The Aero Squadron Lounge – Interior accessories

I added a lot of accessories to the interior of The Aero Squadron Lounge. Some are WWI or aviation related, some are bar related and some are just plain fun. :D These are in no particular order. I’ll cover the interior construction portion in a separate post.

For the artwork, I used all WWI photographs found online and built matchstick frames for each and every one of them.

There’s even one of Snoopy in WWI France from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The public warning poster shows the difference between German and British aircraft. Thank you to Carole for the French translation on my low ceiling sign.

The door has a working latch from Olde Mountain Miniatures. You can also see the flyer reminding you to eat more eggs and milk…to save the meat for the soldiers.

The tables and chairs are made from patterns in the book Finishing Touches by Jane Harrop, though I modified the height measurements for the pub chairs and table. My backdrop is from thundafunda called Oak Tree Countryside. The lights are from miniatures.com.

The autumn Bishop Show comes to town in mid August, so I was able to pick up a few things there.  Sir Thomas Thumb saved me the trouble of trying to figure out how to make binoculars. :D The image on the upper left is a print from an actual color image from WWI; they are rare but they do exist.

I was unsuccessful in finding a canteen at the show. Yes, you can buy them for about $12 online, but why do that when you can spend 4 hours making one?!!! :D It was made from two self covered buttons, leather scrapbook paper, ribbon, headpins, a wood bead and the tiniest laser cut paper buckles I’ve ever seen. Teeny, tiny buckles!!! (From Dragonfly International.)

The canteen was originally meant for the display case, but after all that work I placed it prominently on the wall over the pub table.

Yes, that’s a dog in uniform in one of the photos. :D Read the story of Sergeant Stubby the pit bull on Wikipedia here.

He’s not the only animal featured in the Lounge. I found a story on a wonderful group of photographs that were found in an old French farmhouse. They are called The Lost Diggers, and unfortunately their main site seems to be only on facebook. I’m not a member of facebook, so it’s hard to see them there. You can also find them here. They are remarkable images, some very candid.

The basket was a free door prize from the 3 Blind Mice show. I aged it with a brown paint wash and added logs from the various fire grates I’ve ordered and then used lighted coals instead. Always pays to save the odds and ends.

The fireplace screen is by Jeannetta Kendall and purchased from lacyhome4boys on eBay. Here’s the shiny new screen in place; it looks like I built the fireplace around it but that’s just coincidence. :D I bought this as a last minute addition.

I used black acrylic paint to age it and tone down the shine. Much better.

The medallion above the fireplace is a jewelry finding. The metal settee was painted and upholstered. The trunk was made from a kit by Catland (bought from bluebearcountry on eBay), though I didn’t use the artwork included. I also added brass hinges and brad detailing.

The coasters were made in Word from a biplane image from The Graphics Fairy. They were printed on Avery labels, stuck to cardstock and then cut out with scissors.

Here are the coasters in place. The rose is one of the Bonnie Lavish grandaflora roses I made.

I purchased the tiny metal plane from A Pocket Full of Wishes at the 3 Blind Mice show last April. The candlestick lamps are from Minimum World.

I’ve used two of the citronella candle tins I made awhile back – one on the bar and one on the trunk. (These are in my etsy shop as new and “burned” wick styles.)

The bar itself is a scratch build using leftover wood from Baxter Pointe Villa stained English Chestnut by Minwax.

To keep the bar removable, I wired the two lamps to a 9V battery adapter with an on/off switch from Evan Designs. Ingenious, right? Ha! There are two main issues with this idea. First, the bar is definitely removable, but it is hard to get it back into place without the wires sticking out…very fiddly. More importantly, the battery doesn’t last long and the candlesticks are very dim. I tried wiring each lamp to its own battery but the difference in brightness was negligible and it doubled the fiddly nature of trying to get the bar in place with two battery assemblies fighting for freedom. What I should have done was made a plug in the floor.

The reproduction farmhouse hutch I made serves as the back of the bar.

I purchased some of the bottles, and Keli sent me some. I made a number of the labels myself from images found online. I even replaced a few of the labels on the purchased ones with more authentic versions. The glassware is all from The Little Dollhouse Company and is by far the priciest part of the build but looks so realistic. There’s a corkscrew, bottle opener, cocktail shaker and can of peanuts, too. :] The birdhouse on top is from Celtic Juju.

I have to point out the fab paper towels from Lyssa! There’s root beer for Snoopy as well as some Schweppes for mixing. Our safety features include a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher. ;]

The menu board above the front door listing the signature cocktails. I wanted it to have a chalkboard look to it.

The vintage display cabinet I bought has all WWI and aviation memorabilia. The metal, plastic and leather goods were purchased, though I added labels to the metal bottles and aged the plastic compass. All of the paper items were printed from images found online of actual period items.

On the top shelf, there’s a photo of a Sopwith Camel cockpit as well as two metal plates and a small motor.

On the second shelf, there’s a magazine page showing an illustration of American troops arriving in France, two postcards, two metal bottles of vintage remedies (I added the labels), an honorable discharge letter for an Army aviation mechanic from Dec 1918, two medals, a pocket watch and two coins. For the magazine page and letter, I crumpled the paper and straightened it back out to add to its age. The British war medal and the WWI Victory medal with aviation band were printed on paper. I dabbed metallic paint on the medal portion to give it depth and shine. The pocket watch was assembled from a tiny laser cut paper kit from Dragonfly International. The coins are laser cut brass from a fret I’ve had awhile – not sure of the vendor.

On the bottom shelf, there is a map of American air service units from Nov 1918 and a vintage medicine advertisement from a shop in London selling remedies. It states: “Remember there are no Chemists’ Shops in the Trenches.” Also on the shelf are a compass (aged with paint), a purchased leather satchel and a purchased medicine bottle (this last piece is from Wright Guide Miniatures).

On top of the display case is a blow torch from the mini shows in April (I can’t recall the vendor) and two gas cans from Wright Guide Miniatures.

There’s a metal milk can from Minimum World on the floor by the display case, too. I love the way the interior looks through the windows of the greenhouse addition.

Upstairs in the tower, there’s a small platform so visitors can see outside. There’s artwork here, too, but it is hard to photograph. The tower roof is removable so you can see inside. See that switch on the wall? I’ll tell you about that later. ;D

I have a small lantern from Hobby Lobby up here in case the lights go out. We don’t need people tumbling down the stairs in the dark. There’s the other low ceiling sign on the right.

Update: One of the drawbacks of working on a project in secret is that others can’t pipe in and say, “I have just the thing for your mini scene!” Now that The Aero Squadron Lounge has been revealed, a friend and fellow miniaturist was able to do just that.

Elga inherited two small paintings from a collection belonging to her late Mother-in-Law and offered to send me scans so that I might add these little paintings to The Aero Squadron Lounge. I was overjoyed at the thought, and I fell in love with them when I saw them. I reproduced them in miniature and moved things around in the Lounge to include even more real history. (Full post here.)

Categories: The Aero Squadron Lounge
September 5, 2012 | 0 comments

The Aero Squadron Lounge – reference material

I like to do a fair amount of research when bringing a build to life, and The Aero Squadron Lounge was no exception. In addition to the online research I did on the Sopwith Camel, I checked out books and watched movies on the subjects of WWI, known at the time as The Great War, and French country design. I am by no means an expert on either, and I didn’t really delve into the politics of the war, but a lot of this material helped me come up with ideas for the look and feel of the build. For any online sources, I have linked (or will link) to them in the various relevant blog posts about the build, so they are not listed specifically here.

I promise there are posts with more pretty pictures coming soon, but I thought you might like to read about where some of the inspiration comes from.

Films:

Wings, 1927
This silent movie was a real treat to watch and I highly recommend it. The plot surrounds two WWI pilots and the people connected to their lives. Being that it was made in 1927, the locales, sets, planes, fashion and other details are all as close to the real thing as possible. The accompanying score and sound effects are great, too! Without dialogue, there is the usual demonstrative acting which is so endearing of silent film. The subject matter is obviously grave, but there was such an innocence to the way it was portrayed without making light of it. There was also some farcical humor, and the action scenes are amazing given the film technology of the times. Just a great movie.

Flyboys, 2006
This movie is about American volunteer pilots in the Lafayette Escadrille, and while it isn’t the best or most historically accurate drama around, the settings and planes are well worth seeing.

The Red Baron, 2008
Again, not the most thrilling or in-depth movie, but the planes!  :D

Influenza 1918, 2005
This PBS documentary details the influenza outbreak in 1918-1919. While not directly related to my build, I ran across it while searching for reference material. What I found remarkable about it is the same as what many say, that I had never heard about it until later in my life and just how “forgotten” the pandemic seems to be. Even in the documentary, people who survived said they wanted to forget, that it was too horrible and too inexplicable. Medical knowledge about the flu was virtually nonexistent at the time, too. Looking back, you can see how so many of the things people did likely increased the spread, most notably all the large public gatherings and parades going on at the time. It’s an interesting documentary to watch with interviews of the people who survived as children being the most moving part.

Books:

Diary of a WWI Pilot, 2004
This is the authentic diary of Harvey Conover, a WWI pilot. This book is funny, moving and a real treasure.  It is so interesting, for the lack of a better word, to see the experience of it all through the eyes of someone who was there. The tributes Mr. Conover wrote about fallen friends and the epilogue written by his daughter after the diary are wonderfully poignant. I highly recommend this book, even if you have no interest in WWI history, simply for its thoughtfulness and emotion.

One caveat is that the daughter edited out some content that was racially charged since she knew her father to no longer hold those feelings later in life. While I understand her reasons for not wanting to show her father in a bad light, it does a certain disservice to the authenticity of the diary. 

Sopwith Camel – King of Combat by Chaz Bowler, 1978
An excellent source for the airplane build with many great photographs not only of the planes but the pilots as well.

As an aside, I often check out books from interlibrary loan when working on a project since I might need the reference but don’t necessarily want to add the books to my own library. This one was a sight! It came from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL and looks like it was first checked out in 1980 with a relatively consistent borrowing pattern with a few gaps here and there. My guess is somewhere along the line it was misplaced in a window. It’s all sun bleached, water stained and frayed on the outside, but the inside is in very good condition. :D Poor book…but now it has been featured on the internet!

Sopwith Fighters in Action by Peter Cooksley, 1991 
This is a wonderful little paperback with loads of information on the various versions of Sopwith planes. There was no shortage of photographs and illustrations. This one came through interlibrary loan from the Marine Corps University Library in Quantico, VA.

Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1 by Norman Franks, 2003
This is a great compilation of pilots and planes, including fourteen pages of color plates showing various Camel markings.

Sopwith Aircraft by Mick Davis, 1999
This book has a good sized chapter on the Camel along with a lot of photos, including some of the internal framework.

French Country Style at Home by Sébastien Siraudeau, 2010
This is a lovely collection of French country interiors – beautiful photographs and lots of inspiration. This is where I found my inspiration for the stone fireplace.

The French Country Garden by Louisa Jones, 2000
Wonderful collection of garden photographs, including old stone cottages.

French Country Kitchens by Linda Dannenberg, 2008
I found many ideas here for hutches and general kitchen décor.

Categories: Books and media, The Aero Squadron Lounge
September 4, 2012 | 0 comments

1:32 Scale Academy Sopwith Camel

My finished 1917 Sopwith Camel Replica.

It has been a long time since I put together a plastic car model, and I have never done any sort of aircraft before let alone one with rigging. I learned a whole bunch of new vocabulary words during this part of the project, too! No, not new curse words…actual aeroplane terminology. :D

As with scale houses, there is a wealth of information out there on the internet. I found everything from novice builds to finely detailed expert builds. I opted for a 1:32 scale plane since a 1:12 scale replica would have overpowered the building itself as well as my condo. I think the one I chose looks appropriate for scale and enhances the project without taking over completely.

Considering the scope of my project and the fact that the aeroplane was meant to be one element in that larger project instead of a stand-alone piece, I used the base kit as is but put my painting and aging expertise to work! This is your basic plastic model and, as such, some detailing is lost and some is likely historically inaccurate. The kit was inexpensive, but I was able to eek out enough detail to suit my tastes without breaking the bank.

The wings of the original were fabric as were the tail and back portion of the body. After working with the Chrysnbon bathroom in the Heritage, I knew any little mark would show under spray paint. And, I had to fill in many injection marks on the pieces. So, while I was at it, I decided to try an experiment. I sanded the pieces with a linen weave pattern with a sanding stick. I sanded front to back and then perpendicular from side to side to create a very subtle matte cross-weave texture. Since flat paint still often has a sheen when sprayed over shiny plastic, I figured that even if the fabric texture didn’t show up clearly it would at least tone down the shine on the paint finish.

Here is the original shiny plastic.

And, after the sanding…

After the spray primer coat, the finish didn’t necessarily register as fabric, but it had a great matte, non-plastic finish. That was a success to me!

After the spray top coat of Testors Flat Light Aircraft Grey for the underside and Testors Flat Olive for the top side, the finish was just as I wanted. Well, I did have a few spray paint mishaps that required sanding and refinishing…but it’s an old replica, right? :D

The shiny red nose turned out so well, I couldn’t bring myself to age it or dirty it in any way.

Not much of the engine shows, but I detailed what would be seen. It’s obviously a simplified version of the original, but I figured painting and making it grungy would be detailing enough. I brush painted the four engine parts with Testors Aluminum. Once that was dry I used black and brown acrylic washes to fill in the details, which it did wonderfully. It has the look of an oiled and working machine. :D

The “wood” portions were easier to mimic than I thought they would be. When I read that you were to first paint the base color and then paint on the wood grain, I thought, “Riiiiiiiiiiiight.” But, it works! I used a hand painted base coat of Testors Flat Light Tan followed by Testors Flat Military Brown, also hand painted and then wiped away with a paper towel. Maybe it’s not fine wood grain, but it is remarkably convincing.

There are some fantastic scale cockpit modifications people have done to accurately reflect the original planes, but I ended up using the original kit piece as is. I did the same wood grain finish on the interior walls, floor and dash based on the various models I had seen other modelers build. On the interior, I used black and brown acrylic washes to tone down the shiny new finishes. The instruments were first painted with a toothpick to fill in the black background. I then used a sewing pin to paint the instrument details using Liquitex Iridescent Bronze acrylic paint.

I had read that the guns were molded upside down in this kit, but with my shortened build timeline and the fact that I really didn’t want to start deconstructing parts, I used the guns as is. My model wouldn’t be the most accurate besides, and it would have been a lot of work for a minor payoff. :D

Show of hands…who knew what a turnbuckle was?  :D  I sure didn’t…but I found out about them in a hurry when researching biplane rigging. I found a tutorial on making these scale miniature approximations, but after seeing just how blasted tiny the materials were, I went with a more simplified approach.

I basically used the kit method, though I used black “transparent” thread instead of the kit supplied black fiber thread. I also waited until after the plane was assembled to add the lines. I didn’t see how you could add the lines during the body assembly, then keep them out of the way and clean during the painting process. This meant a bit more headache in the end, but it worked out well.

I mostly just used super glue gel to hold the wires in place in the pre-drilled kit holes. For the ones in the body, I cut small lengths of brass wire and slipped them into the holes with the wires. This plugged the hole and held the wire more securely. I dabbed black paint on them later to remove the obvious brass shine.

I started with the tail section, and in this photo you can see the brass pins before I painted them.

The decals were not the easiest things to deal with, and I admit to being out of practice using them. But, the end result was pretty good and this was meant to be a weathered replica, so any imperfections actually worked to my advantage.

I followed most of the recommended placements and others I made up from the available decals…like the triangle with a logo in it shown below.

I made one substitution during the rigging process. There was supposed to be a straight wire from the bottom of the plane running perpendicular to the wheel assembly. I knew there would be no way to get the tension correct, so I used a cut off head pin. It doesn’t look like a substitution at first glance and it added stability to wheels besides.

I was terribly out of practice with building plastic models and this was my maiden voyage with rigging, but I love the end result! Overall, I enjoyed the process of putting the model together even if I don’t foresee myself making a whole squadron of these. ;D

I found these fantastic Scene Master spotlights on amazon.com and instantly knew they would be perfect for lighting up the plane. They have a vintage industrial look about them that complements the plane and building. They are labeled multi-scale, and I think they work wonderfully in my scene. In the final layout, I used only one of the pair that were included in the package.

I aged it with brown and black acrylic to remove the plastic sheen.

The sign verbiage is taken from the Wikipedia article on the Sopwith Camel. I printed it on paper, pasted it onto a primed wood scrap and staked it into the ground with some wire.

Be sure to check out these sources and inspirations:
– Excellent video of the same model kit with snappy music
– Beautiful kit model by Des Delatorre

Categories: Model Cars, Vehicles, The Aero Squadron Lounge
September 1, 2012 | 0 comments

Blue medallion rug – introduction

I found this beautiful rug on Jorge Cubells’s blog, and he was kind enough to upload a larger picture so I could stitch one for myself. I will be using colors very similar to his. I mounted a piece of 32ct Jobelan on a wood frame, and my threads are all from my existing stash…though I do need a better dark green than the one I have. The background will be ivory – DMC 712 – which I will do most of after the border and medallion are in place. I want to limit the chances of the ivory being soiled as I work on the darker designs.

Update 9-9-2012: I noticed a small issue with the pattern. It seems there is a column missing from the middle of the design on the pattern I downloaded, so there are two lines of stitching missing in my rug as I’ve stitched it. From Jorge’s photo, I see the violet flowers are uniform all the way around, but on my rug as I followed the chart, my middle violet flower is smaller than the two on either side…and the blue decoration in the border runs together where there should be a space between them. I realized it was off when I taped the pattern together but thought it was just a design element. It wasn’t until I looked at the photo of the finished rug again that I saw the pattern was off.

But, I am not starting over after 34.75 hours of work! Unless you are familiar with the original, you don’t even notice. Looking at my rug, nothing appears obviously off; it just differs from Jorge’s original. I still love it, and I am forging ahead!

Categories: Needlework - French knot rugs, The Artist's Studio
August 23, 2012 | 0 comments

Merry scarecrow tutorial

Who’s ready for autumn?!!!! I am eager to get back into working on the Heritage, which will be wonderful to decorate for Halloween. Below is a tutorial I wrote that was featured in the February 2012 Greenleaf Gazette.

This is a fun, simple and versatile tutorial for making raffia and polymer clay scarecrows.

Along with craft glue, some small clamps, a ruler and scissors, you will need:
– Orange polymer clay
– Clay sculpting tools
– Orange or natural raffia
– Black sewing thread
– Black felt
– Yellow paper
– Leaf paper punches
– Ball stylus
– Black paper
– 1/16″ hole punch
– Black paint and small brush (optional)
– A small bit of wire and mini drill (optional)

To make a polymer clay pumpkin, roll some orange polymer clay into a ball in the size you wish for the head. I’ve used Fimo in Cognac here to form a ball approximately 3/8″ in diameter. Flatten the sphere just a bit and mark the top center with a clay sculpting tool.

Using your sculpting tool, create indentations from the top to the bottom along the sides, evenly all the way around.

Create a face by indenting the clay. I’ve used these various tools for the faces created in my examples.

Bake according to the clay instructions and set aside to cool.

Determine the height you want your scarecrow to be from neck to feet (the polymer clay head and felt hat will add to the height, so take this into account). Take about 8-9 pieces of raffia and cut to the height measurement plus a little extra for trimming. I’ve made mine just over 3″ long. (Note: this corrects the Gazette version that stated to cut this bundle to half the height measurement.)

Tie the raffia bundle in the exact middle with black sewing thread, being sure to knot a few times. Cut the ends of the thread but not too close. This assembly will form the arms. Tip: use a clamp to hold the raffia while you tie the knots.

Take about 13-15 lengths of raffia and cut to twice the height measurement plus some for trimming. I’ve made mine 6.5″ long.

Tie the raffia bundle in the exact middle with sewing thread and cut the ends of the thread. This will form the body and legs.

In the exact middle, glue the arm assembly at the knot and fold the body over.

Tie the waist with black thread. Wrap the thread around a few times to form a belt (you can also add thin ribbon) and knot the thread. Cut the ends of the thread.

Separate the raffia below the waist into equal amounts. Tie at each ankle with black thread, leaving a bit of extra raffia to form the feet. Cut the ends of the thread. Trim the raffia ends even.

Tie at each wrist, leaving a bit of extra raffia to form the hands. Cut the ends of the thread. Trim the raffia ends even. Set body aside.

Punch out leaves from yellow paper. I use the larger leaves for the head and the smaller ones to stuff into the body.

Cup the leaves with a ball stylus.

Glue three of the larger leaves on top of your pumpkin, clipping or shaping as necessary.

Using the tip of your glue bottle, press the felt down to form a bubble in the felt. Work gently and slowly, otherwise you’ll poke right through. I find it easier to make these bubbles on a larger piece of felt and then cut them to fit.

Using your polymer clay pumpkin as a guide, trim the black felt around the bubble to make a hat.

Glue the hat in place over the leaves.

You can also skip the leaves altogether and make any crazy shaped hat you want.

If you’d like to paint your pumpkin’s face, use a small brush to apply acrylic paint into the indentations for the eyes and mouth (and nose, if you made one). You’ll need to let the paint dry before finishing.

Shape and glue the smaller leaves into the raffia of the body.

This next step is optional, but I find it adds stability. Using a small drill, make a tiny hole in the bottom of your pumpkin where you want it to attach to the neck and shoulders.

Glue a small bit of wire into the neck (I used a small length of jewelry wire I had on hand, but the wire from a twist tie would work just as well).

Glue the other end of the wire into the head at the neck and shoulders, adding glue between the head and the body as well. Gluing polymer clay to anything is often semi-permanent, so you may need to apply glue again in the future. Having the wire in place helps keep your scarecrow from turning into the headless horseman even if the glue comes loose. :D

Punch out some 1/16″ circles from black paper. Glue on as buttons to the front above the waistband. You could also use paint for the buttons but be sure to set it aside and let dry completely before handling.

Here’s an example using natural raffia (I used a larger bundle for this one to have a full skirt). For the skirt, I left the raffia below the waist untied and trimmed the bottom edge for a clean look. I used small half beads for the buttons and put a leaf on her hat. Isn’t she pretty in her smart cap? :D

And, there you have it…a merry scarecrow (or three) for your autumn or Halloween display!

I have a few of these made for sale in my etsy shop, too.

Categories: Miniatures
August 22, 2012 | 0 comments