What’s next?

Things aplenty to play with

For various reasons that I’ve nattered about previously, I realised about a year into working on my first build, Hogepotche Hall, that I’d make a mess of any serious dollhouse kit so never felt comfy committing to buying one.  Instead I started collecting a few smaller projects that would give me the freedom to make my own mess and, now I’ve got more of the workroom sorted, I’ve been going through what I think of as ‘my homework’.  Can’t leave the work undone, can I?

Sitting around for the last seven or eight years or so, and mostly covered in many layers of dust, there’s at least one second hand room box left from the original purchase for Hogepotche, three sizes of new room boxes (10″ through to 20″)

and a shop frontage which may or may not fit one of them

There’s also one more cardboard book box,

a smaller sibling to this one I used to do the steampunk project

And, of course there’s always more small ornamental boxes, which I find very hard to resist, each with its own personality.  It would be great to create some different scale scenes with one or two of these – like the three already worked on and whose scenes are in no particularly sensible scale at all.

Very varied in scale

I have a few modern glazed boxes too, sold as display boxes, or for storing this and that.  They might be good homes for a piece of furniture or wrong scale items I can’t part with but which otherwise will have no future home.  I’m thinking perhaps a garden scene, or outsized floral display, a chair loaded with everything but a seated person, or a modern sideboard that has a touch of the Miss Haversham.

I obviously have this ‘thing’ about boxes

The modern boxes will not be big enough for a 50s matchbox three-piece suite with its original fabric, lovingly made fifty plus years ago. Because of the size of the sofa and chairs, they don’t fit in anywhere, but I find their survival and good state quite remarkable and it would be lovely to see them in a purpose-made scene.  Probably needs a whole new purpose-made box for it though.

Chunky and still with us

There is a full kit

The Market Cross is the only fully designed kit project I bought.  In fact I bought two at the time, one for a friend and one for me and we were going to work on them together, but that never happened.

This is probably where I should start.  Not too sure that it still has all its pieces or if I’m really truly going to do it, but, if I do, I’ve an inkling that it will end up tampered with horribly, with changes to this and that and a possibility of additions here and there.  Would want to set it back to a time nearer the era in which it began, rather than Victorian or contemporary, so it’ll be a return to the medieval/Tudor period.  So much more forgiving to my wobbly woodworking and finishes. Looks like a return to the egg box bricks 🙂

Why might the Market not get done? 

It’s sadly attached to my now departed friend and I really, absolutely don’t want to start another huge construction after the last two; no room and I’m getting too old.  Once started I fear that I won’t know when to stop with the market theme.  That’s what comes from looking on-line at the buildings in Weald and Downlands Museum today in an effort to collect reminders of a medieval style market street and market hall.  So many ideas shot around my brain I think it fused.

While I wrestle a few of these ideas under control, there’s definitely a particular small wooden box I’d like to work on now; oak and very Utility/Deco in look, and, as the 50s world is still rattling round in the corners of my head, it makes sense to do it in combo with the thinking about the Market.  If that also gets started I can swap back and forth – while one item dries out I can mess about with the other.

One square, 50s made oak box ripe for playing with in 1:24

More than plenty to keep me out of various types of mischief and drop me in the glue pot.

Further link:

Carrie Becker, the Artist Behind “Barbie Trashes her Dreamhouse” so tempted by the idea of doing this type of room, any room

 

Make-up and Museum Wax

Nostalgia Close street scene

Finally gathered together all the bits and had great fun putting it all in place.

Getting from here to there – a feline cunning plan?

First job was to eject the cat from the deckchair in the yard and he’s having a good stretch on the post box.

Looking a little cross, he’s spotted something of interest

Ah, the delivery ‘boy’ has parked his bike and there’s a rather rigid fish hanging out of the front.

From cat’s point of view, unguarded fish equals lunch.

What else is out for delivery?

Balancing by beetroot

Never having balanced a mini bike before I hadn’t realised you needed five hands. I’ve made small ridges in the pavement and used make-up to colour the wax.

The basket with the fish, the off-side pedal and the beetroot are all firmly waxed too!

(Ganley is the name of S’s late father’s wholesale green grocery, by the way.)

Elsewhere

The deckchair has been taken over by one of the small boys. careless about how he leaves his comics.

And now we have two friends serenading the street lamp.

One of these dogs doesn’t even have a collar and who knows if either have a dog licence.

So, that’s probably it for Nostalgia Close until Christmas when I’ll light it all up once more 🙂

Back to the much needed sorting.  I’m trying to bottom out everything in the Potting Shed and am, surprisingly, getting somewhere at last.  Have kept putting off the wallpaper and fabric hoard, but will have to go there any minute now before they tumble out all over the place.

 

Time to post a letter?

Just pop out of the gate

George V or VI letter box (I’m not sure) a round-topped one, which I think is meant to be attached to a pole, not just on a pole, but perhaps it was both.  Finally made use of the ‘brickwork’ step added as extra support to the stub of wall by the gate

The post box sits at the other end of the road to the street light

In my head I’m working on a little something to fit in along the length of the walling – bits already ordered online –  but it won’t be for the next few days or so – didn’t finish the chores 😦

Once I’d done some research, the making of the box involved a lot of dashing in and out between the domestic jobs I was supposed to be doing, and around the glue and paint drying out at the various stages.  Made with cardboard and edgings in 15 mm wood strip plus painted string for the finer bits.  Worst part was working on what I’ve always taken to be a rain cover over the posting slot.  It is so small I could barely hold it to score and crease it and then, when the area was glued to take it, I couldn’t let go.  Thought I was going to lose it down the posting slot 🙂

There we go

More than a little rough and ready
but up and working

Got a couple of hours today to continue with the light. Looking a better shape at least

In need of a hat – cold weather coming on, you know. Squaring up the top pieces ready to glue on

Hatted and in need of paintwork. Gives a nice shadow, though

Painted and lit

All asleep in Nostalgia Close

Not very bright, is it, and despite a little yellow colouring it’s still a very blue light – hey hum.  I have, by the way, now sealed off that light bleed around the bobble on the top.  Looks a bit like a white pom-pom on a woolly hat.

Now what?

His Master’s Lamp Post?

Dog, lamp base and house

One or two other things to join with Nipper as part of the street scene I think.

Back to the lamp

The design seems OK but the finish is pretty bad; mostly bits of modelling clay, used at various joining points, that I couldn’t quite remove, the old sticky fingers plus bad moves with a paint brush and, of course, over handling.  The lamp could be replaced by a ‘better’ run at it, but for the moment at least it stays 🙂