Wednesday 2 July 2014

A New Tower & Some Tiny Architectural Details

I have been working slowly away at the half scale house in the past few weeks. I want my little house to be a classic American style Victorian with some Neo Gothic and Second Empire influences. For example:




Unfortunately, with this style in mind, the pointed tower of the Fairfield was not suitable. So I decided to make some alterations to it. I wanted a square tower which is so common in Second Empire Victorians which have mansard roofs.


I kept the roof pieces, but trimmed the tops off and made side additions to give the square shape I wanted.



I then made the tower with flexible card. 


In addition to the tower I also needed some brackets and decorative architectural details. I searched quite widely and wasn't able to find anything of quality in 1:24 scale. So I decided to cut my own. Cutting by hand isn't so great because it does not produce uniform results so I decided to have some of my own designs laser cut. I have several pattern books of architectural details from last century, so I copied some of these designs in Adobe Illustrator. 


I then took this file to a laser cutting facility and had these patterns cut out of MDF and card. 



I made some of the brackets to be multi layered. I cut one layer of 3mm MDF and one of 1mm card, and glued them together to create more detailed brackets. 



The house is now starting to look quite good. Next I will begin the weather boards/cladding.


12 comments:

  1. Love your idea to get your pieces laser cut. It looks great. I like your use of the board to give it a 3D look.

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  2. I do like the style of those houses - so unlike anything we have over here and it was a good idea to create your own laser cut pieces. It's looking impressive.

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  3. j'adore le style de votre maison. Les détails architecturaux découpés au laser sont superbes. Bravo bravo bravo!

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  4. Hello Emily,
    It is already an impressive project. I can't wait to see more. the architectural detail is spot on.
    big hug,
    Giac

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  5. I like how this house is turning out, very interesting choices..I can't wait to see more

    Hugs
    Marisa

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  6. What a great idea to the pieces laser cut. They add so much detail and realism to your project. I am in love with the house in the third picture.
    Hugs AM

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  7. What an impressive project, Emily, I can't wait to see more of it. Lasering your own architectural pieces is a very good choice.
    Hugs, Ilona

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  8. Un trabajo impresionante. Me encanta!!!

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  9. Absolutely superb Emily!! How clever you are to work out how to achieve the turret transformation.

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  10. Me encanta tu casita, es un trabajo magnifico!!
    Besos Isabel

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  11. Emily is the laser-cutting expensive?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Margaret, no not terribly, however you have to pack a lot onto a page for it to be worth it, so it can be a bit fiddly. If you like some of the patterns I have done I can mail you some laser cut pieces!

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