and half timbering.

A close-up of the pargeting. 

 Yet another view of the back.

 Yet another view of the side.

Something else that's very difficult to find is decent dollhouse fountains. 

Nonesuch House hanging out on our dining room table. 

I haven't figured out a suitably out of the way spot for Nonesuch House to take up permanent residence. 

Perhaps we should sell it?