It is not painted yet, but I wanted to show my Dorothy's farmhouse from Wizard of Oz I've also fabricated the under frame like in the movie. Two other views with size comparison in hand! I should paint it white with some ''kansas'' pixie dust on the sidings, hopefully it should look better than from the maple color. More views over here http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1115/1456135070_5dc1c29f66_o.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1060/1455268129_5c39b44e52_o.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1366/1455269383_60cfef722b_o.jpg Ben
Ben, That looks pretty cool. Looks like you have used real wood veneer not plywood, so be cautious when painting it might warp. Kim
Really nice Ben. Stirs the creative juices a mite. Others have expressed interest in a kit......maybe? Loren
Nice metaphor, it really made me laugh!!! Yes! I am unfortunately aware of this true matter. and it is mostly a show stopper for a kit production, specially since I had develop some techniques to counter balance this warp effect, I couldn't ask modelers to builds something that is so curvy as raw material (see lower picture). To make everything strait again you need to hold the parts in place for a minute of two during gluing. But In other matter it is (in my opinion) a nice material to work with, less expensive than 1/64 plywood, looks nicer, you don't see the wood grain as much, and it is not very fragile, parts don't break easily, the cardboard on the other side of the veneer probably helps in this matter. And once everything is glued together it does not really warp when painting, I did my CN Athabasca and my CP caboose using this same material. But the maple 3.5'' x 2'' business cards used to build the under frame and windows and doors is another story, no butter fingers allowed here, this is a very brittle material. see lower picture. This material is mostly strait as is, I had applied little pressure on the card as seen in the picture to show that it can flex a little, but more than that, and everything will break appart. Well! for the reasons stated above, I am not very confident to do a kit using my materials.:tb-sad: But if peoples express strong interests, even by using this kind of materials, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your comments everyone, I appreciate them. Ben
I'd still be interested. If there was a way you were able to get a model built there must be a way we can build it, even if it takes a few extra steps.
I am very interested. A Canadian kit maker would be great to have. It is just so expensive to have anything shipped from the US right now.
Ben: Please add me to the list of kits for sale. So the wood is a little finicky, I don't see any problem with that. After all you completed it. ...don
That is a fantastic design Ben! I really like it!. You can paint it with Floquil and it will not warp. This is definitely a good model to make into a kit, as it has just the classic styling we want!
I did my first paint tests, I didn't use my airbrush to see what a common paint brush would do, and with simple acrylic, it didn't warp at all, and I had use a water diluted solution. Grain orientation before lasering is everything in this matter. Regarding color choice I didn't have much references. In the movie, the house is in black and white, and in the color part of it, all the windows frames are as white as the walls. So for color reference, I only had found this little pic of someone creation in 1/4" = 1' scale. The windows frames are blue tainted. The shingles are another story tough, I'll have to rethink my strategy on this one. Either engrave deeper, or go with thin paper row shingles like the rest of the world. Because as is, results are simply disastrous. I had read everyone requests, but you will all have to hold your horses a little, this is not a full time job for me, I'll have to write an assembly manual first and finish my paint and shingles testing. I'll keep updates here about my results. Again, I appreciate all given ideas, I'm taking notes Regards Ben
Ben, like the weathering effects of the lower right house picture (warp speed caption). As for the shingles, the weathering in that lower right image looks like typical 20 year old composition shingles. The patterning is good and will work for the background buildings but you are right, you need a layered look. If you are rastering the roof, you should be able to create that effect. Cut more depth at the top of the shingle, less at the bottom. Don't forget the broken, split and curled ones !
After working overtime on this model, the construction manual is finally done, a crude website for purchasing is done, house version No. 6 is done, and version 6 is the final product, so I am officially selling this model as a kit. Here goes nothing, and god help me if my laser goes berserk!!!:tb-wink: Follow this link for the kit information Animekmodels Ben
