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Grandpa's new project


BigC

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I’ve always said that the first house is the most expensive. It’s really an investment into future builds. My first house cost $125 to purchase but I spent $1000 with all the tools, supplies and furnishings.  The second and third houses are so much cheaper once an inventory has been built up. I suppose I was lucky that there were two dollhouse shops within driving distance when I first started. Most of my furniture was purchased on those trips. Hands on purchasing is so much better than online guessing.

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9 hours ago, Sable said:

Hands on purchasing is so much better than online guessing.

Isn't that the truth Sable....Sadly though we dont really have a dedicated outlet for parts here in Northern Ireland, so everything I need is mostly sourced from England via the internet...Postage is good but the discrepancies in scale are a let down sometimes...Just for instance the rainwater catchment hopper that I made is 25.4mm wide that is 1" perhaps I can be excused to having made a 1 foot wide pan (which would not be far away in measurements to a real pan, so I can live with that)...The one I ordered is near 2 inches wide and billed as 1/12 scale...no I dont think I've ever seen a 2 foot wide Rainwater Hopper in my life, unless I'm looking in the wrong direction :)...anyway enough said on this particular aspect, I think we are all in agreement that sometimes DH scaling is not exactly as its supposed to be and we need to make inquiries before making the purchase...This I have learnt...

On a brighter note, I bought a little Zona saw and mitre block combo...   

s-l500.jpg

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13 hours ago, BigC said:

....what concerns me is the money ££/$$ wastage in the quest...

Which is precisely what led me to make everything I put into my houses (exception: if I run into something just the correct size that I can afford).

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2 hours ago, BigC said:

On a brighter note, I bought a little Zona saw and mitre block combo... 

 That's one of the most used tools in my tool box. Slip a thin piece of wood into the mitre box so the teeth of the saw won't cut into it. Protect the box and the teeth. :) 

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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

paint2.jpg

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I’m sure your mind has already reached a solution to this but I’m going to make a suggestion anyway.  Make a sample board of your bricks so you can test your grout on the board instead of on the house. Grout and grout color can really change the affect you want.  It’s hard to remove grout that you really dislike. Sample and test first, please.

personnaly, I love it the way it is, without the grout.

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10 minutes ago, Sable said:

I’m sure your mind has already reached a solution to this but I’m going to make a suggestion anyway.  Make a sample board of your bricks so you can test your grout on the board instead of on the house. Grout and grout color can really change the affect you want.  It’s hard to remove grout that you really dislike. Sample and test first, please.

personnaly, I love it the way it is, without the grout.

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.

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3 hours ago, havanaholly said:

You will probably want to apply a matte sealer to the bricks first, so you can wipe off the grout that might get on them with a damp rag.

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

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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

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I think I'd remove the windows, mask the quoins & pillars, spray the matte sealer, grout, clean, unmask the quoins & pillars and mask the bricks, and then paint the quoins & pillars.  I'd also paint the windows before installing them, so as to minimize slopping paint on the brickwork.

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1 hour ago, BigC said:

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

Definitely remove the windows for the sealing and grouting. Some sealers have a tendency to yellow over time so if you are painting the pillars and coins a light colour I'd probably paint them after the sealant spray. A light sand before painting will probably deal with adhesion. This is why I don't like spray sealant, too hard to control where it goes. Paint on sealant gives a thicker coat and you can keep it only in the spots you want it.

 

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Under normal conditions, only a damp sponge is required to remove excess grout. But if your grout is mixed with any paint then it is much more difficult to remove the excess since the paint will more than likely adhere to your surfaces. If that’s the case, I would paint the quoins and pillars after grouting. Have you decided what you will use for the grout? Test first.

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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

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15 minutes ago, havanaholly said:

Remember all of this advice comes from having made and redone many mistakes, Colin; we're all in this thing together!

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

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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" :)

 

 

 

brick done1.jpg

brick done 2.jpg

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