Taking Shape.

Its been a while since my previous post but due to the grind of daily life and the other daily problems life throws at us 24 hours just seems to fly.
The 1/24th scale Cobblers shop is finally progressing its had its fair share of problems in fact you may notice that from the first post i did on this project i have completely started the construction again which was a difficult decision as i had put a fair few hours work into it, being my first ever build i am bound to change certain things as it moves along.The following images are from the first full dry build of the project.

The main workshop area shown above has had all of the timber white washed  with the exception of the two main work benches which will retain there natural look.

The stair case has been changed and also white washed, also a sink has been added complete with a hand pump. The tiles were difficult to say the least and took me a couple of attempts to get the design right, these were individually made from Milliput and hand painted to a design which dates to around 1850.Working in this scale really does test ones ability to keep focused!

The shop will once built be quite small, i remember visiting this shop as a young boy with my farther and the main thing which stuck in my mind was all the furniture and cabinets were painted black and polished to a very high sheen, the smell once you stepped inside was a combination of polish and that old smell which many items from this age retain, I'm sure that we have all smelt this at some point in our life's, this shop was really also my first introduction to a timber framed building of this age and is more than likely where my interest and passion for buildings of this period began.

Now the ceiling joists are virtually complete hopefully everything else should just fall into place. The next phase of this build is to start work on the actual shop front and work on getting that right, i will still continue to use as many natural materials as i can to give as close a natural look as is possible.
Id just like to say a warm welcome to my new followers and thanks for taking an interest in my blog and the items i create and make :)
Have a wonderful and safe week everyone.   Tony.

Cobblers Shop progress.

Hi everyone ive been so busy over the past couple of weeks that ive had little or no time to sit down at home and update my journal, im now in a position to put my feet up for a while and enojy a coffea and relax a little.
As i mentioned in my previous post i have started doing some more work on my Cobblers shop, after chatting to other family members who remember more about the interior of this shop than i do i thought it nessasary to get the right finish,so took the decision to start again this was by no means easy as the two walls i had built had taken a considerable amount of time but i feel a lot happier for taking the decision and getting it right so in the past couple of weeks i have managed to reconstruct the walls and staircase and also most of the ceiling joists and beams all in oak, the floor is still the same. I have no doubts its not going to be easy to complete this build as i imagine other things will change as i progress, I do appologise for not posting any new images, hopefully these will be available at the weekend.
At the moment i am trying my hand at creating some mininature shoe boxes if anyone knows how to make these in 1/24th scale id be more than happy for any tips advice, also shoes and boots, is it possible to make/buy early victorian boots or shoes or does anyone know how to recreate them in this scale, again id be more than happy for any tips or suggestions, im delving into areas now i know nothing about and even though its my first build i dont just want the building itself to look right but also the contents too even down to the smallest details.Stay tuned for a further update with pics at the weekend.
Have a great week everyone   Tony.

Miniature Crystal Shrine.

Ive been a tad bored today resting my arm so i decided to have a look through some older pieces of work i still have. This particular piece i made while experimenting with different teqniques and materials it is made  from a type of modeling clay that dries hard over time, in total 14 seperate piece were produced and then assembled to create what you see here.



Placed inside is a piece of Welsh quartz while on top is mounted a beautiful cut piece of brazilian quartz with tiny inclusions there are also three pink spinels mounted around the top section. The piece measures 80mm in height by 25mm in width. I remember when i started out on this piece how much it kind of reminded me of a church font for some reason, this idea then led to the creation of another piece of work that is actually cabable of holding a perfume or liquid but thats another story!
I have placed this piece on my for sale page.
Have a great day.      Tony.

Dumbledore's Desk Complete.

I managed to put the finishing touches to this piece today and thought i would share the final shots with everyone. I have been struggling the last couple of days as i have more or less lost the feeling in my little finger and the one next to it on my right hand maybe its just a trapped nerve if it gets no better in a few days I'll go and get it checked out.

I do apologise for the photos as the sun was shining but i quite like the way some of them turned out.

I found it hard to not add a few documents to this piece of work, these will accompany the piece to its new home.

Ive also made a couple of pens which you can see in the ink well and the book rack which now sits at the front of the writing slope.

So there you have it, i hope it brings many hours of enjoyment for the new owner and i look forward to seeing it in its new home.I would also like to thank everyone who has followed this piece from the start and for there kind and inspiring comments.
I'm going to rest my arm up for the rest of the week then hopefully i want to try and get a little work in on my cobblers shop certain ideas have crept into my head and i would like to see how these work so hopefully next post should be to do with this project.
Have a great week everyone.    Tony.

Dumbledore's Writing slope.

This is the writing slope that accompanies the desk which i posted about last week.

Made from the same timber the desk is made from ( English Walnut ) i have also incorporated an ink well that is made from Engineers Chalk, This is a new material i have been experimenting with and even though is a very soft material is quite robust and a lot harder than the chalk which is used for blackboards and instead of being pure white has a lightish tint of green.

The above image shows the inkwell which is fully removable from the slope.

The desk showing the writing slope in its position most of the detail for this piece was reproduced in cooperation with the customer who has commissioned the work and also from various other images.

The inside contains a tiny draw and shelf, This commission piece is virtually complete now and hopefully i will post images of the fully finished piece next week, i have to say its been a thoroughly enjoyable piece to make even though it was trying at times!
A very warm welcome to my new followers and many thanks for taking an interest in my journal.
Have a wonderful week everyone.      Tony.