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Comments
Dave
Once these dried, I continued to follow Mike Chambers recipe for "woodshack" wood. First, I distressed the wood. Second, I applied a grayish wash. Third, I distressed some more. Finally, I applied some black gouache with solvaset. See below.
When I applied the black gouache, I thought I totally screwed up. It was really black. However, I toned it down with more solvaset, steel wool, and distressing.
Now I have a dilemma. I like the final product, but I also like the wood that is out of the stain bath that has been simply distressed (before the wash). I know you guys are going to say, "choose what you like best," but I would like to get your opinion as to which one would be more appropriate for an old, broken down woodcutters shed in the South.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Phil
The wood looks good. I'd hold off on using the gouache and solvaset. I forgot that Mike included that part in those directions. It's an unnecessary step at this stage of the game and the risk of frustration outweighs the benefit. Go with your gut and use the stuff that came out of the stain. The shade you got is fine and there's just enough color variation. You got the exact result I would expect from using a 24 hour soak!
Use boards that are not wildly different in terms of color variation. That leads to the zebra "stripy" effect that Karl mentioned. Watch out for boards that have odd grain patterns (look at board #2 and #9 as you count from the right hand side …the grain pop out and will look out of scale on the building. Don't get rid of the entire piece…just work around those bad spots):
With the boards you choose, add some additional grain if you like (a dull #11 blade or some wire brushing), add a knothole here and there in a couple boards, and go over all of the boards with steel wool. You'll find that adds a bit of color variation, knocks down the fuzzies and warms up the wood.
Your first framing job looks real good. If you're having a hard time with the wax paper/spot glue method, you can use clear double stick tape right on the template to hold your framing timbers in place.
To thin acrylics, I usually just use tap water. Windex will work but pfft…plain old water does it too.
Keep at it!
Bill
I'll try my hand at knot holes and distressing and go to the next step. Phil
Great work so far my friend.
I like the different shades that you have achieved. May I ask why you didn't go the chalk and alcohol method?
Your getting a lot of good info from the guys here.
Jerry
A very light sanding can add detail and can replicate sun bleached areas one often sees on old exterior walls...
Wes, I used the chalk and alcohol method on my timbers. However, I didn't see as much variance and it involves a bit more work. Nevertheless if you need something quick, this is the way to go just like James' AI method.
Staining all of the wood at one time and getting natural variance seems to be the easiest method. I don't mind the 24/30 hours it takes because you are dealing with all the wood.
What all this tells me is that use of various methods should not be discounted. They each produce various and different results which can be incorporated into your build. You just have to know what each method produces so you can build your library of effects.
BTW, I plan to use this weeked to build, build, build. More photos on Sunday night.
Phil
Thanks for the excellent description and pictures.
Respectfully,
John
For my first try I believe I did a good job. What do you think? BTW on the front wall, I know the knot would not be in line with the timber. Also, there is some variance in teh wood coloring, but I don't believe I ended up with any "striping" that would be distracting, but what do I know - I'm a rookie. The bottom line is that I had a blast doing this. I really felt like I was building like I would on a 1:1 project. I'm really hooked now.
All feedback is greatly appreciated. Phil
I would suggest a bit of darker staining on the bottom planks to represent moisture that has started to penetrate the wood over the years. It will add another layer of realism to some beautiful work so far.
See an example in the link below.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98179361@N03/14780646751/in/photolist-oyC6Cd-ow7Fk6-oJEYp5-oSo7K7-p3gPBb-oX23Xk-pykuhe-p3gYud-oGZBft-pBexUg-oR1SHX-oxqLu1-oXtyCs-p24cpx-oVr9dZ-p5mvmn-ouWyaG-oHXaS5-pqgmPC-o7gC1y-nNowJM-p64CiB-pVmJfA-oEpexg-pyQJEK-pkaQVa-oQmmZV-pfnKXN-pbzjBw-owPGz4-oXXa8t-pxqxEh-oHs9Rt-pXxAB4-poUkUP-psoo4f-psSdHR-oTiuZG-oxw7bV-opvPdz-oJmpGp-oQq8i9-opP92T-oJxhSm-oRLobn-oJxhF9-p2AbF1-pFa5a8-oJAesP-poWLkh
One suggestion--be careful of the spacing on the boards. Front wall looks fine but the gaps in the back wall are starting to get too big (about the bottom 3 or 4 rows).
Remember to think in terms of scale. Some of those gaps are about as big as a guy's fist--it might get a bit drafty for the woodcutters in the fall and winter months!
So, how do you fix it? DON'T! Just leave it as is.
Keep that wall close by as you work so you'll have something to compare to.
But most importantly, the gaps on the bottom won't even been seen. They'll be hidden by scraps of wood, barrels, and other castings when it comes time to assemble all the components into the final diorama.
Generally, I try to keep the spacing between boards to about the thickness of a business card or an Xacto blade (give or take). However, nothing consistent--no discernible pattern.
All in all, I'd say you're right on track.
Looking forward to the next update!
Bill, thanks for pointing out the gaps in the back wall. It's easy to forget scale and get off kilter. This is a point I won't forget.
I saw your question about the trap. I am working on this kit right now and am just ahead of you on your build. On template A the timber on the side wall's edge is left off the right and left side of the end wall where the dotted line is. So when these timbers are left off and when you place the side wall against the front wall the truss sits on top and the boards overlap the ends of the front wall. The fire break will snug up agains the front wall end timber as well. Hence the idea for the trap ( very cleaver building aid). Hope this helps and makes some sense. Also be careful if you use double sticky tape with chaulked boards as the chaulk coloring comes off as I found out. It is not a big deal to fix with more chalk and alcohol.
Something else to consider is how the boards on the end walls and the front wall line up when glued together.
Great job on the build. Looking forward to more. Hopefully my rambling might help you.
Jim
Respectfully,
John
John, thank you for your comment. As the others have told me - the only way to get better is to jump in with both feet and give it a shot. Each time you do it you get better. I didn't like my first knot holes, but I figured out how to make them better the second time around.
Phil
I made my fair share of rookie mistakes, so I want to share with my other rookies so they don't make the same mistakes. First, don't overdo the distressing of the wood, especially with the siding. If you do, you make the siding very brittle. I was making my final trim on one side and three boards basically disintegrated on me. I had to replace them. I think I may have a few more brittle boards, but I'm hoping they will stay intact. Second, take a lot of breaks. I was rushing a bit to make up for lost time and I found myself making more mistakes.
Finally, a question to all. I would like to darken the lower part of all four walls to show the obvious aging. How do I do that?
Thanks again for all your support and guidance. Phil
Because the walls have horizontal siding it will be more difficult to use a 'wicking' approach to darkening the bottom of the boards with either A&I or stain.
Personally I would use a darker chalk that will blend with the colours you have. 408.3 is pretty safe and dark.
I would suggest that you only want the effect on the bottom two boards of the siding. Going from dark at the very bottom (ground) edge and fading into the wall colour by the top of the second board, the third board should not be touched... too high.
I would try to achieve this by dabbing the chalk (dry) along roughly the bottom half of the lowest board along one wall. then, tap off any excess chalk from the brush and brush with upward strokes along the wall, ensuring not to go to high as previously mentioned. This will leave the majority of the darker chalk along the bottom edge and fade it upwards on the siding in a un-uniform manner.
As always, try this out on a few scrap pieces until you get a feel for it. Even two wooden coffee stirrers edge to edge will give you a feel for how much chalk is needed and how much 'drag-up' you will get.
Also bear in mind that the front wall is on a deck/porch, meaning it would not get as much rising moisture, or dirt splash up or, whatever. Also there are several details protecting most of that wall so the effect should definitely be there so that it pokes through in exposed areas but not quite as heavy/high as the other walls.
Karl.A
John
First, I finished putting in the windows and trimming them. Guys, I am a total failure in putting in the windows. Is there a trick? I tried to glue them in, but they kept falling out. What am I doing wrong. Then I trimmed the back window upsidedown, but you will see that I partially fixed it.
At least I wasn't a failure at putting the walls together. I could have made more of an adjustment at the bottom, but it's not too bad for my first try. Then I followed Karl's suggestion at darkening the bottom siding by dabbing chalk and then brushing it up. Karl, you technique really worked well. Did I do it enough? I didn't want to overdo it.
Next, I worked on the floor, which was so much easier than the walls. Then I used the "wash" technique suggested by Brett in the instructions to get the floor boards a bit darker. I believe it worked very well and yes Brett, the grain really pops out. I then glued the floor to a really nice birch plywood piece. If I'm going to go to all this trouble, I want my work to rest on a nice piece of wood.
Finally, I worked on the shed. Here is a picture of one of the sides. I can do "very distressed."
I then built the trusses and put on the cross pieces. This was a lot tougher than I thought because I wanted it very even and square. Those 1/4" pieces really help.
Now I have my first question about the instructions. Brett says to cut 8 cross pieces. However, looking at the picture in the instructions and looking at the picture, don't I need 10? It looks like I need one more at the top and one more at the bottom.
What do you guys think? I'm not sure how much work I will get to do this Thanksgiving week, but I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving whether you are in the U.S. or not because I am very thankful for all the help and suggestion you have given me.
Phil
If you have not glued the structure down yet I would encourage you to use the minimum glue necessary to secure the structure...probably only in the corners. This will be enough to secure it and if you ever need to pry it up you can.
I think you are getting the hang of the build process. I love the colouring of the wood and it looks great when the walls are connected. As with you, I find the windiws a challenge and with a few more kits you will have perfected your own technique. For the caseings and trim its a peel and press, but with the window sashes, I put a few small dabs of glue on the edge of the sash and press them in from the back. It spreads the glue and hide any excess.
Marty
Marty, I'll keep trying on the sashes. I may need to snug in the timbers more so I have less play in the windows.
Phil