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Quarter scale for sale

I have just sold most of my (more than two hundred) 48ths.  As they went for half price you can see this was something it would have been better not to do but it does emphasise that I am not leaving quarter scale lightly.

I have a few pieces left if you want to take a look.

Lilliput Minis

Nice while it lasted

It is hail and fair well I'm afraid.

I switched to quarter scale last summer because I had no room to keep my 1/12ths when they were done and thought forty-eighths would be the solution.

I am not immune to their charm but, as anyone who has ever done both scales will know, it is a completely different ball game.  I found while I was in Naples for the winter I never got started on the handful of small furniture kits I had taken over to do.  I thought I had good reasons why not, lack of a place to work, loads of visitors etc etc.

I couldn't wait to get home and crack on.  Well, I have been back two weeks and really can not get going.  This is so not me as far as a hobby goes, I usually eat, breathe and sleep it.  I came to the inevitable conclusion it is a wrong fit for me.

I loved the challenge of working on such small things - like I love the challenge of a crossword but, like a crossword, once it was done that seemed to be it.  

I really get the biggest kick out of being able to try to replicate real life as accurately as I can and that is difficult and very different in forty-eighths.  It is all about illusion rather than scaling down and, I don't know why, it just doesn't give me the same satisfaction.

I have been very brave and accepted it is time to throw in the towel.

Thank you to all the truly wonderful quarter people I met along the way - they were so kind, helpful and just plain nice I shall miss them so much more than the hobby itself.

                                             --------------------------------------------------

Anyone who wants the Geoff Lewis house (the Gate House) which I have started for £100 plus pp (it cost £250) please email me.  Also Petite properties (not started) plus all the stairs, doors,plinth cost me £57.13 so its yours for £28 plus pp.  Again email me.

I have posted this in The Gate House and in Les Roches, so whichever one you are reading it in don't bother to go to the other blog.

If you want to see what I am about to start (though I don't know why you would) here it is:

Dalton House

Quarter scale section in Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine

Some of you might remember around September last year I was prattling on about my writing a piece about quarter scale in a dedicated section of DH&MS each month. Well it is going to happen and will begin in the June issue. Indeed there will be two quarter scale pieces in the June issue that I know of.

Slight change of plan - I found I was getting buried in too many interests and decided to trim back here and there. Part of that was my decision to only write an occasional piece for the magazine in the future and not take on a 'series'. Happily the editor is still running it (indefinitely) and the terrific Moi Ali has taken up the baton and will be authoring the series.

If quarter scalers out there want to see this little acorn grow it needs watering with some input from you. Please, please don't be bashful about contacting the magazine with any thoughts, suggestions or even just a plain thank-you. The editor does take notice. Please offer up any quarter scale news, ideas, or better still your own project to Moi. She (like me) believes there is no such thing as too much information. It is also an opportunity for any quarter scale trader to make themselves known to a growing UK market.

Please don't be bashful or assume your ideas aren't useful; it is all grist to the mill. We won't get more magazine space, vendors or shows without constantly reminding people how many of us are here and would love to see this happening.

The June issue will be in the shops 28th May 2015. You can subscribe or just buy a single copy. It is as rare as hen's teeth in the US newsagents but you could subscribe or purchase the imag thus avoiding mailing costs and you'd get the issue as soon as it is released.

Email addresses for:

Moi Ali: moi@moiaili.com



Carl Golder (editor DH&MS): carl.golder@warnersgroup.co.uk

Quarter scale tiles

I have found the most wonderful tiles (and flooring) in quarter scale.

The vendor is an arm of Ann Marie Miniatures in the UK.  Dollhouse Flooring (Graham Simpkin).  They post worldwide for $4.

As many of you know I arrived back in the UK yesterday and in my mountain of mail was a little padded envelope containing these:

loose laid to show roughly what they will look like

to give you a sense of scale - they are 12 inch tiles in real life

the white marble I chose has a slight sheen

the contrast I chose is a biscuit coloured marble

I also have some cut diagonally across to make a triangular border around the edge of the room.  They are not destined for the opening in the Gate House as shown here but are for the entrance hall in Les Roches.  I began with the traditional black and white and then grey and white and then decided I wanted the house to feel light and warm and sunny so here we are.

The thinness of the material (a laminate) is perfect for the job.  I just love them and expect to love them more when they are all stuck down.

Take a minute to check the site there is masses and masses of choice of colours, patterns, materials, layouts - there has to be something you want.  I can see a zillion potential floors already for houses I haven't dreamed of yet.

Bought at Philly

If you want to see the things I bought at the Philly show for Les Roches and The Gatehouse, click here Dolls House Shows

Petworth's demi-lune table

Yesterday's first photo showing the chandeliers also shows a pair of demi-lune tables from Petworth Miniatures.

Note to any newbie be very careful about the first one or two choices of things to make.  I wasn't and was very nearly put of quarter scale by choosing a couple of things I really liked.  Sadly things you 'really like' are often attractive because they are a complicated structure and hence they are not for the faint-hearted (or newbie's).  I would say this table is in that category.  No way is it difficult - just a bit over-fiddly for someone who hasn't yet found their feet.  Gayle's products are so close to their life model that these pretty pieces will always be intricate.

almost there

The first challenge is shaping the legs.  Luckily for me the tables will be viewed from the front (no side view) so I only needed to shape the two front legs of each table.  Indeed decorative tables like these often only had the front leg shaped.  This photo shows you the sanding in progress.  It needs a much slimmer ankle.

There is a plethera of difficulties sanding and shaping a piece this size starting with the tools. I used just about everything in my sanding drawer settling mostly on a $3 set of very small different shaped (metal tool) files.

It is hard to see what shape you have achieved because you end up removing colour from the wood and that distorts you view of the outline.

The pieces are so small there is a very real chance of snapping something (other than your patience).

Don't be put off by this step; if you don't want to do it, the tables will look very nice with their legs as they are.  Indeed Regency were very plain - leave out the stretcher and leave the legs plain and they will be spot on.

picky, picky

This is another step you don't need to do, but I always think I have the kit so I might as well use it.  I assembled the pieces this far and left them on my magnetic jig to dry while I had lunch.  It does help me see that I have got things at right angles and it does actually put pressure on the joints though I suspect, at this scale, it won't make a scrap of difference.

showing you the stretcher underneath the table

This is the finished construction before I stained the pieces.  Those front legs still look chunky I may give them another going over but I will see how they look when stained. I also need to do something more with the nibs which fastened them in their frame - I was sure I had that OK.  Cameras are great for pointing out your failings.  No, really, they are a useful tool.  

one wet one dry

Test your stain colours on the frame they came from to see how they interact with that particular wood.  I ended up choosing red mahogany (Min-wax).  This is my least favourite colour but it looks OK on this wood.

I use stain pens and always stain before I assemble - except this time - I won't do this again, staining when the piece is built is decidedly more difficult.  I did see a tip from someone who said she dunked the finished pieces in the stain and then fished them out.  Great idea if you have tins of stain but I can't imagine ever needing that amount.  

The left one is dry and a nice muted colour - the one on the right is still wet and the colour I dislike.  If I were to varnish the piece it would get near to the colour of the wet one - it is the shine on the piece which is giving the red hue.  Old tables would not be varnished to a high shine, they might be french polished but I suspect these pieces would just be waxed to a soft sheen over the years so I am happy to go back in and tidy them up and gently buff them with brown paper and see what result I can get.  Matt or satin varnish can give a nice finish as it 'fills' the 'holes' in the wood, giving a nice smooth surface.  We'll see.

Google - 'Regency demi-lune images' - if you want loads of inspiration for finishing them.