Heljan Danish Farm

[madharry]

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

[madharry]

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

[PRR Modeler]

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

[madharry]

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

[PRR Modeler]

I would start with a flat grey spray.

[ACL1504]

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

[madharry]

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

[GPdemayo]

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

[madharry]

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

[madharry]

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

[GPdemayo]

Neat build Mike  ......the roof looks like it needs a haircut. 

[madharry]

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 

[Janbouli]

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

[deemery]

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

[madharry]

Thanks very much Jan and Dave it is appreciated.
Mike