It has been quite a while since I did any work on the mansion. It was looking fairly good, but the exterior design really bothered me. The "columned" look I was going for did not look right at all. I couldn't decide how to paint it and the various gaps and uneven corners were driving me nuts.
I always go to my standard solution when things are looking bad- the humble card strip. I took a sheet of paperboard and marked it off in 3/8" lines.
With my handy razor blade I carefully cut them out and then made about 50 more.
If you are attempting a project like this, take necessary precautions, namely: use a sharp knife, lay out sheets of cardboard to protect your desk, and keep all your cereal boxes so the evil recycling fairy doesn't take them away.
Also measure and cut carefully. That is important.
I started on the back of the house at the top. I reasoned that if I didn't like how it was turning out, this would be any easy tear-down and replace. I started at the bottom and carefully layered each strip over the top of the one below. I used a little white glue to stick them down and my old sprue cutters to nip off the edges.
I determined that it was looking good, so I went after the tower next. In order to get the pieces to lay flat, I had to slice off all my old trim pieces. This was a little tricky, but a very sharp knife helped out.
This tower took me quite a while to finish since there were a lot of small pieces to cut out around the windows.
As you can see, it is coming right along. I am not too worried about getting the corners super neat. I want it to look run-down and neglected. The rough corners give it a nice look. I also trimmed off the balcony-things that ringed the tower. What were those for?
I briefly considered using balsa wood for this project, but there are a lot of places where the siding needs to bend. Also, it would have likely been too thick. I am going to paint the thing anyway, so card was my best option.
The siding will be painted to match the shingles, but in a darker shade. The siding will be black, with just a hint of blue-gray on the highlight.
The round tower will get some kind of stone treatment. Not quite sure what it will look like, but perhaps I think of something later.
Here is a close up of the work. The boards are uneven and ill-fitting. Perfect. It finally looks like a haunted house!
Now I only have the two main floors to go. Wish me luck!
-Maniple
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