Old Farmhouse Roombox, part 2

There is something I meant to ask you, my mini friends: How do you handle all the various media? Facebook, Instagram, Blog?

The basic question is, of course, why are we publishing things?

• In the first place, everybody needs a bit of recognition.
• 2ndly, one can share experiences and be inspired by others.
• And then there is the interaction with others because building minis is not exactly someting you do in a team... 😏

 I thought I will make life easier and cancel one of these channels, but it seems that

• Miniature groups and personal friends can only be reached via FB... 
• Instagram is a 'must' because many people changed from FB to this
• And a blog is the place where one can get a bit more detailed than just showing pix

Good and valid reasons to keep going in all the media channels. But maybe you have a clever system as to what info goes where? If so - please share!

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Ok, back to minis!

My room box is coming along. 

The ceramic oven was trial and error process. After talking to Tiny Ceramics, I realized that they did not have corner pieces, only flat tiles. I then made a model with paper covering. It looked nice - but definitely not real enough.

So, I turned to foamed PVC - not quite sure how I could get the glazed look though.

Samples, samples, samples...

In the end, it was simple: I spray painted it with acrylic, then dry brushed the gaps with brown acrylic and allowed a 'used' look by not cleaning it all off the tiles, and finished it with clear gloss.

Chairs: 

The back rest had to be laser cut. But I don't have a local library like Kristine, where this could be done and I only wanted to ask Carol as a last resort. After many phone calls I finally found someone locally who does small jobs like this one 😄

The slanted legs would be an issue - I knew that! So, I had my son do a bit of a cheat and he designed the bottom part so that I could 3d print them ;-). Now I just have to finish the paint job - but I first want to make the table as well.

The master piece of this room box is definitely this walnut cupboard!

Plotting the lock shields did not work - the machine could not handle these 1cm pieces. I was very disappointed. But as I walked out of the hobby shop, I spotted some interesting and very cheap scissors! Another 'yeah'!!! 

key production...

So, this is where I am at now.

I don't like that piece of furniture I made on the left under the window - it doesn't look 'farmy' enough and competes with the cupboard. An old-fashioned chest would probably look better....

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You might have noticed that I had a few new things designed in 3D. Reason for this was not really that I needed them but my son stayed with me for two weeks after his knee operation and was terribly bored and sorry for himself! I grabbed this situation and made him do CAD work for board/lodging, coffee service and the occasional warm meal 😀😀😀 But I think he quite enjoyed it as well, especially designing the beer crate...

Printed in 'Frosted Ultra' and then colored with permanent felt pen the bottles remain translucent

    

Now, I wish you all a great week ahead, sunshine, spring feeling and all!

My bike is already in action again 😊

Marion

3D printables

I was invited by my friends in Germany to join them at the 1:12 Fair in Rheda this weekend.
But they wanted me to bring something along that I could show...

I am catching a train and there is no way to take along a model. But what I could share are the sturdier things that I have available in my Shapeways shop, printed in 3D.

So, very hectic weekend/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday designing and making the showcase (lightweight using foam board, dismantable for transport), paint some of the items that were in the raw plastic state and putting them into scene.

Spraying color on cardboard/foam board was tricky because - as we all know - it tends to suck up the moisture and then all is ruined. A primer doesn't do the trick either - same issue.
I sprayed very light coats - about 8 of them - and the damage was minimal because I used weights as well. Question of patience though because of all the waiting in between...

Not happy with the 'roof' and lettering - but time was limited and it will have to do for now...

These industrial lampshades are printed in metal and the weight is supposed to make them hang nicer than the lightweight ones... 

First time I installed this lampshade - used a 'pear' LED lamp

Same thing - as a bowl or as a lampshade

Ah, and then - how to make this stable? I made a great construction of wood, magnets, velcro and foam board, painted it and it was all ready when I spotted these two things behing a box in the studio! It could have been so easy...
I attached to magnet strips to the back and they snapped right on!! And now it is rock solid :-)

Hey, have a great week!

This and that...

I am a bit stuck with my beach hut: Pierluigi (Pimini) from Italy has not sent me the two-plate gas hob yet. Because I cannot get to the kitchen area once I glue the house together, the walls are just taped together, at the moment.

Bildunterschrift hinzufügen

With all the goodies I got in Chicago this hut is more than full... 😏. Not quite my usual style - but then my son reckons is looks like a perfect hang-out for the surfers! He added the binoculars and got me to make a weed plant ... a must have for the boys 😉

Outside shower has still to be installed

Please note the beer crates - a rare find!

Not only did I learn how to make a boat and carve surfboards - but with excellent tutos I made as well a fishing net and glass floats!

Another issue is how to photograph this properly? I mean, Switzerland is not exactly known for sandy surf beaches 😏 I know quite a few sandy spots at the lakes but - surprise - there are always mountains in the back!!
Any ideas are welcome!

But I was busy with other things as well. I added more chairs to my Shapeways shop - mainly modern ones. They turned out great but sanding and painting them does usually take some time...

Sturdy Softshell Chair - difficult to cover with fabric so I opted with chalky paint

Dainty...I am amazed how they can print this!

This is as is with legs and all

This model is 'seat only' and I attached real wooden legs - took me a while ;-)

The industrial lampshade is great as well and I want to try this asap. Because it can be printed in metal it should hang perfectly.

Printed in matte black steel - a bit too rough for my liking,
I will try a different polished metal next time

And then I started my next project!!
More about this in my next blog...

And yes - it is definitely not a room box!

Here what I would like to share with you though:

Just dicovered wood veneer fabric from Halbach!
This opens new possibilities...

For minis the 'stone' s best because of the fine grain

Not sure if you know this tool - but I simply could not do without it!
Measurement marking ruler -- also available in metric version

So, enough for today!
Regards, Marion 

3D printing of miniatures

This week, the winners of the Miniature House Contest of Shapeways (3D printing company) were announced.
Congratulations to the winners Otterine, Aliceminiatures and Paperdollminiatures!
I was very chuffed to see that some winners used products I have in my Shapeways shop :-)))

Here the link to all the entries for this contest

Let me share with you how producing 1:12 items in 3D works:

I started printing in 3D because  the choice of design furniture in 1:12 is very limited - could not find what I wanted to buy. And: I did not fancy making 6 of the same, e.g. chairs...

So, I went to a 3D design workshop - just to find out that this would mean spending lots of time at the computer until I was good enough to draw what I had in mind! Definitely a no-go!!

Getting the drawings/files:

I search the internet for original 1:1 files of a specific product. Many manufacturers offer DWG files on their websites for architects and these can be downloaded for free. The best source for buying files of design furniture is Turbosquid for contemporary furniture models. Here a list of a few others:

• Designconnected
• Archive 3D
• TF3DM
• Model 3D
• 3Dmodelfree

At first, I commissioned a friend of my son for the drawing part. But his speed and my speed differed somewhat and I did not want to wait forever until he could had time for my things ;-). So, I changed to a professional, Vijay at http://www.dotsan.com/ I found on Shapeways. He does a great job, is affordable and really fast! My thinking was that the drawing costs would be balanced out with money I saved while doing minis rather than hitting the cinemas and all ;-)

Running a shop and selling products to others:

Shapeways offers the possibility to have a 'shop' - meaning that I could share my models with everybody. I think that this is a great idea because there must be other frustrated mini builders out there having the same problem as I have!!

My shop at Shapeways

The 'shop' is not a money maker because I have a mark-up of 10-15% on all items I sell there. It would take many years to get anywhere close to cover the design costs.. And Shapeways has the naughty habit of regularly changing their printing machines and suddenly files are not printable any longer! So, my designer has to update files (not for free of course..).

You see that there is no way that anyone can make money with 3D printed minis if drawing is done by a 3rd party: the development and maintenance cost are high and the demand is limited.

But maybe you want to give it a try for something you desperately want? Just let me know if you run into problems - I gladly share my experience in 3D printing.