Open and shut case

I’ve spent most of the recent mini-ing time on roof-ful brooding.

Still mithering on

Going round and around in circles trying to keep things simple but give access to light controls and the loft rooms.

• Top of the list would have been to have my brain checked:  too late for that
• Most favourable and practical would be an all-in-one, simple roof that is totally removable:  not gone for simple roof so that’s out
• Next would have been to split it in two halves both of which would be removable and have them meeting at the ridge:  that messes up the ridge and wasn’t sure I could work that out

Working with what’s there

Best way out is to ignore it while it cooks away in the old brain box and do something else so I fiddle with the carpet across the great hall table.  The hanging edge needed weighting in some way as it wouldn’t lie flat.

Should have done this ages ago. Have threaded a scrap of florists’ wire into the loose threads at the back of the carpet

Not wonderful but a lot better than it was and it’s less likely to curl up when it feels like it

And now the roof so far

The outer slope of the storerooms and the usual mess with the main lighting control for the full string of fairy lights in room on left

No longer need that roof section removable as have solved access by digging through from loft on other side – see second loft bedroom below

All the bits that make up the storeroom roof

Another patchwork on the inner side

Section removed from left in previous photo – space dressed as a storeroom for the heck of it with mock access from one end of loft bedroom

Hidden in the corner is the other light control – this one is for the alleyway torch

The central section of the second bedroom gives access to play about in there. I don’t personally feel comfortable with this arrangement and am keen to see how exactly I think I’m going to do it 😉

The second bedroom

It’s up there over the meat room

Ashwood Designs has made various lamps that are used around the building. Some have bulbs, some have candles only. This bedroom has a fairy light available that needed housing and it just so happened that the last Ashwood lamp I had was a candle one that had rattled around in storage here and needed its base putting back.

I didn’t fix it but used it as two separate lighting features

one over the fairy light and the base with candle on a shelf by the door

In the last photo you can see the boxing in on lower left two-thirds, hiding the robust fairy light wiring that lights the rooms down below and the door at the left is the mock one for the alleyway torch controls. I don’t much like rooms with lots of doors in them (or open wardrobes for that matter) but the two mock doors are to ‘dead’ areas in the loft.

Solution to part of the roof problem

To be able to fix the roof over the main control I’ve knocked a hole in the wall in this bedroom as it has to have a removable roof

and covered it with a removable panel

concealing the battery box and switch in the ‘room’ on the other side

Another ‘something else’ activity

Finally got round to dressing the room properly more or less.

A bit of lots and none at all, but suspect my brain is now going to be incommunicado until such time as this roof is finally fixed.

See you then 😉

 

 

Peep show

Points of view

The thing that has always fascinated me about dolls houses and miniatures is the opportunity to view different perspectives, peep around corners and through doorways and generally get down and observe from the small scale level.  Just what is hidden in there?  Perhaps I’m a miniature peeping Thomasina in the making but viewing closed rooms through windows does appeal I must admit.

Progress on the last thing to be built

This is all coming on and there’ll be a report when I’ve accumulated enough completed items.  Mostly the working is about a bit of this and then that, whilst each dries:  the usual.

In the meantime I’ve been peeping.

One of the drying jobs are the two ‘fourth walls’ that close off the long sides of the storerooms. One’s done and this one is in need of red bricks. What’s through the window screens?

Pushing in to look across the block

and pushing the camera further you can see the opposite fourth wall on the buttery

and through the scullery screen there’s a view across the kitchen to the door into the great hall.

From the great hall there’s a view back into the kitchen and the dresser by the door

Back at the storerooms the dairy gives a view through one screen to the buttery shelves

and through the other screen to the back door and the edge of the steps going up to the loft for the boys cuts across the left top corner of the doorway

The view at the top of the steps gives a small peek into the boys loft room which, at the moment, as it has now roof yet gives a view over to the tower block on the great hall!

Returning to the great hall there’s a view into the entrance hall and the boy at the window on the left, whilst the messenger is still playing the poseur with rose in hand and little Alys Benedict is trying to work at the same time as watching the balancing act above.

Alys is supposed to be wiping the table, but she’s not watching what she’s doing

Sliding back a little we get a view of the upper corridor gothic window on the gallery landing and the central chandelier which casts interesting shadows here and there

One place the pattern falls is on the chimney breast, giving a checker effect.

Above on the gallery and below that gothic window there’s a chance to peek the boy at the window again.

Down below the boy and into the kitchen area, if we stand outside the back door here we can see over the half door and once more view that dresser

—~—

Answering a query re size of gallery photos

Gallery view with “View full size” link on lower right

To get a peep at a larger version of an image go to gallery view by clicking on any photo in the block and shimmy down to click on “View full size” link on lower right (as shown above).  It will open in a fresh window – most will give you a magnifying glass mouse icon which should enlarge at least a little further too 🙂

Two hard working young boys need a place to sleep

The second loft sleeping space is for Robert Smyth general house labourer aged 10 years (at present dealing with logs and a large dog in the great hall) and Kit Punt aged 11 years, also general labourer around the Hall but at the moment is in the porch about to knock the hat off a quarrelsome beggar using the handle of his besom broom.

A storage chest

As usual am building bits around and about at the same time whilst the items dry and they all involve this loft space. Their bit of it is also a general storage area for spare items.  It needs the odd chest to store some of the older, small equipment out of the storerooms down below and a corner to push in a spare palliasse or two.

Going for cheap, cheerful and speedy

The chest doesn’t need to open, it just needs to sit there taking up space and look mildly interesting, so I’ve gone for a really cheapskate construction from a cardboard box.  (I bought a bundle of boxes quite some time ago with thoughts of dressing them as really very small mini scenes but haven’t so far got round to it.)

Recipe:

• take one cardboard box of roughly suitable size in at least one of its dimensions in this case it’s the width (approximately 3”)

(top left) The box with its lid is far too big but its width is OK without (top right) .
(second row)) The depth needs reducing so chopped it more or less in half from back to front
(bottom photo) and then used a piece of the excess inserted to add another face to the construction and strengthen the shape

• clad in whatever is lying around that might be suitable – peel off back 1:12 wood flooring is what I’ve got

This is wood flooring with a peel off backing and it has some of the stickiest glue I’ve ever come across on it

Cardboard box with front face clad

• add hinges, catches, strapping if wish – using some more painted paper as iron bits and florist’s wire to indicate some sort of catch

There’s a pile of off-cuts from the painted paper used when making faux lead for the roof valleys and they mostly have some useable bits on them so they’ll be used for hinges and iron strapping. The paper is stuff that comes in parcels and I’m loath to throw it away.

If the flooring is used for the lid it’s possibly going to look too thin. If it’s stuck to a piece of cardboard then the edge showing a double thickness will annoy me.
The compromise is trying a piece of 2 mm card (example on left of photo ) and see if it can be coloured and patterned to blend a little with the wood planking (example on the right of photo).
I’ve used pastels and surgical spirit and added the dots and dashes with a ball-point pen

It’s built with one face open (that is it doesn’t have six sides).  It could be useful to have an open face for concealing something such as wiring but so far I don’t think there’s anything more to be hidden up in this area but you never know, so five sided it remains.

The back is open for hiding things

and the usual florist’s wire is in place for bits of a catch.

Outcome

Not very finished at the edges where the cladding corner edges meet but I think I can live with it and the lid still looks ‘hairy’ in a comparison with the smooth wood, but so it goes.

Other coloured card today

Was looking to make a worn wooden door

but think I may have a door that looks like it needs repainting

There is also a doorway at one end (non-opening) to hint at loft space beyond for more items to be kept – presumably someone in the household is sure these things will come in handy someday.

Been shopping again

Dressing Tilda’s room

Couldn’t resist the opportunity of buying more Duncan White pottery from Pedlar’s Tray when I realised Tilda could do with a ewer and bowl.  They’ve just arrived and are now in the room, finishing off the bits and pieces for it.  At least I think so.  Might add an odd clog or two if and when I get round to making them.

Reading candle run out of puff – white paint and shiny glue

One night cap on head post next to Book of Hours

Washing accoutrements in place – that candlestick is definitely wonky!

Stepping back – careful not to fall down the gap

Well it’s roof time for this particular section but I think I’ll hold off on it till it’s roof time all round to make sure I don’t go too adrift with the meeting of the two slopes etc.

Jobs are back to the brick laying variety now the floating doorway is in place more or less.  Nearly there, nearly there 😉