BigC

Why not just use a finishing wax......

Well I wouldn't go that far Holly....lol Anyway, to matters in hand.... No pictures as yet but I managed to get the Quoins painted..along with the bottom cement block-work...now I'm working on the central pillars..all painted in Purbeck Stone (Farrow and Ball No.275)..Not a whole lot removed from my white sealer paint but a subtle greyish shade nonetheless. Quite apt and fits in well with the character I'm trying to create....It will surely need a light rubbing down with a very fine grit sandpaper and a second coat applied to really make it fizz..... Purbeck Stone

I think its all in the application of the product, I have used crackle paint quite extensively on projects of late mostly bath caddy's (dont ask me why folks flock for these of late)..but if you do some samples with varying degrees of thick thin applications I'm sure you'll find a solution....Regards C

Hi Guys, So sorry I haven't been around of late, as I said previously in the thread...The Mother in Law is comming for an extended visit (she's been at a low ebb of late) so I have to re-decorate a whole bedroom top to bottom including carpets and fittings, Upscaling all the furniture (as I dont want to have to buy everything new...Curtain poles, curtains, blinds etc etc etc..pretty much everything from scratch. I'm working on the iron bedstead now, revamping it a little with paint etc...I have been uber busy and would love to get back to the dolls house but I have to prioritize my time of late so that is why I have been under the forum radar...Normal service will resume as soon as possible.... Image below shows some of the furniture upscaling .....Hopefully by next weekend I'll be working on the dollshouse once again......Regards C

Seems pretty reasonable....I will carry on with this as is, whilst playing gallery catch up... then make the transition via gallery linkage. Regards C

OK I get all of this...This evening whilst trying to upload images or a image to be precise, I got so far on many attempts and the computer just went into hang mode..I tried on four occasions...4 white screens later I just gave up, but will try again later today...I will carry on with this thread though If I may...as the front facade is the only thing I'm interested in at the moment....Regards C

I've used 68% Sable, (Holly also mentioned this a while back)...so still got a little way to go yet...I have an album started but dont want to bore people with multiple uploads...I condense the image files as much as I can for the web from the originals, that's why I can get away with things on forums to a point...after which I usually start a "pt2" thread which seems to work with a reference link to "pt1" as a footnote within...now wither that works on this Invasion php board I dont know............ Not a problem Keith...If I find something worth sharing I will always do so...I thought this was really cool idea... probably a natural choice but not obvious. (to me anyway ) Regards C

That looks really cool Luanne....Well Done Regards C

Just a little tip to share with you all..you probably already know this but I'll share it nonetheless... Remember when I purchased the drainpipe components a few weeks back, they were too large... so I fashioned my own. I asked the vendor how she got the look of real lead on her sales image pipework and she relayed to me that after painting with deep grey paint, she rubbed soft pencil lead dust (I used a 10B) over the piece....Curious... I tried her methodology this evening, first heavily rubbing the soft pencil onto a sheet of paper to make the dust, rubbing my finger over this to transfer it and finally highlighting areas on the hopper by simply rubbing my finger into those areas..... to my surprise, it really does work.....giving the hopper a more realistic feel/look, complete with dull and shiny areas..I think it looks really well, what do you guys think?... Regards C

Thanks Holly. Hopefully it will look fine. The plan for the door furniture is to have a brass knocker at the top followed by a brass knob handle just above a brass letterbox (I want one with lettering on it)...not sure about door numbers may leave that for a pillar wall post (with railings) Regards C

Thanks Kathie, The door colour will be (Farrow and Ball "Studio Green") a really rich looking dark green...almost into a black.......I saw it when fitting a mansion house out in Jersey (Channel Islands) The guy had it on internal skirting boards and it looked very effective, so much so I fell in love with it straight away....So I will incorporate it into this build....I hope it looks ok with the rest of the house as I'm a long way away from being a designer lol Regards C

Its a Flat Matt Emulsion, Sable, but I will be going over certain parts with a soft sheen water based clear varnish when I near the end...(which is a long way off yet ) Incidentally...should I use the same rule of thumb when painting the door surround as you recommend for the window frames?? This may be stone back in the day...I have an Alabaster colour of the same make which I could use....any thoughts? Regards C

Thanks again guys.."White Clay" it is then.

Sorry Shari that I cannot offer you direct assistance but...... Maybe it would be a good idea for folks to scan copies of their instructions (.pdf file downloadable format) for future reference and make them available in a dedicated section on the forum boards....Shouldn't be too hard to get something like this started if it hasn't already been done...and I'm sure it would go a long way to helping folks with problems such as Shari has come across.... I hope you find something suitable soon Shari, and all the best with your build Regards C

Thank you again guys for your ever so kind comments...Specifically about the cork...I'm pleased that I was able to contribute something to the forum (although it must have been done in the past)... especially looking at some great builds and photos over this past week..(yeah I may not have posted but I sure as well have been lurking lol) wormwoodz Beacon Hill really really impressed me (I am not worthy)...such attention to detail and opulence..I shouldn't be in the same room as these people...Impressive is too fine a word for that. That said maybe we will see a whole lot of cork being used for brickwork in the future lol I dont see my house as anything special..it totally amazes me as to how many views this thread has obtained from such a greenhorn..I feel humbled and embarrassed to a degree. The build is scratch, pretty stark, straight up and down building with lots of schoolboy errors,but yet has drawn such interest (4000+ views)...I thank you all for helping and offering assistance...unbelievable really ...you all have been exceptionally supportive on my journey so far. All is not finished as you all well know and many more questions need an answer...Its good to know that you all will be there as and when.... So here is another conundrum...for the windows...do I paint them all the one colour?....outside frames and the inner sashes themselves (see pic) or do I differentiate between the two with subtle colour change...I have two colours of off white at my disposal...do I use both or make them all the same? Thanks again for you assistance Regards C

Not much happening this week as I concentrate on domestic decorating duties....but I did manage (just now) to finish the upper left brickwork...not a bad effort for a first time build. as my old school reports used to say "Could do Better"

I fully understand Holly, Its nice to be courteous and genuinely thank people all the same...I hope one day as I progress that I will be in a position to help others also, at the moment I just muffle through and am in awe of the great modelers around this place, How folks build their kits adapt them and bash them is unreal...There are absolutely some unbelievable builds with nice little realistic touches..this is what keeps me interested..the little things (rust on a drainpipe etc)....Some are making dolls and others are keen on themes, fantasy or otherwise..It's amazing....I would love to comment on them all..but most of the time I just stand there and go WOW.....I dont see my build as anything special...I'm quite humbled in a way that folks take the time to view and comment...everyone is so helpful and I'm grateful for that and I'm glad to be in this with you all.....mistakes are part of the learning process. Regards C

Thanks guys....some very valid points there....some I didn't even think of...as always you are all so helpful and I appreciate everyone of you for taking the time to help me out on this..as I say most of the thing was done ad-hoc before I even joined this forum...then I found that there is some certain guidlines you need to follow..but I don't think it's a bad attempt at a scratch build (should have gone a little wider and perhaps kept the door to the left hand side) this perhaps would have made life a little easier..but hey ho lets go with the house in front of me.....The front will probably change over the next couple of weeks as I attempt to fill it out a little more...giving the scene some depth... Again thanks again for your kind comments Regards C

Just a word regarding the grouting of the upper level and what procedure should I follow..The Pillars and Quoins are fixed, the windows are not....Should I remove the windows, paint up the pillars and quoins and then spray the whole upper level with the matt sealant prior to grouting?...Advice needed please on the correct way forward. Regards C

Yes Holly Matt Sealer Spray already purchased, although I'm holding out on the grouting aspect for a while until other jobs are completed and assessments/tests on grout colour complete...Regards C

Thanks Sable, yes I planned on doing just that, as the grout is grey, I may want a darker grey colour, maybe if I add a little black into the mix, just have to wait and see..I definitely will test first..but it has to have grout IMHO.

A view from the street..... I managed to get the mid section tidied up and painted today, I had planned to lift the building up an inch or so to allow for some front steps to the front door (ran out of time) I may yet fabricate an entrance porch with pillars coupled with small front wall and black railings..its all fluid thinking with me and it's still all in my head churning around with lots of other junk that seems to accumulate inside there hahaha....Hope you like the story so far. Regards C