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Ever evolvin dio. ft. 'THE INDESTRUCTIBLE TREE' as ft. on youtube.


Badder

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Apologies for the lack of photos over the past few days, but here's a few to catch up:

I've added more remains of plaster on the chimney stack, leaving a well-defined strip of brickwork where the floor of the upper room would have abutted the stack. The paper took on a glossy 'mother of pearl' appearance due to the soaking of CA.

I've also applied 'moss', again using my Japanese grit paints. Once this had dried I applied another wash of dilute black enamel.

4dlkf4n.png

 

I will of course be adding chervil again at some point.....

jXeFS48.jpg

 

The fireplace isn't showing its true colours here, due to the gloss coat. There's much more contrast and colour variation in truth.

25IIRII.jpg

 

Close ups of the plaster. It will be given a coat of matt, but If ever I wanted to mimic marble, then I think paper soaked in CA without the matt coat might be the way to go.

GXPFq5d.jpg

TFL

Badder.

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15 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Your fireplace looks amazing, really nice work.

Thanks Ozzy.

I'm happy with how it's going. There's still a fair bit of work to do to it: adjoining it to the external wall,the demarcation points where the ceiling/roof intersected with the stack, the chimney pots, some creepers and possibly ivy to add (more on that later) and then of course all the nice detail work will be covered up with snow......

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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I've given the fireplace/chimney stack a going over with MIG 'Brick dust' powder, another wash with dirty thinners, and a coat of matt acrylic varnish. With this assembly mostly constructed and painted up to a near-finished state, I will now concentrate on casting the wall to which it abuts. So, out with the moulds and the plaster of paris. Oh and while I'm at it I may have a go at making moulds of the MiniArt 'Ardennes Building', most specifically the tiled roof.

 

TFL

Badder

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I put a South Korean sci-fi film on and got side-tracked. Making casts is a messy job and a bit involving to do whilst watching a film with subtitles, so instead I finished off tiling the floor of the hearth using squares of high-gloss white card which were put in place and then doused with thin CA. It was much easier to do it this way than glue individual 'tiles' in place one at a time. It also meant that the tiles took on that mother of pearl look. I then gave them alternate washes and powders. Currently, they have a matt finish, but I will give them a satin finish.

 

ps, the green of the moss isn't showing up so well here.

Npf36WB.jpg

 

 

FhsWAbR.jpg

 

Y2Endq5.jpg

 

TFL

Badder

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Oh and I've made a discovery. We have an open fire and today I was cleaning ashes out of the grate in readiness for a new load of coal.... and I wondered if the ashes would make a good 'pigment' or 'weathering powder'. Maybe it was because I am currently making a chimney/fireplace that such a ridiculous thought entered my head.

 

Anyway, I experimented by rubbing the ashes into a scrap piece of plaster of paris wall and YES IT WORKS VERY WELL! It worked when dry-brushing small amounts of it over the brickwork to pick out the highlights, but with very heavy application it invaded the joints between the bricks and became in effect, mortar. Gentle prays with matt varnish did not blow the ashes away so they were nicely sealed in without losing their original colour. 

 

The ashes did not dissolve in thinners, but a paste was made which might come in handy for other uses.

 

So, rather than spend a fortune on 'brick dust'  or 'rust' weathering powders, find yourself a friendly neighbour/friend/relative with an open coal fire.

 

TFL

Badder

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17 hours ago, Ozzy said:

You have recreated a very nice fire place, I can hear the crackle from here.

Thanks mate,

I've just cast the wall to fit on the back. It cracked because I was a bit impatient, removing it from the frame/mould before it had fully set, but I glued it with CA  and it won't show when it's finished.  When the wall is fitted, I'll cast the inner wall and countersink the chimney/fireplace into it.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Here's yet another casting to fit on the back of the fireplace/chimney.

I found a choccy box lid that took the latex mould nicely, the exact same height, and fitting nicely along the bottom and one edge . This left just one side and the roof slope to 'dam' off  and for this I used 'Newplast'  non-toxic delling clay, a recent purchase which is much better than plasticine in my opinion. The choccy box and clay dams made a much better frame than I'd used previously, and the cast came out perfect. (Although I did crack it due to impatience)  If I'd let it dry for 20 mins rather than 10, the problem wouldn't have occurred. However, it's glued with CA now and ready for sculpting and the crack won't show.

 

I am really saving myself some money with these moulds!

WKS3f5V.jpg

 

TFL

Badder

 

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1 hour ago, Col68 said:

Jus caught up with your project badders looks fantastic  

Thanks Col,

Anyone who has followed previous WIPs will know that my builds and paint-jobs evolve over time. Even now I've re-worked the chimney stack, roughing it near the top, and weathering it some more.  I also considering moving the fireplace/chimney and placing it where the missing gable wall would be. That'll make the building a fair bit longer, and take up more room on the dio base, but that might not be a bad thing. I will have a play around with the layout and see.

 

Thanks again,

Rearguards,

Badder

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6 minutes ago, Vince1159 said:

That's a work of art....

No, it's a bloomin' fireplace Vince! I may hang a Renoir over it though! :D

 

Thanks mate,

Rearguards,

Badder

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So here's the chimney/fireplace with a cast of the external wall CA'd to the back.

 

You'll notice that the top of the chimney stack has been worked on a bit more.

6pbMKaf.jpg

 

WiRXrmd.jpg

 

 

 

 

As you can see, I used a cast of the gable wall, so I've got to get rid of the windows and doorway. The doorway had a light skim of plaster over it but it cracked and i''ve tidied up the edges so that I can refill it with plaster. The windows though had a full thickness filling of plaster and all I had to do was scrape away at the window surrounds so that they match the level of the stonework. I will have to re-carve the stonework and blend everything in.

As stated previously, I was reconsidering the position of the fireplace and have now decided to position it at the end of the building as the second gable wall. With that in mind, I've chamfered the right hand edge of the stonework to match the  slope of the roof on that side. The left hand side will be 'broken away' so there need be no need to worry about matching details up.

Also, you'll notice that the back of the chimney stack is bare plasticard. I have the apex of the gable wall to position over the lower portion of the plasticard, and will be covering up the top part with brickwork. I THINK.

 

 

TFL

Badder

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I've spent a couple of hours filling the doorway with PoP, sanding down the filler in the doorway and windows and made a start on re-carving the stonework.

 

I've also cast the internal wall for this assembly and have fitted a part of that to one side of the chimney/fireplace.  I've removed some of the 'plaster' from that section to expose the area of stonework beneath (I have to carve that stonework as well.)

 

I've had some issues concerning the construction of this gable wall: how all the parts are joined, how they relate to each other and the rest of the building and still retain a believable architectural structure. For one, I've realised that I am going to have to increase the height of the chimney, OR infer that it was taller but has 'snapped off'.

 

Pics will be posted (whatever the progress) at 5pm.

 

TFL

Badder

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The fireplace and mantelpiece are covered in plaster of paris dust, which will be washed off. I'm not sure if it will show up but the wall on the right is of full thickness - two layers of stone and a layer of plaster. I have yet to carve the stonework here. The wall return, far right, is not fitted yet, and I may extend this further towards the camera. 

6pbMKaf.jpg

 

 

Here I've re-carved most of the stonework, but still have a bit to do.

 

tAhW7II.jpg

TFL

Badder

 

 

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Here's the layout of the building so far....

ETnK75T.jpg

 

IkB6xNv.jpg

 

 

 

 

If anyone is wondering how the upper floor is accessed, don't worry, I haven't forgotten. The building will be L-shaped, with another room adjoining the one with the fireplace, and it's from there that the remains of a staircase will lead up.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

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When I started painting the fireplace/chimney, I had intended that it stood alone, like a column, or a monument, so I went  'all the way' with the painting, but then I decided to embed it within a section of standing wall. Then that section of wall became a gable wall, and last night I decided that the gable wall will be extended. My dioramas have a habit of evolving.

Had I known that the fireplace was going to be part of a much larger section of wall, then I would have constructed the whole thing prior to painting. As it is, I've already repainted the fireplace/chimney once and it looks like iI'm going to have to repaint it again. It isn't a problem. In fact repeated layers of painting,/weathering  are adding to the realism. I just hope people don't mind that the earlier photos are therefore 'out-dated'.

 

In the meantime I've added a section of return wall to the left of the fireplace, a return that will form a join between the gable wall and the side wall. This I did primarily to move the window further away from the gable wall and the fireplace. Now I must return to carving out more stonework on the gable wall.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

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I've finished carving the stonework on the outer gable wall.

CCymot9.jpg

 

 

In the pic below I've focussed on the wall's interior structure, which I have made a start on carving out.

JZ5DZKj.jpg

 

TFL

 

Badder

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Today I've given the stonework and plaster a base coat of grey. This is not just the first stage in the painting process, but it also helps with visibility when marking where the floor/ceiling beams are to be located. Scoring through obviously exposes the white plaster of paris beneath.

 

So, I fitted a 'beam' to the left of the chimney stack and will be fitting another to the right, which will extend beyond the limit of this assembly and onto the as yet unbuilt extension.

A1FvSys.jpg

 

Below: the second beam will sit in the 'depression' which will be carved further to show the exposed stonework.

Q3Lgvlu.jpg

 

Below.... can you guess what it is yet?

c1EqUhU.jpg

 

 

 

Yep. Here's some corrugated iron in the making, using corrugated cardboard of a suitable 'scale'.

A tip for those who've never tried making corrugated iron/asbestos.... When dampening the cardboard to remove the outer layers, START OFF BY DAMPENING ONE SIDE ONLY!

 

What you want to do is dampen the one outer layer with a loaded brush, leave it to soak for a few seconds and then carefully pull it off. If the inner corrugated section has remained dry, it won't distort or tear as you pull the outer layer away. If the inner gets too wet, the outer will pull away easily, but then what you have left will sag, flop and flatten out.

So, once you've removed the first outer layer, let the whole thing dry and stiffen up again, then repeat the procedure above to remove the second outer layer. Again, be careful to keep the corrugated section dry.

 

TFL

Badder

 

EDIT.....

 

Since finishing the corrugated iron (the method detailed further in the following posts) I've had an afterthought.... that being that medium CA can be applied to the top surface of the corrugated cardboard when it is first exposed. Make sure that none seeps underneath. Once the CA has dried fully the corrugations are really quite rigid. So, the job of removing the layer of cardboard on the reverse is made even more easy with next to no chance of distorting the corrugations, even with clumsy fingers.

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Here, I dampened the one outer layer and carefully pulled it off. If it didn't come away cleanly I dampened the problem area a little more and immediately tried again. Sometimes small bits of 'drier' outer remained attached to the corrugated section, but it was a simple case of brushing them away with the damp brush.

During this process, the remaining outer layer has remained completely dry and thereby acts as a brace, holding the corrugated section rigidly in place.

 

EDIT

It is at this stage that the top surface of the corrugated inner should be coated with a thin layer of medium CA and be allowed to dry fully.

IzKffqL.jpg

 

 

EDIT

The application of medium CA stiffens the corrugations up rather nicely and so removing the remaining outer layer is now simple.

 

TFL

Badder

 

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EDITED..... I've removed this paragraph as the application of medium CA makes it irrelevant. 

 

Assorted corrugated iron.....

kivCQmS.jpg

 

ClDqN3z.jpg

 

 

I gave the cardboard washes using Humbrol 'rust' weathering powder and a brush loaded with thinners, then applied a coat of gloss varnish.  Washes of very dirty thinners followed, then a patchy dry-brushing with the rust weathering powder. A coat of satin varnish sealed the job.

 

TFL

Badder

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