Though the Newport was sold eventually, I’ve compiled some of the posts I made when I first started building it.
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Continuing work on the garage. I cut grooves for the front lighting wires and put up the wallpaper (scrapbook paper by Martha Stewart in a color called swan, a very pale green). I left the ceiling plain wood painted white since the surface was fairly smooth.
Next came installing the Timberbrook garage door. I first cut some holes in the wallpaper so the glue would adhere to the wood and not just the paper. I figured this would add to the stability of the door moving up and down.
After following the easy instructions of the kit, I decided lifting the door was still a little unstable. I added a thin strip of wood connecting the ends of the ceiling track, and the door moved much more freely in the track.
The garage is technically removable from the main house, though the wires need to be disconnected before doing so. I left it detachable in case I need to move the build sometime in the future.
I set up a few things I’ve acquired to put in the garage, though I have more planned for this space.
The car is a 1:14 scale remote control Audi TT. The lights come on only when the car is in motion, so I had to prop up the back wheels to prevent movement as I photographed the car with the lights on.
I built a new set of shelves for the garage. The table I had used for the above setup was too large and actually meant for a different room in the house. I made the new shelves from balsa wood following the instructions in Making Miniature Gardens by Freida Gray.
This book has a lot of great ideas for gardens including plants and flowers as well as structures, furniture and accessories. These shelves were very simple to put together.
I used antique pine stain from IKEA – one of my favorite colors of stain. It brought out the grain of the balsa and really warmed the overall look.
I think this works better for scale and for showing off the various minis I’ll display here. Nothing on it right now – waiting for the stain to cure.
