Sunday 22 September 2013

Now for something small…


These are some of the 1/450th scale kits I have... 

A little update of what I have been doing! The cabin has been ordered and I am just awaiting a delivery date now. The garden has been cleared where its going and the base will be laid as soon as possible. We are busy looking at bathroom suites, we are doing the larger bathroom first to name a few things!

Over the last few months I have bought many kits. I want to be able to pick and chose what kits to use for whatever projects I have planned, I have well over 40 kits now. I know roughly what projects I want to resume work on immediately and what new projects to start on first too. Gosh, I do have a lot of kits, so I may not use/need all of the kits I own, so I will either sell the surplus as boxed kits or completed. :o)

I thought I’d show you some of the kits I have bought and started work on. 

I don’t just have 1/12th scale within my collection of kits (to complete), over the years I’ve collected a few 1/144th kits too. This year I saw the rising popularity and gradual availability of other scale kits. Over recent months I have bought 1/1000th (yes, you did read the former correctly! Lol), 1/450th and 1/48th scale kits, I have will be getting a 1/24th project under way too. 
This little 1/144th scale shop kit it will either go in my Nanny McPhee nursery or in my toy shop. This is the scale you use for 1/12th children (their toys etc).
I haven't completed the shop, I didn't get a chance to before I moved home. Here it is in dry build only.

In May I bought a retro caravan kit in 1/48th scale from the USA. I have been itching to start on it! I not only purchased the gorgeous kit, but the contents etc., kits too. I was surprised how tiny it was in real life! 

Instead on starting on the kit before I moved, I decided to source all of the necessary supplies to complete the kit! I normally use or substitute what supplies I have (when I complete a normal kit), but this kit was special in its completion and not particularly cheap, so I didn’t want to make a mess of it.  I decided to use what was recommended within the instructions. This is done with ease if you live in the US, but not so great if you don’t! Some items were not only extremely hard to find but mighty expensive to buy too! 

I don't have a proper area to work from at the moment...so its work on a large wooden tray for now! Not easy! lol  
My tiny retro caravan kit in 1/48th scale. I love it and it was an absolute must have for me!!!! 
The contents kit photo's.
Some of the supplies for the kit (some items I bought as extra's)...mini clamps, tiny clamps, teeny tiny clamps, YES! Paste, Sliver spray paint, Tacky Glue, Elmers glue, E6000 glue, ceramcoat varnish (matte and gloss), 3mm masking tape, wide masking tape, metal ruler, x-acto swivel blade craft knife, wire or plier cutters, to name a few things! :o) 
Here is the caravan kit as packaged...
 The interior or contents kit...there is one more kit, but more on that later!
The teeny tiny kitchen pots, pans and kettle! :O)
The exterior decoration sheet...
 The exterior is varnished with ceramcoat matte.
The interior decoration kit is also varnished with ceramcoat matte, well all but the floor which is varnished with ceramcoat gloss. 
After the two required coats.

Both sheets. The pieces now need to cut out from the sheets,,,steady hand required!! lol 
 However, the main wooden frame and other components first!   
I sorted out all of the parts that needed to be spray painted with silver. Some parts only needed the inside window frames covered, of course you just spray the whole thing for ease! 
Some pieces needed to be removed from the wooden mother-boards first though.
I kept the mother-boards so I could remember what piece was what. Some pieces were minute...namely the 2 door handles, sneeze and they were gone! One split horizontally so I made a new one from the same piece of mother-board it came from. :o) 
All the pieces needed to be placed on masking tape ready for spray painting...
Not quite there yet...better to build up the colour with several thin layers, than thick gloopy layers of paint.
I sprayed one of the three cardboard trims the wrong way around...can you see which piece? So I had to spray the other side!  Some of the teeny tiny pieces in a dish for safe keeping...still not finished.
A close up of them.

More soon, and when I get going I will change and update my blog better! No spare time as yet! lol  

I hope you don’t mind my ramblings and madness! :o))

Michelle xxxx 

Thursday 12 September 2013

Clearing the way for a Craft Cabin...

We eventually moved home on the 3rd September! We should have moved months ago, all out of our control…but we are here at last! 

We have lots of plans for the new home, and for both the back and front gardens. The house needs tons of TLC and money spent on it as do the gardens. The home has no history it's new (1970's), so this will be one of the newest homes we have ever owned! It serves a real practical need more than anything else and of course we love where are in the UK now. :o)))  
What a mess it all is! The greenhouse is being removed too. The garden size doesn't warrant a need for a greenhouse and I love greenhouse gardening and growing things from seed. 

The back garden is one of the smallest we’ve ever had (but big enough for us and what we want it for) and almost the entire plot needs to be cleared and started afresh.
This apple tree will go as will the old garden shed and small summerhouse (it's not viable). 

The cabin will hold so much of my stuff that it’s a priority to get in situ ASAP. It is on order as we speak, but firstly we must clear the area where it is to go. On Tuesday we are having garden slabs, plants and one tree removed. I’m a real tree hugger and I hate having to remove any trees, alas one has to go (we are replanting with many others elsewhere).

Once the area is cleared my cabin base will be laid. We are fast heading for Autumn and we need the cabin in place and painted in readiness for the bad weather to come. 

I have a new kit on its way soon. I ordered it in May and still not sure what it will become yet...a Father Christmas' home and workshop or something related to wizards and witches!? :oP

I hope you don’t mind my ramblings and madness! :o))

Michelle xxxx 

Wednesday 4 September 2013

Bye Bye Hampshire......Hellooooo Norfolk!

Hello one and all!

Did ya think I rolled under the sofa and got wedged in? Got myself a one-way ticket to the moon? Nah, instead I moved home...from Hampshire to Norfolk and relocated my job (working from home for a while). So I've been super busy and erm stressed to the hilt, I'm slowly coming down from that ceiling now...never did like heights! lol

I'm now back living on the Norfolk/Suffolk border and I live less than 2 miles from a village where I lived in a cottage during my early teens (I went to school in Norfolk). I'm now living on the edge of an old market town which is surrounded by farmers fields. I'm back to rural living, but not too remote (well not for me anyhow), there are a few pavements and main drainage, but no traffic lights for miles and miles! :o))))

I have 2 months off work, but I won't be doing any mini work for a while. My new home needs a lot of work (new bathrooms, new kitchen (which we think we may extend), every room needs redecoration,  flooring, carpets etc., and let's not get started on the back garden!), so an assortment of workmen will be in for a little while. It already has a Summer House (its going as its not viable), but it won't be used by me as a work space because I am having a purpose built one in the garden. :o)  Hopefully the latter won't be too long being completed and I will give you an update on that very soon.

More soon!

Michelle xxxx