Village Blacksmith step by step

[dargrin]

Is Christmas Village a store? 

I would like to pick some of this stuff up because I have to paint mine  :icon_ermm:

[Theomar Pius]

Is Christmas Village a store? 

I would like to pick some of this stuff up because I have to paint mine  :icon_ermm:

No, I think I got it from Michael's arts and crafts.
Christmas village is just a bunch of decorations they sell, a scale village decked out for christmas. There are actually a lot of good stuff available, trees, lights, barrels, roads. Made by lemax.
http://www.lemaxcollection.com/
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1/105-9449060-4837252?ie=UTF8&rs=1095304&rh=n%3A1055398%2Cn%3A1057794%2Cn%3A1063278%2Cn%3A3735061%2Cn%3A1095304%2Cp%5F4%3ALemax&page=1

[Custom_Hobby]

THe project looks great. The finished piece will be stunning.

[Theomar Pius]

Because of space limits, I decided to do the forge area first, before I glue the pavilion in place.
I simply spread a thin layer of glue, and sprinled a few layers of different grain sand. Painted brown, tan, grey.
I also began the process of building the ground up. I came to the conclusion last year that just because the ground is flat, doesn't mean the ground is flat. I shave thin pieces of foam and glue them in place to make the ground un even. I find that if the ground is lumpy, or has some inclines, it is more interesting. In this case, it's just a little bit to join the road to the terrain around it.

You can also see the "privat" sign, noting that it is a private staircase to the smiths apartment. I also put a sword rack on the stairs, as a way to disply his wares to passer-by's. Oh, and some firewood for making charcoal to fuel the forge.

[Theomar Pius]

I had to make a sign for the smiths shop, so I figured that since the blacksmith is an artisan of sort, that his sign would be a bit ornate.
So I made this one out of a silver bead, some cut copper rings, some un-cut copper rings, and toothpicks. The sign itself is from the Tamiya 1/48th sign set. The spearheas is from GW high elves.

[Custom_Hobby]

Ther sign is a terrific touch and looks great!

[Theomar Pius]

Things are really moving along now.

Last summer I came to the conclusion, that even flat level ground is usually not flat and level. Besides that, having the ground being somewhat uneven makes for a more interesting piece.
The top pic shows how I do this. I take a piece of scrud* foam, and shave small pieces off and glue them in place, building up the ground making it uneven.

2nd pic shows some basic landscaping, dirt, pebbles, and rocks carved from foam. The basecote of green is also painted.

3rd pic has the dirt painted, as well as the rocks.

Now it's ready for flock and soon, detailing. The home stretch is in sight.

[Baldemyr]

That is AMAZING-thanks for taking the time to show that.

[Custom_Hobby]

This thread is actually a terrific tutorial.

[Theomar Pius]

back to christmas village stuff, I just ordered a bunch of barrles from lemax through amazon.
$2 for three resin barrles, it's a pretty good price.
Once they arrive I'll be pretty much done with this piece.

here is a link to those barrels.
http://www.amazon.com/Lemax-Christmas-Village-Collection-Barrels/dp/B000VP8USS/ref=sr_1_1/103-2797990-9072601?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1193428638&sr=8-1

[Custom_Hobby]

Those are nice and the price is great. I need to check them out.

[Theomar Pius]

I used those same barrels on the towne gate, if you want to check them out.

However, the ones I got were glued to a different resin pice, with some crates. I'm fairly sure though, that the ones I used were the smaller of the sizes in the amazon link.


On now to, dirt cheap mushrooms and toadstools.

First, I take some white glue, and roll it up into football shaped balls. I've seen people use green stuff for this, but wads of glue work, and cost next to nothing.
After they are hardened, cut them in half.
Take some small pins, cut them in half.
Seperate the halfs with the head, as those are now mushrooms!
Glue the cut glue halfs onto the other ends of the pins.
You can paint them colorful, like red with spots from super marion, but around here, the mushrooms are white or bone. I painted these bleached bone. Put a dab of glue on the stem and push them in place.

[Theomar Pius]

This is the last update in the WIP thread. The next time you see this piece, it will be finished in the member gallery.

http://www.customhobby.com/forum/index.php?topic=1413.0


1st pic: When I do flockong, I always start wih a course flock around the base of the building. This both gives an unkept look to the building itself, but it also hides the joint between the building and the ground.

2nd pic: Finished flock. I sprinkle the main color flock, in this case a burnt color for mannish terrain, greener for elvish. Any thin spots in the flock gets an almost yellow, burnt flock, giving the impression of dirt poking through.

3rd pic: Clump foliage representing shrubbery, and long grass continuing the unkept, wild look. Despite Sam Gamgee, I doubt there were all that many gardeners. You can also see a few of the mushrooms from earlier, and a few horse ties on the building. The tie downs are made from a small piece of styrene and a couple of copper rings.

4th pic: The front door with a couple of the lemax barrles, and a coachlight made from a silver bead. You can see a road apple in the foreground. That is made from a ball of glue, painted brown. No big deal there.

5th pic: A wheelbarrow from GW, another coachlight made from a silver bead, and some embelishments from GW.

All in all this was a fun little project. A big part of the fun was the wip/ tutorial, so thanks everybody who pitched in and listened to my ramblings.

[Custom_Hobby]

The finished piece can be viewed here: http://www.customhobby.com/forum/index.php?topic=1413.0