Maintenance day at Nostalgia Close

A short visit to Deco of the 30s and 50s

I always pick a sunny day to do this job and tho today should be a gardening day, Nostalgia Close calls. The main structure is built from a mix of card, foamboard and wood strip sandwiches and I’m keeping an eye on it as don’t know if it will warp etc.

Having been all round it a bit of dusting and checking of elelectrics, who has fallen over and similar tasks are all the maintenance needed I think.  Nothing in the actual vertical structure seems to have warped, tho the MDF base (the only continuous sort of ‘wooden’ area in the build) has bent up at one of the front corners – should have been slightly thicker MDF.  However, the electrics need fixing for the upstairs areas where there is a mix of battery and 12v mains.  There’s two small strips for the plugs for the mains ones and the one that services upstairs is possibly faulty, or one or more of its plugs are so, as that will need more time than I’ve got today, I must at that job to a side list for the future.  If it turns out to be a break in a wire within the structure then I’m afraid it’ll have to stay that way, and if necessary a further LED light could be added here and there perhaps.

There’s a new character in town. A heavy resin policeman has stopped to chat to the cat by the letter box and something has caught his eye down the side of the house

Ah, it’s the ‘lady who does’. She’s faffing around with a feather duster at the fence, which does not seem a likely activity, so PC 49 wonders what she’s spotted

Wearing her wrap-around apron and cigarette in hand she’s staring along the street …

Meanwhile, the arrival of the policeman has helped complete the street scene round the front

While I was at it I re-set-out the house on its table.  This is the slice of cake house, where a quarter of it moves away revealing the other three quarters.  Now I’ve managed to straighten it up a little more, the human eye can catch sight of most of the internal bits without having to move the qaurter slice any further away.

So you can see two attics, two bedrooms, the dining room and sitting room at one go from this angle

the sitting and dining room and front hallway at another angle

a bit of a bent angle here as trying to show with two photos what eye sees but camera doesn’t

and can get your head even closer for a better look downstairs too.

As before, there’s a view of the kitchen at the other end of the hallway

 

The bedrooms are also visible more or less all in one go, with distant view of part of the bathroom down the end of the landing

Round the back, the bathroom and kitchen are still viewable thro their own fourth wall door

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 🙂