Queensland Miners Cottage 1:24

[JohnTolcher]

Many thanks everyone for your feedback.

Hi Russ, each frame is in one piece, but I kept the weatherboards as separate sheets. I think this will make the paint process possible. Hopefully..

Hi Bill, I just measured the hole centres as carefully as I could. There were just 2 dowels per join, even so with one or two I had to widen the opening. I always start the drill holes by carefully pushing a pin into the centre location first, if that helps. Dividers would make it easier, I'm thinking now.

Cheers, John

[1-32]

hi john
great build really captures the subject.
this design of tropical house were great what about a version on wooden poles with the laundry and a old holden parked underneath .
kind regards kim

[JohnTolcher]

Hi Kim, thanks. The plan was to put it on short posts, with the old rusty Ford out in the yard under the window. Model Holdens are not easy to come by but never say never, there's diecasts and a couple of resin models to be had. So the plan could change  

Continuing on with the cottage, I made the roofing from aluminium food trays.

Underneath is a sheet of evergreen styrene with a ribbed profile. The rib spacing matches close enough to the scaled corrugation spacing. The rounded end of a mini rotary tool is used to make corrugations.

Ridge caps were made of very thin styrene sheeting, cut and bent to shape.

[JohnTolcher]

Another image.

[JohnTolcher]

Hi folks

This is a SBS on how I painted the styrene to resemble old wood.

Primed with Mr Surfacer 1200 in the aerosol can, then airbrushed Tamiya white.

[JohnTolcher]

This is after the first few washes using Vallejo Air Color 71057 black, heavily thinned down with water and a tiny bit of dishsoap to aid flow. Acrylic washes like this will leave a hard edge (tide mark) if you let them dry out half way across the surface. So work quickly with each wash.

Some Vallejo 71041 Tank Brown and 71017 Russian Green wash to add a tiny amount of colour.

[JohnTolcher]

A few more black washes, then the piece was flecked with the black wash and 71001 White in a wash. To do this dip a flat brush in the paint, dab some off on a paper towel then run your finger across the bristles. This will fling spots of paint.

[JohnTolcher]

Dry brushed with Vallejo Model Color (Much thicker than Air Color) 70951 White.

[JohnTolcher]

A few more black washes will do it.

[JohnTolcher]

Here's a look at some results, before adding peeling old paint.

[JohnTolcher]

Here some elements are coming together. Gum tree leaves made from teabag paper, painted first then cut out with a sharp blade. The branches are made from stretched sprue.

That's it for now, cheers.
John

[Hydrostat]

Leaving aside the fact that this is disgustingly good (including those unhealthy looking leaves and branches [is this plastic sprue {first heated and then} stretched?]) for my opinion you could have stopped the process of wall weathering at this point:

A few more black washes, then the piece was flecked with the black wash and 71001 White in a wash. To do this dip a flat brush in the paint, dab some off on a paper towel then run your finger across the bristles. This will fling spots of paint.

I know that there's a kind of philosophy to highlight structures for perception purposes, but at the macro shots the next steps bring in a somewhat artificial impact.

Cheers,
Volker

[lab-dad]

 
great sbs!
i am liking the whole "feel" as the scene evolves.
the tree is incredible! i have no luck with stretching sprue......

-marty

[Bill Gill]

"i have no luck with stretching sprue......" _Marty

Me neither! Please, if you may, an SBS on stretching sprue in general and making branches in particular.

[finescalerr]

Most satisfactory and educational. -- Russ