The Fairfield: Just Keep Trimming, Just Keep Trimming...

Sunday: Added heaps more trim to the house. I finished the trim on the inside corners, and started on the outside corners, but then I ran out!! I have enough to do the tower corners, but there is still one long wall outside the kitchen to do. The cost of shipping to order one more piece is not worth it so I will have to bodgy something up with balsa wood.

In the process of putting the moulding on, I decided not to add the partial walls - the corner moulding looks good enough by itself, I think.






Whilst I was waiting for the trim to dry, I glued in the kitchen flooring and sealed it with Mod Podge.  I managed to mostly repair the hole I ripped in it too, whilst I was gluing which was good!

It was roughly at that point that I discovered I'd been too enthusiastic with the siding and had forgotten about the bits of the tower sides which are part of the attic walls, so I had to prise it off - that was Not Fun! I had resigned myself some time ago to the fact that this house is just a practice run for the "real" thing, lol, which is just as well, because it is a steep learning curve.

After that I got out the paints and stained the underside of the attic roof, and painted the underside of the tower roof piece.

Monday: Today I scored the underside of the attic roof on one section, with the intention for it to resemble planks. I then added a black wash to try and make the scoring stand out, although it wasn't terribly effectively. I re-scored the grooves with a tiny pointed scrap-booking chisel, which was more effective. It needs another black wash now, and then the balsa wood vertical beams cut and glued in place.

Tuesday: More trim! I finished the tower corners, so now all the corners are done except for the kitchen wall which I will have to make myself when I get some more 1mm balsa planks.

I trimmed all the tabs and holes on the roof pieces and fitted them, then trimmed off the remaining over hangs. Most pieces are warped to various extents which makes fitting problematic, but I am hoping that it will all add to the rustic, aged effect I am going for - which is why I didn't try too hard to prevent warping when I was painting them.

I then started experimenting with the gutters using 3mm balsa wood.

As you can see, there is still a LOT of work to do in the painting department! I still haven't decided whether to leave ALL the trim black, only some of it, or paint it all red!  I've been looking for examples on the internet, but there isn't much to see in this colour scheme, lol. Oh well, no need to decide right now.

The Fairfield: Construction Step 8 - Attic Floor in Place

Goodness, how long has it been since I completed the last step of the "official" (as according to the instruction sheet) construction process?!

I installed the ceiling of the bedroom and study some time ago. I cut the floor into two pieces for ease of handling, and have been contemplating the other half of the floor, which constitutes the library ceiling.  I would have liked to cut it back to be in line with the original wall placement, however I really want to put the double bookshelf I bought along the back, and sadly, it was just a bit too wide.

Therefore I added a small extension to the back wall, and stole some space from the hallway to make the library bigger. I worried that the teeny tiny occupants have to squeeze past the banister to get to the bedroom, but oh well, I'm a bit over fiddling with it!

When fiddling with it I cut too much off it, so I had to then re-glue two pieces back onto the floor, and then fill with wood filler and sand it back - and then repaint the ceiling section - BUT it is finally actually installed.

As you can see, I have the back wall of the tower installed too.

I think all that is left in terms of construction (i.e. anything that is not decorating the house shell) is installing the library wall, attaching the roof and building and installing the tower roof. Oh, and gluing in the porch roof.

Onwards and upwards!

The Fairfield: A bit of this, a bit of that...

Whilst waiting for bits of glue to dry, I finally finished the last of the papering inside the house - the last tiny bit in the bedroom, and back wall of the tower room, and I cut and fitted the flooring in the kitchen.  It doesn't actually look too bad. Maybe when I seal it and add some washes to age the room it will blend in reasonably well.  It all looks too clean and bright at the moment!

Yes, I did manage to tear the paper in front of the basement door, but I should be able to fix it when it is glued in.

Today, I undercoated the rest of the siding, and got the first two coats of Tuscan Red paint on. When it is dry tomorrow, I hope to be able to apply the crackle glaze and the final coat of red.

I also started playing around with the trim...

... and started trimming the overhang off the roof. I will add some more trim around the gutters, and I don't like the way the overhang interferes with the tower and partially obscures the gothic window.

Much better. Now I need to design a gable trim and have a go at making it.

The Fairfied: Almost the Last of the Siding

Whilst waiting for the siding I ordered to arrive, I undercoated the roof, the three partial walls and the exterior corner mouldings, and painted the remaining windows and door black, but then ran out of motivation.  Well, the siding arrived at last this week, and this being a long weekend, I could get stuck into finishing off the exterior of the house.  It's all done now, except for the little partial walls, which I am still debating whether I will add siding to or not.

I then began with the trim, adding tiny pieces of balsa to the inner corners to cover the siding seams. I fitted the porch roof too, to make sure it still fit OK.

I also put in an order for some corbel brackets for the roof a couple of days ago, which was a big decision. I just couldn't find any I liked in the right size, and that were actually affordable in the quantity I need.  I hope they look OK when they arrive! I am now agonising over gable trim - once again, I just can't find any which are suitable!  The gable pitch seems to be 60' and most ready-made trim are 45' or other. I've found several adjustable trims but I don't like them, AND they are really expensive.  I am coming to the conclusion that I am going to have to make something myself, which is a scary prospect.  What I really want is similar to these, including Otterine's Haunted Heritage, and of course, my muse, the Knox Mansion.

From Otterine.com

I found a tutorial for making your own gable trim in 1/144 scale, which I think would work OK upsizing to 1/24, so I may have to work up the courage and have a go.

The Fairfield: Exterior Paint II

Early this morning I applied the crackle medium to the house siding, and now I have painted the final coat of Tuscan Red over the top. I don't think it is cracking very effectively, probably because the paint seems very thin. You can see where the thicker strokes of paint are and that is where fine cracks are forming. There is still a lot of the black undercoat showing through, although that doesn't bother me, as I think it looks more worn and creepy that way :-)

In reality it isn't as bright as in the photos. I wish I wasn't waiting on the siding, I would love to have all the siding finished! Oh well, at least I can now install the French doors and a few of the windows.

Half the siding finished and painted. I will wait until it is all done before weathering.

Only minor cracking is evident after applying the crackle glaze. I suspect the paint is too thin to get a better result.

I've also been plugging away at the rocks on the chimney, but it's such a boring job that I can only glue a few pieces at a time before I feel guilty about the housework and leave.

The Fairfield: Exterior Paint & Chimney

Well, I got to the craft store on the weekend and although the usual brand of paint I buy didn't have any shades of suitable reds in stock (nearly all the reds were gone, how odd), I did find a Semco Tuscan Red which I thought might be acceptable.

After one thin coat over the black undercoat, I was a bit worried as it looked a little too bright for my liking, but once it had dried I was sold! It dried to a nice barn red, which I think will look great with the black trim.  I've used a mini chisel to go over the first coat and weather it lightly (sandpaper seems to just sand out the bumps of the siding planks). Later, I will paint it with crackle glaze medium and paint the final coat of red. It is quite a thin acrylic paint so I don't envisage the final coat completely covering the black undercoat, but I think that will look OK. I plan on adding lots of (dead?) ivy over the house, and some brown (dirt) washes, moss etc too, which will cover up a fair bit of it anyway.

First coat of red paint. Crackle glaze & a second coat to come.

Also, I finally decided to add rock to the chimney, rather than bricks. Cutting tiny 24th scale bricks seemed tedious, and I doubt my ability to lay them straight anyway, plus I figured rock would look more sinister in dark the attic. I started gluing the egg carton "rocks" on this morning. 

The Fairfield: Mood Board Exterior

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am torn about my original choice of distressed white for the siding.  My muse is this house:

But now I am wondering if something like this wouldn't be more imposing and scary-looking:

I love the black trim against the dark, Gothic red! I don't know if I would go really red, but maybe a faded red over the crackle glaze. Or a really deep, deep red.

I am also considering a Mansard roof instead of a whole new room on the tower, with one or more of the Victorian windows I abandoned early on in construction - they are similar to the ones in the roof of this house.

And, as you can see, I've been fiddling with the Juliet balcony railings again. Meh. I might have to try making something myself.