Wednesday 30 December 2009

Day one.......Preparation !




I have a confession to make.........................I'm a bit of a botcher ! Well, that should read I WAS a bit of a botcher. Having made more than a few kits up previously I have not been known for my patience. The excitement of a new kit usually results in a fully built dolls house by the end of the day, with more than a few accidents , a few nails poking out here and there and then weeks struggling to get into the nooks and crannys to decorate it all.

This time its all different ! I have prepared !!!!
In an unheard of move I actually took the sandpaper provided and sanded down the parts I was going to prepare.
I hate sanding ! The raspy sound of it,the feel of it on my fingers, everything about it makes me shudder so its a step I always skip but what a difference it has made doing this properly. Once my three outer walls with door openings were sanded I sanded the doors too then coated the wood on all sides and edges with sealer.
Feeling very proud of myself I then began to tackle the shop front window.
This went together very easily and as you can see, the damage to the corner of the top is barely noticeable after a little sanding.








Then my enthusiasm got the better of me and I started on the paint work...................................then realised
MDF needs priming too !
As you can see from this picture my lovely aubergine enamel paint just sunk right intothe mdf in a very uneven fashion.
Well you live and learn so once dry a coat of sealer sorted that out and I'm now busy painting over it with the enamel paint. 2 coats should have my shop front looking beautiful.
Before assembling the front of the shop I will be painting the inside of the window too, a lovely antique creamy white . The shop name plinth will be left till last as its almost impossible to decorate it without lying it flat.
I have the shop doors to paint too before I can start assembling the house. Double doors at the front, a door for the tradesmans entrance at one side and the side door leading to the accommodation above the shop.
All this preparation takes time but it will all be worth it and I have learned its almost impossible to paint the doors properly once they are fitted into the frames.
So far so good............................
julie xxx





5 comments:

Tabitha Corsica said...

Yep...sand, seal, prime, paint. No way around it. But it's going to look fab! I popped over to a site that sells this shop and looked at the close-up "assembled" photos. What a great building with such detail! I'll be following your progress.

Tabitha

Michelle said...

I must confess that I sand like mad! lol You just can't beat the final finish and look if you do the prep work. ;o) Be careful about MDF dust though as it's not good for anyone, even better if you open a window a little. :o) I love the paint colour you have chosen...MDF can be troublesome to paint as it takes both stain and paint differently from proper/real wood! I would have warned you if I'd known better. Looking good so far! ;o))
Michelle xx

rudoo said...

I love the front!! It looks to be very well made. Looks like it will be heavy. I am going to have to go check out this company.
Jonna

julie campbell said...

Hello Tabitha and Michelle, yes I am now realising that sanding is the only way ! In fact I'm sanding between coats of paint too, really want a nice finish on this :0)

Hi Jonna, its a very nice quality kit and yes I think it is very heavy, It needed two of us to lift the box onto the table !
Once its in built I dont plan on moving it much !
julie xxx

Whittaker's Miniatures said...

The shop front already is looking great Julie, look forward to seeing it in its new colour. Im just like that, Im too impatient and want it done like yesterday!!!lol xxx