The Modeler's Forum

Continuing with possible buildings for my proposed Norwegian layout.........
At a recent model railway show I picked up a plastic kit - Heljan's Danish Farm#204 in HO for £4.95 ($7.00).
After being ruled by them for centuries, the Danes are not particularly liked by the Norwegians; however the architecture is similar in both countries. So I thought a lttle farm scene with some Viessmann "pecking chickens" and some Noch "mooing cows" might be fun. Perish the thought that the budget for my farm scene has just jumped from $7.00 to $112..............
Mike

Here are the expensive items..................
Mike

But they are really neat and it's just money. :o

Exactly. Thanks Curt.
I have de-sprued the parts. There was a lot of flash. Now I have to figure out how to make a plastic kit not look like a plastic kit.
Mike :-\

I would start with a flat grey spray.

Mike,

I've seen the chickens in action, they will be perfect for the farm. The mooing cows will just add to the farm/barn noise.

This should be a fun little build.

Of course you have my attention

Tom  ;D

Thanks Curt good suggestion. Tom yes I think it could be fun..................
Mike  :)

I'll be looking in too Mike..... :)

Thanks Greg, no pressure then.............
I used a white paint to prepare the white rendered walls of the farmhouse. This gives a nice texture to the walls. The wooden beams were given a spray of matt black.
Mike

With all the finer modelling going on with the challenge I thought I would press on with my little plastic building.
This is basically complete. But I was not happy with depicting a thatched roof with painted plastic.
The quick a dirty way is this. Paint the plastic roof the colour of thatch. Then paint full strength PVA on the roof and sprinkle Woodland Scenics Harvest Gold Static grass on it.After a few minutes shake off the excess grass and save it. Next spray the roof with an holding agent. I used Peco layering spray. A strong unscented hairspray might work as well. Then apply more flock and shake the excess off.

Mike

Neat build Mike  8) ......the roof looks like it needs a haircut.  ;D ;D ;D

Thanks Greg.
Here are the final pictures of the famhouse and barn. This will be as far as I go until I "plant" it on the future Norway layout. To my mind it does not look plastic and was well worth the $6 expenditure.
Mike  ;)

Looks great Mike , what a job on the thatched roof, gorgeous.

I like seeing plastic kits well-built.  There's a lot of potential in those kits, but they take a different set of skills than wood craftsman kits.


dave

Thanks very much Jan and Dave it is appreciated.
Mike :)

Quote from: deemery on January 10, 2019, 02:47:52 PM
I like seeing plastic kits well-built.  There's a lot of potential in those kits, but they take a different set of skills than wood craftsman kits.

dave

Harry, excellent job on these kits. I really like the thatched roof--a very clever solution.  Moreover, I agree with Dave on your effective modeling with plastic kits. I know that I spend a lot of time trying to make plastic kits/parts appear as anything but plastic. It does indeed take a special set of skills.
--George

Thanks George I am really pleased how the model came out. I tend to ignore the fact the model is self coloured and paint it with appropriate colours which makes it a lot less toy-like.
Mike

Quote from: madharry on January 10, 2019, 10:03:08 AM
With all the finer modelling going on with the challenge I thought I would press on with my little plastic building.
This is basically complete. But I was not happy with depicting a thatched roof with painted plastic.
The quick a dirty way is this. Paint the plastic roof the colour of thatch. Then paint full strength PVA on the roof and sprinkle Woodland Scenics Harvest Gold Static grass on it.After a few minutes shake off the excess grass and save it. Next spray the roof with an holding agent. I used Peco layering spray. A strong unscented hairspray might work as well. Then apply more flock and shake the excess off.

Mike

That's great, Mike. I don't know that I have ever seen a thatch roof modeled before. Color and texture look really good.

Thanks Vince, I did do another on the pub on my Petite Properties string awhile back. Most modellers in the UK use plumbers hemp. But it is very tedious as far as I am concerned.

Mike :)