Monday, December 2, 2019

Decisions, Decisions.....




Kit Bashing Continued....

You Might recall, Dear Readers, that I was hesitating to add the stones to the exterior of the Dollmaker's Studio ground floor while I had not decided how to fix the warped floor. After much thought and second guessing my original plan, I decided that I did not want to raise the floor level by adding any thickness to it in the hopes that thickness would defeat the warp. I think that eventually I will be firmly attaching the building to a base and that will have to be the "warp reversing" moment. Until then I have too many other parts that still need to be wrangled, and I am choosing to ignore the floor. It is supposed to be an "Old" building, after all! With that non-decision made, I continued to add the "stones" around the opening for that lovely door. At least I was certain that I could do this without getting too far ahead of any of the other "corrections" I needed to make to the structure.

I added the keystones next so I could be sure
 they were mostly centered above the door...

I needed to pad the opening at the left shoulder.... 
my cutting for the opening was a little off...
and the stones need to be snug against the door frame.

I was trying to keep the stones roughly even in size...

I think they ended up okay.
And now the door looks like it was made for this opening
 instead of the other way around!
And because I had last week off from work, Dear Readers,
 I was able to take the time to fiddle 
with the frame work of this structure.

I apologize for the dark pictures... 
I was just testing ideas and not taking good pictures.
I wanted to see the "whole" structure
 so I added the kit roof panels.
You can see that the side walls of the upper floor are not straight...
 since the kit has been "expanded" the floor
 no longer holds the shape of the walls properly.
I was going to need to add a "framework"
 to tie the walls together sturdily.

Then I thought maybe I could reverse the end wall
 so the little porch balcony was on the opening wall side
 instead of on the back wall.... 
this would allow more solid wall space in the interior...
So I gave it a try....

It would also make the extension created by the "Vignette" kit
 look less cluttered and more like an old Tudor building...

This really is a small kit.... 
the ground floor with the warp ignored....

Upstairs room with the door closed in 
where the balcony would have been... 
now there can be a wall for shelves of some sort...
And the large window on the end wall 
temporarily placed using the kit pieces...

And the attic.... 
still in the very undesigned stage.....

The frame I will be using for the end wall window....
just propped in place for testing...

I might still keep the little dormer 
on this side and add a tiny window....
We shall see!
But meanwhile it became Obvious that
 I needed to extend the sturdy framework
 of the front opening wall....

Because the upper storeys would also need to have hinging doors to close...

There was only the small upper section of 
the plywood wall to attach the posts to.....
So I used extra screws.

And once the front posts were in place, 
I could properly measure for the crossbeam 
needed to join them at the ceiling height.

And I could see that I would also need to add
 another support post at the back corner where the 
Tower stairs would join the building...
 which also required correcting the 
warped corner of the plywood 
with More Screws!

Here you can see the two posts where the Tower will attach.
 The left hand door is the entrance to the tower stairs...

And the crossbeam that will brace the upper floor 
and the frame for the opening side doors...
Firmly screwed in place!
And after all that jostling and bumping....
I decided I better glue those stones onto the floor...

Before I lost track of how they fit...

See... I am ignoring the warped floor for now!

But here you can see the upper walls propped in place
 with the new sturdy posts... I just have to trim off all those tabs...
And I really wanted to get the rest of the front opening wall doors cut...
 I just forgot to take any pictures.

Here it is being tested for fit 
before drilling and screwing it in place...

Here the rough panels are attached. 
The little balcony will attach on the opening panel
 and the door will open inward....

Here the door has been added... 
the size of the balcony will need to be carefully fit
 within the opening part of the front wall.

That is as far as I got on the Dollmaker's Studio, Dear Readers...
Every step required three times of taking everything apart and thinking again...
but such is the Nature of Kit Bashing!
You get to take everything apart....
 and throw out the instructions....
But you need to be prepared
 to make lots and Lots of Decisions!

And in case you wanted to know... 
the day before Thanksgiving...
 all the leaves had fallen from the Lilac at The Folly...

And the low winter sun reached way into the room...
and then Last night it Snowed!

I could not resist having a little Snow Day....
But Alas... there was no sun to shine in....
I will be sure to let you know when it does...!


10 comments:

  1. I love the light through that door! And with the window over it, it'll be so pretty.

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  2. Hi Betsy! Yes, old buildings often aren't very straight of floors, walls and roofs, so I think you are right to leave it like this. But although it will be quite a job to get things attached to crooked walls and floors, it will look authentic to these houses.
    The brickwork around the doors looks good, and what great idea for reversing those walls, and together with the extension of the vignette kit, it really looks like it's a Tudor building.
    It's so clever of you for thinking out the frame of supporting posts this crooked house needs. Since I'm at this very moment doing the same for the build of my mini farm (working in the space I'm busy with and doing lots of calculating work due the lack of the sizes of this farm in RL), I truly understand how complicated this job for you is ;).
    Oh, so wonderful to see that your Lilac Tree has lost his leaves, and caught some last rays of the sun AND flakes of the first snow :)! It was a lot of work to create this tree (even 'dressed (or not ;O)' for all of the four seasons!) but it looks so beautiful!!!
    Hugs, Ilona

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  3. Those doors are really incredible, and nestled into the stones they become even more of a fantastic feature! I love the facade changes! And I really hope you decide to keep the dormer and pop a special window in there! What a magical structure this is turning out to be!
    Adding the framework has really given it the sturdiness needed, and I love the idea for the balcony and door! It's going to look so neat!
    I can't wait to see the winter lilac shrub covered in ice and snow and lit up with the sunshine!

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  4. I can only say all the decisions you've made so far appear to be just the right ones - what you've done with this kit and what you're intending to do is just awesome and very special… although there are many problems on the way that need to be screwed down. Comfort yourself with the hinges. *grin*

    The door with the arch stones already looks beautiful and I like the idea of having this big window panel and a Tudor style. But wait… I hear a voice in the wind of dreams… first just a whisper but it's getting louder… and it's singing "Christmas project… Christmas project"... ;O) No, I still don't give up… just imagine all of this with Christmas garlands etc. - but okay... whatever you're going to do with this it will become breathtaking in the end.

    And I've so enjoyed the seasonal changes of the lilac tree and the sudden snow - so cute how the top of the garden gnome's hat is peeping out of the snow. Enjoy your next decisions!

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  5. The door with the arch stone is fantastic!

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  6. I read the blog last Tuesday, and then found I was shut out from my email and blogger - I hope I can post this today. I was impressed by how much time you had to spend making decisions, and wondered what the little building is meant to be? Standing next tot he castle?
    Love you,
    Mom

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  7. Las decisiones llevan su tiempo,pero el resultado es fantástico! tus ventanas y puertas han quedado maravillosas,con el arco de piedras,le aporta un interés extra!!
    Que maravilloso cambio de estación con tanta nieve!!!
    Besos.

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  8. Your decision making process is working wonderfully. Love the door with the arch stone is fantastic and the windows are perfect for this too. A lot of work I see and all of it is paying off!

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  9. I love the way that the dollmakersworkshop progresses. Tudor is in my mind a great style for the building. It will be quite romantic.

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  10. Hi, Betsy - Whew! That's a lot of decisions, but so far they all seem to be the right ones; your kit bashing is progressing beautifully. I love that big door, and the stones around it set it off to perfection. The stone floor is going to be a beauty when it's finished. I'm sure you'll solve the warping problem when the time is at hand. It was a good idea to just ignore it for now so that you can move on. The Folly's Snow Day scene is lovely, even without the sunshine!
    Marjorie

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