Spooky Hollow – Halloween 2022

A couple of years ago, I started looking for a Grandt Line Spooky Hollow kit. While Grandt Line products are still around, these specialized kit bashing ensembles were apparently a limited run. Here is the kit photo. The project is N scale (1:160), which correlates to 1:144 scale or “dollhouse for a dollhouse” scale very well.

A friend made one awhile back and recognized that another kit was very similar in design. Rosewood Cottage is also one of the limited run kits, but I was able to find one at a good price.

Unfortunately, it had different parts and was made as an open back house opposed to a long side opening house.

But, the instructions included a parts list that led me to find additional parts to make what I wanted. A huge thank you to San Juan Details for shipping me the Reese Street Row Houses kit so quickly.

With all the parts now in hand, I could start making my own Spooky Hollow.

These MTC Tools Micro Precision Pliers are a lifesaver for snipping tiny and delicate parts.

I bought the Grandt Line widow’s walk in HO scale to accent the build as well.

The widow’s walk on my house is just the very top of the molded part. It was a test of wills to get it to glue on straight and secure.

To finish the balcony and porch, I used some leftover adhesive backed micro wood from the Model T Van I built several years ago. In the end, the porch posts ended up a little wonky, but it’s an old, haunted house. I cut down more of the widow’s walk to make the balcony railing.

I used spray paint in moss green for the exterior, later adding some aging with acrylic paints for dimension. The windows and doors are primed in grey, then sprayed flat white.

A little sanding brings forth the grey and adds a bit of age. Cutting, fitting and gluing the acetate film for the glass was an adventure. I used Testors clear parts cement, which made a bit of a mess. Good thing dirty windows are fitting for an old house.

The LEDs are pico 3V in warm white from Evan Designs. I used some Gallery Glass paint to tone down the brightness, going for a warm glow on a chilly autumn evening.

Since I would be adding LED lighting, I chose to enclose my tiny house. Once I had the lights in place and tested the look, I realized I needed to add paper shades to the windows or I would have to finish the interior. It’s rather amazing how much you can see through the tiny windows.

I painted the interior very roughly with acrylic paints and added some scraps of wood to represent furniture. The colors and shapes add dimension in reflected hues and shadows behind the thin window shades, some of which have a small gap at the bottom to allow you to almost peek inside. I even added some bird artwork on the foyer wall. You can discern it with the naked eye, but the camera doesn’t capture it well.

Since I had more than enough parts from the Reese Street kit, I made a matching shed.

The base is a scrap of mdf with feet added so I could add a battery and switch underneath. I made a box from strip wood to disguise the battery, switch and excess wiring.

The trees are made using candytuft from Scenery Solutions. These are the same process I use for my large trees, using Durham’s Water Putty to build the trunks.

The landscaping was built up using thin sheets of styrofoam, including a stone walkway from the porch to the gravel driveway and road. Stucco patch applied unevenly over the styrofoam adds dimension to the landscape.

I used Woodland Scenics foliage, ballast and gravel, held in place by their Scenic Cement. I sprinkled some loose candytuft leaves on the ground as well.

The tiny pumpkins were made by Kyle Lefort.

The car is a 1967 Ford Galaxie Custom 500 by Classic Metal Works. I ran across this when I was seeking small autos for the A-frame. I didn’t know then why I would need a Batmobile for the A-frame, but now I know it was meant to live at Sleepy Hollow.

And, now to put the size in perspective….

Happy Halloween, everyone!  :D

Categories: Micro Scale Models
November 5, 2022 | 0 comments

Cat mummies

Many moons ago, I bought a cat mummy kit from L Delaney. One thing I didn’t realize about the kit was that it contained air dry clay. It was hard as a rock, so I used Sculpey terracotta color polymer clay since I have a lot of it and you paint the mummies anyway. It’s also soft and easy to work with.

The paint included was also dry but I was able to reconstitute it with water. I made a swatch of it, so I could mix more of a similar color in the future. The kit comes with a lot of paper to use as mummy wrap, and you use 1/16″ wide strips. I could make a lot of mummies, but I started with a pair hoping to get at least one good one.

I ended up with two that complement one another well, don’t you think?  :D

Ra and ibis statues by Neil Carter; ceramics by Carberlin Minis.

Categories: Animals and birds, Miniatures, Polymer clay
July 2, 2022 | 0 comments

A mini doghouse, part 2

Continuing on the mini doghouse for Gus. There were no shingles in my kit, though they are mentioned in the instructions. Maybe I took them out to keep them from getting wrinkled, which seems like something I’d do, but I have no earthly idea where they would be. It was no worry since I had some suitable shingles in my stash of supplies. These are half scale speed shingles by Greenleaf.

Considering the door is small, I wanted to see if I could keep the roof separate to access the interior more easily. A few extra steps, but I think it’s just better in the long run.

There’s an added beam inside to keep the roof from slipping out of place.

I painted the shingles a mix of black, brown and grey to start and then added some grey washes. For the house, I used crackle finish and off-white paint. The crackle finish was old, so it didn’t provide pronounced crackling, but that seems to work better for a smaller structure.

I still ended up with a nice aged finish.

For the cupola, I added more trims to make it seem more realistic and more rain resistant. I painted the included weather vane to look like aged copper. It’s thin wood, so I worry about its longevity. I left it unglued for ease of removal in case I need to pack away the house or choose to replace it.

All that’s needed is a warm, comfy bed and some toys. :D

Categories: Animals and birds, Once Upon A Porch
June 26, 2022 | 0 comments

A mini doghouse, part 1

I’ve had this kit in my stash for some time now: Miss Lydia Pickett and her dog house.

It comes with a resin dog for you to paint, but Gus seems to have his eye on the residence. :D

It’s a rather large house for Gus, but that just leaves room for more stuff inside.

It’s very fancy, and I plan to keep the original details for the most part.

As for the finish, I wanted a more aged look. I started with a wash of silver grey.

More to come….

Categories: Animals and birds, Once Upon A Porch
June 23, 2022 | 0 comments

Bert – Robox coming to life

Even though you’ve likely seen Bert (my transformed Robox) in scenes here and there, I’ve not documented the process after dying the plastic. He’s also not been “finished” until this weekend when I was able to complete the final paint washes and add some other detailing. Here’s where we started: a Robox Canvas White action figure by 1000toys that I named Bert. :D

After dying the plastic, he ended up grey-purple, grey-brown and dark grey. Overall, the results were a great middle color for me to work on from there. In an unexpected but promising turn, the joints turned darker than the body and that would save me time trying to detail those. I ended up permanently gluing the chest plate in place on the torso since it would no longer stay in place. Bert will never revert to his folded up self, but I wouldn’t want to risk damaging the paint in the end anyway.

Next up, I used Privateer Press Formula P3 paint in Pig Iron, Thamar Black and Quick Silver, as well as their Armor Wash. From my research, this brand of paint was recommended by artists who repaint action figures. It’s not as durable as a spray paint, but there’s no way I would have been able to spray paint Bert effectively given that he was a fully assembled figure. There were places to separate the parts, but there were also rivets permanently keeping some areas together.

I started with the feet and worked my way up. The only place I used black was for the tread on the bottom of the feet. The rest is all Pig Iron except for the bars in the main body which are Quick Silver. I then used the Armor Wash over the top of the Pig Iron to give him a more aged appearance. It also settles into and emphasizes any detail lines.

The metallic sheen of the Pig Iron is really nice, and the Armor Wash just darkens it a bit without removing the metallic sheen. Here you can see the difference from the plain dyed plastic to the aged metal.

Bert’s head had a moving back, which was a nice feature, but paint would never have survived the movement. I ended up permanently gluing that portion of the figure.

The “eyes” for the Robox were separate parts, which made them easier to customize. Well, I think one was an eye and the other a mouth, but I just refer to them as eyes and figure the speakers for talking are built in. :D I painted the outer rims black, leaving them on the sprue until I was ready to glue them in place.

I had leftover parts from the RX-7 build, so I used some clear lamp covers to serve as lenses. I colored the backs and fronts with Sharpie markers to get saturated but transparent red and blue.

I painted the inner portion of the base with white to help sell the idea of there being light behind the colored lenses.

I think they suit him well. (Just as an aside, the head has the Armor Wash but the arms and torso do not in this picture.)

After getting the rest of Bert finished with the Armor Wash, it was time to address the joints. The dying process impacted the functionality slightly in that the ball joints ended up very tight (I suspect the heat impacted the two types of plastic differently). The rod connections ended up a little loose. So, enter Miraclekoo Silicone Pouring Oil and super glue gel.

The head was the only ball joint that was loose. Not wanting to overdo the correction, I added some mini hold wax to the joint. It allows for more stable positioning of the head and can be replaced as needed without permanently altering the joint.

For the loose rod connections at the wrists and lower legs, I added a thin layer of super glue gel to the rod. You have to let this dry completely before testing the fit so you don’t super glue the part in place. Once dry, I sanded the excess until the joints moved smoothly. Now the lower legs now stay in place better.

For the tight connections at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and inner thigh (these move the knees), I used a small amount of the silicone oil. I chose silicone oil so that it wouldn’t degrade the plastic over time. Still, I will be mindful of having Bert come in contact with any fabric furnishings going forward.

The joints aren’t as loose as they were before dying the plastic, but they are better and I no longer feel like they will break if I twist too hard.

Bert’s already dashing, but let’s add some edge. Tattoos! :D The Robox did come with decals.

I also have a bunch of leftover decals from my years of building model cars. I opted for one Pennzoil decal since Bert is a fan.

Only a few spoke to me, so I will keep an eye out for anything interesting in the future. The open spaces are minimal, but there is room for a few more. Here you see the one on the shoulder and the side of the head.

I used one of the Robox decals on the forearm, a number 8 on the chest and the Pennzoil on the bicep.

Gus thinks Bert is good at head pats. :D

Added a bit of humor in Bert’s decal placement.

Keep those hands clear of Bert’s backside! :D

Categories: Animals and birds, Droids and Robots
June 19, 2022 | 0 comments