Wednesday, 27 November 2024

FutureForgeOnline Hobbit House 1 + 2 (a)

 


As you can see, the roof soil has been delivered 
and sown with good quality grass seed.


The grass is up already and the chimneys finished and potted.
Both pots are pieces of ball point pens.
I've topped the chimneys with card painted in Dark Earth
as I thought the FFO one was rather too smart
compared with my home made one.
The 'caps' bring them together. 
A bit of wall washing now needed and a garden of sorts.


As I'm out of rocket stick I've tried to make window sills etc
from coffee stirrers glued together.


The first Hobbit House might have had pigs in the back yard
but I thinks it looks too smart for that.
It will still need some fencing though and here are a couple of experiments.
Split coffee stirrers and barbeque skewers.
The darker pieces are the window sill/fence post experiment.


A start on house number two with corner verticals as on the first one.
Unfortunately the rocket stick supply problem
brings thing to a halt.

Monday, 18 November 2024

FutureForgeOnline Hobbit House 1

 


Two blocks of polystyrene topped and tailed with foam board 
make the body of this Hobbit House.

I know we are all used to these characters burrowing
but Tolkien does say that Michel Delving has some houses.

He suggests they are brick built
but some are of stone construction, as you see evolving here.

The stone plasti card was donated by Bob, across the village,
along with many other goodies.
Many thanks Bob!


Rescaled windows provided by Future Forge Online.
The planking is coffee stirrers inscribed,
painted with Dark Angels Green,
then dry brushed with Camo Green.
The beams were a piece of luck.
I'm nearly out of rocket sticks
but the kids turned up with Toffee Apples!


More windows awaiting varnish
(glazing)


The front door in situ.
Again FutureForgeOnline.
The central beam is a Magnum stick, inscribed etc.
Painted with Rhinox Hide, dry brushed with Balor Brown,
as were the main roof beams.
The corner verticals are of timber corner moulding.


Door and windows now all fixed.


Styrene 'roof' being shaped up.
Roof support beams (RHS) are awaiting paint.


Here those beams are painted and fixed.


Styrene cut down to size using hot wire cutter.
A layer of filler/glue mix now applied.


Started to apply Brown Earth
but realised that chimneys were not fixed.
Now they are but awaiting pots.
The left one is rocket stick, the right one is FFO.

Computer has had problems for past fortnight or so,
hence delay in posts.



Saturday, 2 November 2024

FFO Hobbit Holes 7


The 'Mayors house' has been grassed
 and a fence of balsa (posts)
 and coffee stirrers constructed and painted.
As it's a fiddly job,
I sprayed it using 'Firefly Green' from FOW.


The stepping stones are from a cork beer mat
bought from Madeira 20 odd years ago.
Painted dark grey and dry brushed light,
they look OK, if a little large for Hobbit strides.
Think of them as stops when weeding.


The fence glued in and some flowers planted,


and from above.


A balsa post with a chain pinned to it instead of a gate.

I'd hoped to use a similar idea for the Mathom House
 but couldn't find any chain.
I might go back to it.


Overview.



 

FFO Hobbit Holes 6

Many moons later-

I've made a decision about that chimney and, using a 6d rocket stick painted in 'Dark Earth', marked out, then dry brushed light grey, I think I have a reasonable looking partner to the bell-tower chimney stack. The pot itself is just the usual hex bodied pen.


A big improvement on this type of building


The addition of rock balls* for the gateposts and a large post box for all the Mayoral mail
 makes this one complete.


*I did wonder about having gold balls for the gate
but thought that would be a tad too showy.