My latest project "The Mill" a limited edition Grand Design home now available to order.

Article courtesy latest AIM Imag. To download a copy of current or past magazines visit

http://www.artisansinminiature.com/index.html

or click the Scribd link on the right hand side of this Blog.

Yours in miniatures

Warren.

1/12th Gypsey Caravan kit photos

As promised, photos of exterior of Caravan,

Yours in miniatures.

Warren

Where are things up to.

Hi all,

first their has been no mega finalisation of Rose Cottage,Yet. 3 reasons, first is that I was swamped with the success  of the WW3 Urban Terrain Table, it is on schedule to go into the post by mid October, the laser cutter is running some days constantly cutting kits to be sorted and bagged, and second is that I've purchased a new resin 3D printed.

So what's that got to do with delaying Rose Cottage, well lighting, have you ever tried buying light fittings to suit a Craftsman house, there is nothing available that I like that would suit this house, so that means making them. I have some beautiful catalogues that show a lot of the styles that I can put (some of ) into this house and one way to get them is to 3d print them. The drawing up of simple 3d drawings is reasonably easy but the trick has been in learning how to get a printer to actually print accurately. Resin printers can print astonishing detail but are not plug and play and so between rebuilding the printer to actually print accurately (still not there yet) and learning new programming to be able to create supports etc to allow it to print and not fall apart during printing, take time and mental energy. Of which I have a lot but never enough. to be continued....

But in the meantime, while never having enough to do, I have been playing with a couple of designs for some new simplified laser kits that will sell for under $40, these are based on plan designs from MakeCNC.com but with my own alterations to design, scale and build-ability.

The first is a 1/12th Gypsy Wagon, a test sample has been made, but I have more alterations to make to the exterior design before showing you more, a few days away. It has an easily removable roof for access with internal dimensions of 273mm long x 184mm wide and 195mm high at the peak of the ceiling. It comes with 2 shelf units, a bed and table which can be used or you can create your own interior.

The other is a 1/24th house based on the house from the movie Up, Elizabeth Barnes has been working with me on testing assembly and she is decorating a sample. Again, after making a sample I find lots of things that can be done better and so they get added to the redesign. I have new kit components cut but not assembled so no pictures of the assembled kit, but.......

Pictures of Cad drawn house in 3mm

Both these items will be available for pre order in October for delivery at the AMEA AGM in November or for postal delivery after that. And the third thing, there are only 24 hours in a day which is just not enough to get everything done.

Until next time, hopefully with more photo's

Yours in miniatures

Warren

Rose Cottage: an update

Rose cottage is back in the works after not being able to work on it at the level I want to put into it. Due do my illness I was unable to finish it and have it at the May Sydney Dollhouse show. But I did invite Rosie who had travelled up from Tasmania to the show to come up and check it out.

She arrived and came into the house and was saying hello when she spotted her dollshouse from the kitchen doors "Is that mine" then no chance stopping her as she rushed down to have a look. I wish I'd taken some photos but I was just struggling to hold it together. Just to say I think she liked it, I believe the tears were of joy.

The plan is now that meds are finally working, is to have it ready for next month for pick-up and delivery to Rosie in Tassie before a particular special event.

Yours in miniatures
Warren

A New and Different Direction ?

2 Posts today, The first is to let you know about my New Kickstarter campaign for a 15 - 20mm Modern Urban Wargame Table.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/364110685/15mm-20mm-ww3-cold-war-urban-tabletop-wargame-terr

Not giving up Doll houses, but after 9 months of  neuropathic pain in my face (and a whole lot of different drugs to settle it unsuccessfully) and struggling to mentally keep up with what I need to do I had to find something that was smaller and of less mental requirements to keep me going. I started with one building and currently have what's here but have lots of other options on the go.

The other film prop that I was able to build is a replica of EMI Redd-37 audio mixing desk from Abbey Road Studios for a local TV show about the Easy Beets.

Made of MDF, plastic Knobs and paint.




Yours in miniatures (and other sizes)
Warren

A short update.

I've had 2 people today ask where my shop has gone. The answer is due to lack of patronage, I closed it. I didn't have the ability to keep it open with the number of sales happening and the costs associated. I primarily work as a props maker in the film and TV industry and this along with some large commissions has taken my time away from producing new kits. A catch 22 situation. All kits will still be available when I am not buried under with other work or health issues and new ones will still be released from time to time. I will be at the Sydney Dollshouse and Miniatures Fair in Sydney this weekend, but for the first time in 5 years not have a sales table. I will have an almost completed commission on display before it goes to Tasmania as well as the Alien Cinema.

Kits will be available through this blog or my E-mail from time to time when my health and commitments allow it. To those who have contacted me lately about kits, apart from the NZ Railway House I have no others in stock and I won't be able to cut new ones until later this month at the earliest. From experience I have found that if I try to make up kits when I'm busy with other work, the kits end up with missing pieces so I have found it better to leave them at the moment.

I'm not going anywhere and while their is an interest in what I do, I'll keep doing it.

Yours in miniatures

Warren


P.S.

 

1 of 3 marquetry gun cases for a Chinese TV production. 

Rose cottage update.

Just to show that even us experienced modellers can stuff up and have serious problems with our work, with all the extra rain and humidity over the last couple of weeks, the floor boards started to swell. 😒😒😒😒. I wasn't 100% sure of the reason but obviously the glue wasn't holding properly. This is not acceptable so the only way to fix it is to rip it up and start again. I am glad it happened here and not after its delivered, sometimes things go wrong, deal with it and fix it. My words of wisdom for a Sunday morning.
Fortunately when I started stripping the floors I found that the glue used hadn't gripped the veneers like it should have. The glue used, I think was the end of a can which was then thrown out, so it must have just been on the end of its usability and it was an extremely hot day when laid (40+), which could have contributed. A new container of glue and both levels of flooring done. They are looking beautiful again and stable.

But on a brighter note, the kitchen is starting to look like a room and apart from a couple of pieces of trim it and the smallest room in the house are done.The lower Half of the walls are tiled, the upper area painted and the ceiling is done as painted planked boards, it all adds character to a simple room.

No it's not the toilet but the space under the stairs.

So apart from skirting boards and lighting, the entrance, living room and  master bedroom are basically done.

Until next time.

yours in miniatures

Warren

The Grosvenor Hall has left the building.

The Grosvenor Hall commission has now left the building. This is just a short post as I'll do a more detailed post about this kit, my feelings about it and what we got done in the not to distant future. But for now I thought you'd like to see what we were able to accomplish to get this out. The house wasn't entirely finished as the film company only had funding for a weeks work, they got a bit more than that out of me and I also had assistance from Elizabeth Barnes (President of the Australian Miniature Enthusiasts Association) and my wife Elizabeth. Thanks for all your ongoing support.

We had determined to only decorate and dress 9 rooms in the available time and the house was picked up prior to all the furniture and dressings arriving so in the above photo the rooms are a little undressed.

Hope you enjoy. I'm now back working on Rose Cottage. Ceiling beams in the Living and Dining rooms, (a little hint to Rosie)

Yours in miniatures

Warren

"Grosvenor Hall" with Basement doll house kit

The second commission I'm working on at the moment is to assemble, decorate, light and dress a "Grosvenor Hall" with basement doll house kit for a film client in Sydney. Due to budget constraints we have had to cut back from decorating all 17 rooms to 9.

Sometimes constraints actually lead to a better solution, which is what has happened in this case. In the script there are a couple of actions requiring reaching into the main body of the dollhouse, the dollhouse is actually on display in an important location for the film. The suggestion I put to the set dresser was that if I left the basement and roof closed  and only have the main body open, the dollhouse would look more imposing and more like a dollhouse rather than a dressed bookcase. I assembled the photo below from a couple of photos off the net to show what I felt would work better, and this also saved time in decorating and finishing as well as the need to not dress 8 rooms.

 

The photo is only a proof of concept and it is not a guide to room layout or colour etc.

Unfortunately when the kit arrived, the basement had been glued together including all the doors, windows and trim, a litre of methylated spirits later and most of the trim has been removed ready to be sealed and painted.

Yours In miniatures

Warren

Rose Cottage: Craftsman Doors

The doors and door jambs for Rose Cottage have been made and have started being assembled ready for fitting into the walls. Their are 2 styles of door that I'm making for this house, a standard Craftsman door for all the room doorways and a planked door for the wardrobes and access to the roof cavity. I could have just used the Craftsman style for the whole house but I liked the idea of a different style for the wardrobes as it just gives a variation that is appealing.

Main frame pieces for Craftsman door.

Centre Rail after machining slots.

First all the pieces are cut from sheet wood, 4mm Kauri in this case with the insert panels cut from 1.5mm Kauri. Next all the frame pieces were machined to slot them to allow the panels to fit, Same technique as making real doors.

Test assembly of door.

The panels and frames are test fitted together to check fitments, I had to increase the depth of the slots on one piece of frame to allow everything to go together perfectly, after test fitting the pieces are disassembled and a fine bead of glue run down every slot and then reassembled. I then made a jig with small wedges to allow the door to keep square and tight while drying, in full size you would use long clamps to do the same job.

Door after sanding.

After drying, while leaving the door in the clamp (wedges removed) I block sanded the frames flat, turning over and doing the other side as well.

Door and Jamb in jig.

I also made a jig the thickness of the walls to hold the previously machined door jamb pieces together while drying and then used it to hold the door when aligning hings before putting the architrave around on the door opening side. It was important to make sure no glue got onto the jig which then allowed the hung door and frame to be easily removed before refitting into the correct hole in the pre-finished dollhouse wall. I used an 8mm x 8mm but hinge to mount the Craftsman doors and a T hinge for the wardrobes, again just to give a different look. Door handles hadn't arrived when photos taken, simple brass ones from England have now arrived.

Craftsman door to left, wardrobes to right, Skirting still to be fitted.

 

 

A peek inside the wardrobe, Masonite wall covering, wooden shelf and brass clothes rail

A peek through the room door and up the stairs.

Before fitting the door to the house wall, they where stained and sealed with Scandinavian Oil, I like this Oil as it gives a light sheen but hardens up to protect the surface. I stained the timber slightly lighted than what would have been correct for the period, because when the house goes together it won't have as much light as the original and I feel this will look more correct than having darker stain, The other advantage is I can always darken it later but I can't make it lighter.

Until next time, yours in miniatures

Warren

Doorways to where?

Its 9.40pm and its still 32.1 degrees sitting at my desk, another day of over 43 with another due tomorrow to look forward to. This has slowed me down a bit in the workshop as it's just not practical to work here when it gets too warm, as glues dry to fast and timber doesn't behave itself.

However this update is that the entrance has been papered and painted and all of the door architrave's have been machined and some fitted, I have gone with a standard Craftsman design that has some nice character to it. All the woodwork is machined from Pacific Kauri and stained to a colour I've made up with alcohol stains, I am keeping the timber a bit lighter so that when the rooms are enclosed and not as much light on them the woodwork doesn't look too dark.The skirting has not been fitted as yet, and the wall colour is nothing like the photo as it was taken under fluorescent lighting. But that is the correct colour on the wood work.

Until next time..........

Yours in miniatures

Warren

Califoria Bungalow - Staircase and Colours

As mentioned last post I was working on the staircase, it has now been stained and temporarily fitted to the structure. It was assembled from Kauri over an mdf structure. Obviously this confirms there is a second story in the house 😉 or what they call a 1 1/2 story Bungalow.

I have also spoken with the future owner from Tasmania who has allowed me to share that her name is Rosie, so this is officially now called the Rose House as I like to name my buildings. This has also created the need to put roses into the design somewhere, 1 thing leads to another, have already got it pictured in my mind 😌 where and how that will work, (a Hint) if anyone remembers a Parlor room box I had at Sydney a couple of years ago, Hmmmmm Roses.

The next discussion was about colours, so I sent her a link to a suitable period paint chart  www.californiapaints.com   and asked her to respond.

I love the greens, blues and reds in the last three rows (everything except the purple, which I really dislike), with the colours in the fourth and fifth rows to balance things out a bit so it’s not too lairy, if that makes sense.  The greens and blues in row seven are probably my favourite colours from the chart. I’m not so keen on the top half of the palette (the pinks and mustards).

then 12 hours later

I've been thinking (constantly!) about the paint chart and am coming round on the pinks. I remembered I bought, years ago, a bedding set that I wanted to put in my dream house I was one day going to have. (it's Coming) I went digging in my stash and found it! it actually has pink as a tr

im, which I like.

Now I have a colour range that Rosie likes and I'm also happy with, I can start to create an Interior design. Until next time.......

Yours in miniatures

Warren

2017 and hopefully better than 16

Hello all,

What a year, sorry that my postings disappeared for most of the year. Life got in the way and even though some good things happened, it was a tough year. Hopefully this year will be a lot better.

So to help keep me going I'm going to try and keep going with my blog, I have just started the construction of a 12th scale 1920s California Bungalow for a lady in Tasmania. The drawings were done last year and I plan (need) to have it ready for the Sydney Miniatures and Doll's House Fair over the weekend of 6-7th May at the Netball Centre at Olympic Park. However to keep it a surprise for the owner I am only sending her teaser photos as an entree so that she gets to unveil and enjoy the finished house ready for her to move in and make a home. I will continue sending her the Teasers before posting anything here.

The first teaser is the living room floor boards, the whole ground floor has been laid using individual boards with nail holes a scale 18inches apart to represent the floor joists below. This was a technique that I taught in a workshop at the AMEA Christmas meeting using wood veneer. Each board is cut to a length divisible by a scale 18inches and then glued down so that all joins would be on a joist, the nail holes are done again along the joist lines which give a very realistic look, The boards have only been stained at this point and will be sealed and waxed later. If you click on the photo to open the large version you can see what I'm talking about.

Apart from her choice of a California Bungalow and after some discussions over a few years, she has left the the choice of which design and details to me as part of the commission. I have chosen the design for the house and will be deciding most of the details, so in reality she has no more idea of what I'm creating than you guys. I will be sending her oblique options from time to time for some input but she will never be quite sure where I'll be using those options. I'll be sending her the link to this blog and if she approves I'll be able to say who she is and maybe some other details.

I have just assembled the staircase and will stain it tomorrow and maybe a photo shortly.

Sorry to keep you all in suspense 😈, well actually I'm not 😛, the journey and the house will well be worth it.

Yours in miniatures

Warren

2016 and Life go's on

Happy New Year, February already and life go's on and I keep forgetting to write about what I'm up too, so here go's finally!!!!.

I have been designing a 1930s Queenslander house kit based on a house my wife and I spotted when we where in Brisbane last year. I had been asked to do a Queenslander as a workshop for the Linnwood House workshop over the ANZAC weekend of April 23rd - 25th, which is the weekend before the Sydney Dollhouse and Miniatures Fair in May at Homebush. Because I had already sold quite a number of the 1920s Queenslander kit I didn't want to teach that so created the 1930s version instead, which is in the next architectural style, being what the call an asymmetrical design.

The workshop is almost completely booked out and to assist over the weekend I have Elizabeth Barnes and Adelaide Cann learning the assembly and finishing with me to assist in teaching, as well as my wife Elizabeth and Marilyn Pride to assist on the Monday when we will be doing landscaping. It should be a great weekend and I have people coming from all over Australia as well as New Zealand to do it. Elizabeth and Adelaide are now looking at doing new 1/48 kitchen and furniture kits to dress out the house.

I will be supplying 4 paint selections from the period as well as 1 of 3 random interior wallpaper schemes in the kit. We have decided that the Instructions will be mailed out to participants a week before the workshop so people will be able to have a jump start on the weekend.

I have also been working on a series of other 1/48th houses and buildings including an Art Deco single story house with attached garage, not the promised house, but a new one, as well as a Spanish revival mission house, an Art Deco petrol station and a small restaurant with car park and drive thru. These will be on display as part of a larger display of street scenes at the May show.  I have also created roads and foot paths that connect to the front of the houses and will populate these with cars and people. The pair of Fire vehicles now have working flashing lights and I really am tempted to set fire to a house to park them in front of. O well, maybe not today ?

As well as the above I've started on pieces to use to hopefully attain Artisan status through the IGMA. http://www.igma.org/    I am going for recognition in small scale structures and have to supply 3 structure pieces for consideration by the middle of April, which should be interesting. I am working on a pair of the same houses at the moment, but with some variation in execution, and will send off 1 of the 2 as well as a couple of other pieces. I have basically decided on the 2nd and 3rd pieces but I will leave details of these until after they have been considered by the committee in late April. I am taking what I do and giving them a twist forward. I look forward to showing you what I've done in May.

Until next time, hopefully not so far away.

yours in miniatures

Warren

Embassy Theatre workshop

 Class of 2015

We got started but we didn't quite get finished, but we will.

 

The Australian Miniatures Enthusiasts Association Convention over the October long weekend has been and gone and everyone seemed to have a mostly great time. Me, well I had my first miniature workshop as a tutor, It was a bit more intense than I had expected and we didn't get as much finished as I planned before hand, but considering the complexity of the project everyone seemed happy with what was learned and what we got done. A group of 4 are going to come up to my workshop a little later in the year to finish off.

The top photo shows the exteriors but the interiors were also mostly assembled and in the process of being decorated and wallpapered and not ready to fit inside the exterior as we were packing up when we took these photos. 

yours in miniatures

Warren

Airbnb commercial

I know its been a while so firstly a video of a commercial for Airbnb that I had the pleasure to work on. All projects of this nature are made by a team of people but I was offered the job of creating the miniature sets for each of the 8 levels and then to replicate 36 models for each level. I spent 5 weeks of long days creating all the scenes plus the scenes that also weren't used. That's life in this business.

I've also attached a 4 minute video of behind the scenes which helps to show off the model better.

Please enjoy.

Warren

A Quick Post

Just a quick post to let every one know that I've been swamped under with miniature work for a new commercial that is very interesting and exciting set in a miniatures world. I can't talk about it at the moment as I need to get back to work but in a few weeks I'll be able to talk about and show you all something pretty special.

Yours in miniatures

Warren

Queenslander Lighting kits now available for order

The components have now arrived for the lighting kits for the 1/48th 1920s Queenslander kit. they are now listered in the shop for delivery starting next Monday 8th June. Their are 2 versions available,

Kit QL1 includes all components (replacement ceiling, 7 warm white Led's, wire, battery box with switch and battery and instructions for you to assemble, soldering required for $20+ postage.
1/48th 1920s Queenslander lighting kit. QL1

Kit QL2 includes all components pre-soldered for $30+ postage.
1/48th 1920s Queenslander lighting kit pre soldered, QL2

yours in miniatures

Queenslander kit parts missing

It has been bought to my attention that the rear doors are missing from the latest batch of Queenslander kits that were sold primarily at the Sydney show, If you purchased 1 of these please let me know with your postal address and I will post a replacement set out to you.

Because I am a 1 man band, sometimes these things happen and I'm sorry if it slows you down but as with all my kits, if you have a problem let me know and we'll resolve it.

Yours in miniatures

New 1/48th kits being worked on !!!!!!!!

My final post today is to let you know that I have spent this week amongst other things, working on the design drawings for the "Blue Waters" Art Deco house and a Spanish Mission revival 2 story house (also in 24th as a 1 off), both of these will be pretty spectacular houses to build and decorate, but they are a lot of work to get the design and construction method right to make a successful kit. It's not that easy taking a real house and making it work as a miniature without loosing the characteristic of the original, but people seem to like what I'm doing with my kits and it's what I want to do so I'll just have to keep at it.

I have also been playing with a Miami Beach Art Deco Hotel frontage for a 3 story hotel that would be a single room deep so on the ground floor is the lobby and on each floor will be a room on either side with a hall between, this would allow rooms to be done in different styles with the halls and lobby providing continuity within the building.

However I am having to balance my time between these and the train carriages previously talked about so they will be coming as soon as I'm able to get them ready. 2 other projects that have been added to the list for later construction are a New Zealand Bach (North Island) or Crib (South Island) which is a small holiday house built around all the coastlines of NZ, probably an early post war fibro version and also a more modern Eco version and finally a medium 1970s style caravan also in 1/48th.

All these projects will come with time as I can fit them into the space I have available inside my brain.

 I would also like to thank Melody for her kind wish's, the seagulls arrived this morning, they obviously had a tail wind and didn't care about the time difference.

yours in miniatures