evervescent

I'm going to be dressing a writing desk with a bunch of papers, books, writing pens, etc. Making it really messy. What is the best adhesive for something like this? I've got everything including quick grab, white glue, book binding glue, modelers wax, and this stuff for miniaturists that looks like its in a nail polish bottle.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I was using the paperclay on the interior walls after being inspired by a Rik Pierce tutorial on the web, but next time I think I will go back to using spackling compound for plaster walls and reserve the paperclay for bricks and stones. I will definitely be using the anti-seam tips when I do the bricks and stones though. I think is will go a long way to covering seams there too.

Need a little expertise from someone who works with paper clay a lot. When you're applying paper clay to form walls, or floors for that matter, what is a good technique for hiding the seams? I've tried wetting the clay and rubbing the seams to try to get rid of them, but it's not working so well. Seams are a little easier to hide when you're doing a brick or stone wall because you can blend them into the pattern, but if I'm just doing a plaster wall using paper clay, I've got ridiculous seams. Thanks much.

I LOVE Deft wood finishes. The spray finish in semi-gloss is really nice and eay for furniture. I discovered it in a Geoffrey Wonnocot class. But I've been using the paint on finish for floors for years.

I incorporated my Spring Fling contest into the estate of the cottage I'm building. I put the images for my Spring Fling project on my website...Barton Cottage Bakehouse

I'm currently using foamcore to build a huge house. I wanted something that would allow the huge house to be relatively light compared to other building materials. I am putting the foamcore over a wooden frame. Much like real houses are built and I'm hoping this will resolve any issues with sturdiness. Guess we really won't know the sanity of using foamcore in this manner for a few years when I finally get the project done.

I just got back from Northern England and I took a lot of photos of timbers and stonework. I thought you might appreciate it or be able to use it for your modeling. Photobucket of Manchester England Area Cheers, Andrea

I would run with it. A lot of old houses and mansions (ie Biltmore) have very tall ceilings. You could really do some elegant things with high ceilings.

I'm also making my own windows right now and I'm looking for tips on how to do the mullions. Do you think its best to cut many small (like 1 inch) pieces of strip wood and butt them up against each other to form the grid. Or, is it best to cut out longer (like 3 inch) pieces of strip wood and notch them out where they cross to form the grid. Does this make sense?

I actually got to make some progress on the house this past weekend. :joystick: We cut and attached the remaining windows and I made a kitchen for the house. The actual movie doesn't show a kitchen, but I can't have a house without a kitchen. It's the most fun room to decorate for me. And this one will be fun because I'm going to leave the rafters open so I can hang some herbs and meat from them. I updated my photos. Barton Cottage Such a long list of things to do its a bit overwhelming right now. I think I'm just going to try to make a list of everything that needs to be done and try to figure out what order to get started.

I am finding that I have more luck with round wire or a combination of round wire and tape as well. There are ratings on the transformers that state how many lights the transformer can hold. This is at least true for Cir-Kit transformers. I don't know if there is a limit on the wire. Remember that a single light can have multiple bulbs and the rating count is actually based on the number of bulbs. Good luck.

I'm using 1/2x1/2x36 inch square rods like you get from Lowes. I think they're probably pine. I think you can get them made out of basswood if you order from the hobby supply shops. You can also get them into smaller sizes, but I wanted to represent large timbers since I'm recreating a 18th century house.

Thanks so much for all your comments and support. I think I will try all of the suggestions here and see which one works the best. I have more pictures on my website, www.minipalooza.com, under BARTON COTTAGE. I'm not very far past what you see right now, but I hope to get some work done on it this holiday weekend. I'll post some more pictures if I actually get to make some progress.