Bones Galore

I know, TWO posts in one day! Indulgent. I had some time before I head out to work so I thought I would take a couple of pics while working on my bones. I am working on the roof top and have time while the first layer dries.

 

 

Just testing some bone placement. I don't like the hands. They look cheesy but I'll let them "hang out" until I come up with something better. The throw-away parts of these skeletons are the hands, feet, and back rib cage. The spines can be used but take a lot of work to make them look decent.

 

I use wire cutters to snip each bone away from it's neighbor.

 

You can see the snip marks. I use finger nail files in various grits to sand them off. The plastic is really stubborn and will want to leave little "strings" behind. Just keep at it and use tweezers to pull them off if they insist on hanging on.

You can see what I mean by "string". More like a nib? Am I making up words as I go? These are stubborn with this type of plastic but they will go away with work. If you're really having a tough time, use your dremel sander. Just be careful to not apply too much pressure.

These bones are in the keep pile. The pelvic bones will serve as the top part of my bone wind chime.

 

After I have enough of these cleaned up I will show how to color them to make them look more realistic.



Happy Equinox!

 

 

The word equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator. It is my favorite time of the year hands down. This the time of the year when all my favorite things come: Sweaters, firewood, roasts with potatoes and gravy, soups, pumpkin ANYTHING, bright colored leaves, and of course Halloween! We have only seen the first hints of color changes here but the weather has certainly fallen right in line. The skies are darker and we are in the highs of upper sixties to barely seventy.

 

It is also the time of the year where I do not feel guilty for staying indoors working on minis all day. During the summer there is always that nagging feeling that you should go out hiking, camping, rafting, etc. to take advantage of the warm weather. Ya just don't have that in the Fall except for long walks to enjoy the colors while they last.

 

The portico is done and I am somewhat happy with the coloring. It was a bear to match up exactly but I am feeling OK with the final results. Tomorrow I will be finishing the front door and the portico will be attached permanently. Now all I need to do is finish all the windows, shutters, roof top, and shingles. Then comes the base and landscaping.

 

My new workroom is in order and I have already been working on some detail projects.

 

 

I picked up these skeletons at the Dollar Tree. They are about 5.5 inches so the scale is perfect for 1:12. They look kind of silly as is but I cut them up. Using snips, I cut each bone apart and then use emery boards to file down any nubs or snip marks. They can then be re-painted to look like realistic old bones. And they cost 25 cents each! Ya just can't beat that. I will be making a bone wind chime out of some and the rest will be place here and there. I can never have enough bones lying around! I may even incorporate some into furniture pieces.

 

If anyone is interested I can post a tutorial on how I convert these cheap skeletons into realistic additions for your Halloween mini scenes. Just let me know.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

 

Only in Portland, Oregon........

 

Only in Portland would you be sitting in the middle of a bridge, on a lawn (yes, lawn), having a brunch picnic, when two human flowers just show up and join you......

 

Only in Portland. It made me smile. Just thought I would share.

 

See, I do get out of my workroom occasionally! Speaking of my workroom, I have it nearly complete. I just need to get my paints organized by color on the shelving and my various small tools put in order. I should have the portico coloration done by this evening and the support beams added and aged. It took me a half hour yesterday to find my Super Glue Gel so I am still not quite as organized as I need to be but I am getting there.

Garth Manor seems right at home. I set up a six foot table so I have enough room to add and work on the landscaping base. Table still has clutter that needs to find a home.

Fortunately the parlor has two doors. One that leads to the front room( shown here) and entry, and the other that leads to the hallway and stairs. I am going to block the front entry to make room for this other table for side projects of a smaller nature. I need to start on my commercial pieces soon.

 

This room is so nice. Just has a very warm feel to it. The Manor will enjoy it's new home.

 

Have a great day!