PlaymoFriends
General => Collector's Corner => Topic started by: Emma.J on June 05, 2010, 23:07:15
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:wave: Hello friends, this is a story of a failed Inn and a bigger house.
I've mentioned this project before and I'll finally gotten around to starting this topic. I've recently decided to take reference photos of new building designs so I can see what works and where I might need to improve on things or if it just looks silly. Because of this, this is my only building that I've got pictures of from the start - I wont say till the end as this will be months away yet so I hope every one will have a bit of patience as I work on my house in dribs and drabs.
I apologise for the quality of the photos as I didn't originally intend to share them. :-[
Ok first off I'll explain how I got the idea :!: I was a fan of Lego as a kid and loved to build bigger and better castles, this has lead to my obsession in later life to build bigger houses and palaces than normal, and now I've turned to the medieval buildings.
So my manor house actually started as an idea to make a coaching inn with a courtyard.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15050.jpg)
The main problem with making a larger building is getting windows on anything but the very front walls. I thought if I used a row of door walls I could make each into rooms and have a balcony running along the front.
So my next thought is what shape of roof do I use? A sloping in one ...
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15136.jpg)
or a straight end one?
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15139.jpg)
I decided the straight end but this was a bit too big a building for the parts I had, but I wanted to keep the archway so I made it slightly smaller.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15144.jpg)
Not bad but I still had problems with the walkway.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15068.jpg)
This I thought was pretty good, downstairs on the left is the common room, on the right the kitchen with a stable behind, and three bedrooms upstairs, with more lodgings in the attic.
The more I looked at it the more I thought the shape is wrong plus I've got loads of bedrooms and this would get boring to furnish so I decided to turn it into a house .....
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:wave: I hope your all still with me?
So here is the first look at what will now become a manor house.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15155.jpg)
As you can see I've gotten rid of the archway and added an extra floor to the front of the house. Not enough windows at the front so I wondered what it would look like with a lower roof to try and add more windows to the front. :eh?:
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15140.jpg)
NOPE not a good idea :no:
This is the rear view of the house just a straight back with windows.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15158.jpg)
What I really wanted was to make a house out of just the Tudor walls without any castle parts showing. The only way to add Tudor window walls was to extend the back out so the house is a giant "H" shape.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15169.jpg)
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Very interesting Emma. I am enjoying seeing your designing "thoughts" .
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So cool Emma!!!
This is great, lots of progress photos! :)
I love the beginning of your Tudor Mansion! :love:
Not all Tudor Mansions are the H shape.
Some are just a U like what you have now.
May I make a suggestion?
Keep the back of the house completely open so you can reach in for fiddling/playing... ;)
You can take pictures easier too.
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Emma this is fantastic!!! Well done!!! I really love your step by step process, thought, and experimentations!!! You gave me some ideas for the inn i want to plan for my medieval castle!!!
Thank you very much!!!
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haha, I liked the inn with the archway, it reminded me of the Prancing Pony!
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This is looking great Emma! :o
I can't wait to see the finished one! 8-)
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Lots of interesting ideas, Emma Keep them coming.
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.... You gave me some ideas for the inn i want to plan for my medieval castle!!!...
Well I'm glad I could help, as you can see I didn't have many Tudor parts that's why I've had to build with my Potters etc while I tried to work out the layouts.
haha, I liked the inn with the archway, it reminded me of the Prancing Pony!
I had to think twice about where I knew the "Pony" from but I've got it now. I will go back and do an Inn sometime when I've got a bit more room.
......Not all Tudor Mansions are the H shape.
Some are just a U like what you have now.
May I make a suggestion?
Keep the back of the house completely open so you can reach in for fiddling/playing... ;)
You can take pictures easier too.
Hi W.O.T,
thanks for the suggestion, but the back has to be filled in so I can use the Tudor window walls. As you'll see from the next set of photos I've left the sides open instead.
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I salute you steck work. Actually it has given me a few ideas for my designs. I really like the buildings, the archway reminds me of a house in Guildford city centre ... Really like it and look forward to see more. steck is the best , best , best and possibilities are endless !!!! look forward for more pictures !!! ;D
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:wave: Well now I've got my basic build a giant H shape, it's time to set out the internal layout. I wanted a kitchen, entrance hall / stairway, banquet hall, bedroom, study, alchemists room and servents quarters.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15170.jpg)
The bottom floor is the kitchen with a study above to the left and a long L shaped corridor on the right and down the middle. This I thought may be a long gallery.
Below is a close up of the corridor.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15173.jpg)
As you can see from above this places part of the stairs in the kitchen which can be used for storage. I like to thow some basic funiture in my rooms as I'm building to get a better idea if the layout will work so the next two photos give a better idea of what it might look like.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15187.jpg)
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15188.jpg)
And the floor above.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15185.jpg)
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nice , nice , nice !!!!! i bet it will look awesome when complete with klickies. Steck and especially the vivid colours, red, blue, yellow , green are the best !!!!
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Great plannign in the rooms Emma!!! Well done!!!
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Great work Emma! Love the pictures. Usually when I start building I am to focussed to take pictures. So I admire your constraint and ability to take a step back and take the pictures!
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This is looking really good Emma, well done :clap:
Elaine
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Brilliant!
And opening the sides of the house was a much better move now that I think about it!
Just the way the Tudor houses are shaped
Makes opening the sides a much better idea. :)
Can't wait to see more! ;D
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emma
it is fun to listen to your planning process. i bet the klickies in your collection are fighting over who gets to live there.
kaethe
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Dear me! 8} :o 8}
I can´t believe it - you are doing it again - creating another masterpiece!
WOW!!!!!
It´s phantastic!!!!
I am sorry, the archway had to go, I liked it very much!
But your room plans.... :love:
Wait and see! ;)
Daniela
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...... Usually when I start building I am to focussed to take pictures. So I admire your constraint and ability to take a step back and take the pictures!
:wave: Hi Gis, I wish I was that noble but I did it for a simply practical reason, I didn't have enough parts to build several layouts at the same time. So the only way to compare them was to build one, take a picture then use the bits to build the second.
The Staircase
Now this is where I keep changing my mind about the internal layout. As you've seen on the last post I have the stairs going across the back wall of the kitchen. This was for two reasons 1) storage space under the stairs, 2) the staircase is longer than a Tudor wall. But it's a bit awkward if you wanted to walk a figure up and down the stairs. 8} Yes I'm a bit too old for playing with klickies but I like to plan things with "play" in mind.
The answer is to turn the staircase 90 degrees and have it behind the front door wall. I tried it in both postions here, against the wall which looked good or against the open frame. I went with the second option mainly so I could have a straight corridor joining the two sides together.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15176.jpg)
Now the eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted that this picture above shows a slightly smaller building of two and a half rooms in length from front to back. This was because when I changed from a "U" shaped building to a "H" I didn't want to use a lot of castle steck so the back was shorter. The pictures I've got aren't really in chronological order but more to illustrate an idea.
When looking at the back of the house the stairs have to go down from the left side so you cant see under the stairs, they also have to start off inside the kitchen otherwise they'd end up cutting into the banquet hall and just blocking the main door.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15174-1.jpg)
But like all great ideas I do keep changing my mind about where the stairs are going :lol: 8}
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But like all great ideas I do keep changing my mind about where the stairs are going :lol: 8}
And that is why steck is so much fun!!! Good work Emma!! I like your explanations of design as you go along... !!!
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:wave: glad every one is enjoying this as I waffle on 8}
A quick round up
Front of house, kitchen to right with it's own door, main hall to left with bedroom above.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15155-1.jpg)
Left side of house showing kitchen with the understair storage space. Yes the door is gone in this picture as I needed a solid wall to put oven or cupboards against.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15177-1.jpg)
Rear of house
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15178.jpg)
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:wave: Hi Folks!
The Roof
As you may have seen in my other post I've had a bit of trouble making the roof for this house. As this started as an upside down "U" shape my original plan was to have a long roof section going from left to right across the house with the two bottom "legs" of the H/U shape connecting to it. This meant cutting 2 pairs roof sections at an angle. By putting arms on the H I now thought I'd have to cut up 4 sets.
If you can imagine this building but all the same level you'll understand what I mean. :crossed:
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15068.jpg)
It wasn't until actually sawing up the roof that I realised if I had the roof running all the way from front to back with a short crossbar section of roof I'd be back to only using 4 sections alltogether :doh: sometimes I'm slow.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Forum%20Playmobil%20Victorian/SDC17992.jpg)
Above is what I managed below is what I would have liked it to look like. (Drat I can't find the photo but it has a very nice join down the corner. I'll uploaded it soon as I find it.)
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:wave:
The Complete Roof
Front View
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15181.jpg)
Side View
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15180.jpg)
This picture above also shows the layout of the left hand side with the banquet hall at the bottom and the bedroom above with a sitting room to one side.
Right Side
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15191.jpg)
Here I was dithering again over the best place to put the stairs 8} So they would fit better I extended the right side so it's now 3 full sections in length. ::)
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Emma your work is amazingly beautifull and very well designed!!! :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
Congratulations!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: I cannot wait to see it filled with (klicky) life!!! :D :D
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Like WK said. Great design work and it's really helpful to hear your thinking so we can avoid the same problems :-)
Bring on the klickies :-)
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Emma your work is amazingly beautifull and very well designed!!! :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
Congratulations!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: I cannot wait to see it filled with (klicky) life!!! :D :D
Thank you Wolf knight, but I'm sorry to say this is not the final build yet! So if you thought it was ready to furnish you'll just have to hang on for the bigger version!
Like WK said. Great design work and it's really helpful to hear your thinking so we can avoid the same problems :-)
Bring on the klickies :-)
Thanks Gis, I'm glad people are sticking with my very long project and getting some hints from it all. I just hope everyone will follow it through till it's finished ???
I'll add some more pictures later today soon as I've had chance to sort some more out :wave:
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Emma, that is just beautiful! Who needs a Victorian dollhouse?!? Seriously, this design is fantastic - I can't wait to see the finished and furnished house!
P.S. Sometimes I feel like I am using too many exclamation points!!! But sometimes you just have to!!!!! ;D
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Absolutely brilliant, Emma! :wow: :wow: :wow:
The roof looks really great! :)
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This is looking fantastic Emma :wow: :inlove:
you'll just have to hang on for the bigger version!
How much bigger is it going to get? :(o):
Elaine
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This is looking fantastic Emma :wow: :inlove:How much bigger is it going to get? :(o):
Elaine
Well at the moment the right side is 4 full wall lengths front to back and the left side 3 sections long but I'm toying with the idea of adding another small wing to the kitchen :hmm:
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P.S. Sometimes I feel like I am using too many exclamation points!!! But sometimes you just have to!!!!! ;D
thanks Indianna I'll take as many exclamation points as I can get -I'm addicted !!!!!!!!!!!
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Looks great, Emma J. Do you know what the room rate is going to be?
Have you got room for my 40 thieves? Where do I put my camels?
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BRILLIANT! :!:
STUNNING! :o
BEAUTIFUL! :inlove:
AMAZING! 8}
WONDERFUL! :love:
INGENIUS! :wow:
It is too good for words Emma!!! :omg: :(o): :omg:
Your Tudor Manor is amazing! My knights would love to stay in a house like that!
(Too bad they only get tents... :P )
There's MORE!?!?!?!?!?!?
Can't wait! ;D ;D ;D
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Looks great, Emma J. Do you know what the room rate is going to be?
Have you got room for my 40 thieves? Where do I put my camels?
Well the thieves will have to sleep in the servants quarters in the attic and the camels.....damn I've just not made a start on the stables yet!
BRILLIANT! :!:
STUNNING! :o
BEAUTIFUL! :inlove:
AMAZING! 8}
WONDERFUL! :love:
INGENIUS! :wow:
......
There's MORE!?!?!?!?!?!?
Can't wait! ;D ;D ;D
Gosh any more praise like this and I'll die blushing :-[ :-[ But don't stop stop I like it, it puts a very big smile on my face ;D mmmm all this build up I hope no one gets disappointed with the finished thing! Or run out of words to use :yup:
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A change in layout
Having given a bit of thought to my layout of the house I had extended the back to the house outwards to form the legs of a H. This was originally only one single castle / steck wall unit deep. This was to add the Tudor wall sections at the back without adding to much castle walls, bearing in mind that I ideally would like a totally Tudor build no castle walls at all.
This is what you all saw in the last pics, my Dad wandered in and said "mmm nice but why just half a room at the back if your going to come out further might as well make it a proper room" :-\
The principle was good but what to put in the extra space then it hit me :!: a chapel. Most large houses had an indoor chapel in them as well as a local church. So rebuilding the house again I have room for a chapel behind the main hall.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this stage
Thinking about the main hall as well I also wanted a minstrel's gallery. Here's a real one!
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/u28892351.jpg)
This means doubling in the height of the main hall to 2 stories to put in a balcony. This could only be done by moving the bedroom from above. I had to do a total rebuild inside. Because the staircase has to be in the middle of the house as mentioned earlier, the main hall has swapped sides and is on the right hand side taking up two floors with a chapel behind and the study is now over the chapel.
So on the left side is the kitchen ( where the hall was) and above that a bed room and sitting room.
This is the new left hand side with the kitchen
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC17786.jpg)
The right side
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC17799.jpg)
The Chapel
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC17797.jpg)
A quest for parts
Now in my quest to have a completely Tudor / wooden looking building I have been on the scrounge for corners and T pieces made with a wood pattern. As you can see from the last set of pictures I'm gradually replacing all the grey castle connectors with these, and I think it really makes a difference with the whole look of the building.
Also I've managed to get a few more of the solid Tudor walls from the bakery and small barn, so that my extended walls are nearly all Tudor now except for the Chapel window wall.
This leads me onto my next section which is about flooring and Richards amazing suggestion in a much earlier post :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
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Very nice work! :wow:
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Once again great stuff EmmaJ!
I went through the entire thread again and couldn't find a suggestion about flooring by Richard. Might be stuck a bit with flooring myself as well. Could you please point me in the right direction?
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A chapel!
Brilliant idea emma!
I can't wait to see more! ;D
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:wave: Hello again Gis,
I'm not sure which thread it was on I think it was a customs page I was asking peoples opinion on different bases to use with the Victorian houses and Richard suggested using the base from the railway station. I'll put some pics up tomorrow if I get chance. :!:Actually on second thoughts I think I'll start a new topic about it.
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Thanks EmmaJ, Pictures would indeed be most helpful!
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This is turning into a spectacular manor, Emma! :)
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slowly blooming with life....
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Nice work !!!!
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The need for more widows pt1
As I've said at the beginning of this topic the main problem with the steck window walls is they have a moulded return on them so they can only go at the end of a building. This limits the size and a shape of any new builds unless your happy to mix castle steck in with the Tudor sections. Most off the time that's ok but for this project I want a traditional timbered looking house.
So how to add extra windows, I've tried the drop down roof and it didn't look right. The next option is to get out the saw and do a bit of DIY!
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15181.jpg)
As you can see (just about :lens:) I have plain walls along the inside of the U and above the window. The side walls are fine as many original Tudor house have very plain sides. But I wanted a window above the door which would look better from the front and from the back would make the corridor more like a long gallery.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/little-morton-hall.jpg)
This is Little Morton Hall a National Trust house near where I live. Here you can see the side walls are all filled in on the right. It does have small windows running lengthwise on the left side and is was this I tried to copy.
I decided to go mad :o and cut a hole into one of the solid Tudor wall sections I had. These are hard to get over her in the UK so I had to think twice about doing it but I had one wall with a couple of tabs missing so I gave it a go.
Sadly no pictures of the process
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC15190.jpg)
As you can see having turned a window sideways it fits very well in that location. It's actually in back to front, this was to cover the rough edge inside with the window frame, and also meant I didn't have to cut through the outside "beams" around the window to counter sink the frame in.
Add a bit of greenery and Bob's your uncle!
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18042.jpg)
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I have an Umcle named Brian... but not Bob. ;)
(Pretty close though. ;D )
Awsome idea Emma!
I'll admit I was a little skeptical about the sideways window at first... :hmm:
Just didn't look right.
But with the greenery I can see why!!!
It is amazing, and I have grown "attatched" to the sideways window.
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Emma this is amazing!! Good detailed work!!! I like the plant around the window!! I gives a sense of realism!!!
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This is just looking amazing, Emma! - and I just love your custom window with all the greenery growing over :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
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This is really amazing, Emma, great work and wonderfully recorded! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: The new lengthwise window with the creeper looks just the job and could be original Playmobil.
To save your precious blank walls, if you take the door and window Tudor wall it isn't too difficult to turn the doorway into a window space. I haven't actually completed this conversion because of other non-PM demands on time, but I did get as far as a dry run with it. It is also possible to make blank Tudor walls without too much work using the open frame walls. Here's a link:
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2183.0
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Flooring
Sorry if you've just read my other topic about flooring this will be a bit of a repeat to start with.
I wanted some sort of base for my house so I could furnish it and be able to move it around and not knock everything over when I did. I thought of a a piece of board etc but they never look right so I toyed with the idea of just a large modern base connected together with the house just sat on top.
It was while asking peoples opinion on the small Victorian shop bases that Richard mentioned the old train station set and it's black floor. Now I'd seen it on ebay but not actually having some I didn't give it much thought until Richard said it would work and by golly it works well :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
This is the link to the db site (all praise to Heather she is a God send :wow: :wow: :wow: )
4300 - Main Station]http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4300]4300 - Main Station (http://playmodb.org/cgi-bin/showinv.pl?setnum=4300)
It is 4300 station and I've used the end base plate No.30 03 966 and middle base plate No.30 03 968. The parts click together nicely and give a black rim around the whole house.
Now these parts were only designed to go around a rectangular building and as mine is a H I've had to cut a few bits out where the walls join at right angles.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18016.jpg)
As you can see they've got an interlock edge down the long sides and a raised rim top and bottom. It's this rim I've had to cut through. The first two in the above picture have opposite top corners cut down. With a close up below.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18017.jpg)
So everywhere there's a T join on the centre of the building I've had to cut a pair of floors down, with an extra set having to be cut out because of the way the stair wall an cupboard are.
So at last .......big drum roll....... here is the present layout of the ground floor, front of the building to your right. Kitchen at the bottom, hall top right with chapel behind.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18021.jpg)
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18022.jpg)
The second floor and my big feet! 8}
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18024.jpg)
Now I started this post several hours ago and had to nip out part way so I can at last answer some of your other replies.
....
I'll admit I was a little skeptical about the sideways window at first... :hmm:
Just didn't look right.
But with the greenery I can see why!!!
It is amazing, and I have grown "attatched" to the sideways window.
I know what you mean Warrior it does need some thing around the window I could really turn it the other way around or move it high without losing the original beam frame around 3/4 of the window. Else where it would have just looked more odd.
.....To save your precious blank walls, if you take the door and window Tudor wall it isn't too difficult to turn the doorway into a window space. I haven't actually completed this conversion because of other non-PM demands on time, but I did get as far as a dry run with it. It is also possible to make blank Tudor walls without too much work using the open frame walls. Here's a link:
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=2183.0
Thanks Playmofire, I'll check out that thread next. The reason my last post was the need for windows pt1 was, I was going to come back later and show off my experiments first but you've beaten me to the punch line.
When I cut the section out from the blank wall I hung onto the bits ( really so I could maybe melt the plastic and use it as a filler ??? ) So the other night I had the idea to use it to fill in a door wall and this is what I got.
I cut down the extra white part to fit the bottom of the door frame.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18036.jpg)
I had to then cut out a lip around the top of the white bit so the window frame would fit in.
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18040.jpg)
At first glance it's not bad but as you can see I've got a gap down one side. If I get the time I could try filling this with the last small bit of white plastic I've got left. But It doesn't look wonderfull from inside but I may have a way to disguise it later!
(http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af143/Emma-J1066/Tudor%20Manor/SDC18039.jpg)
Oh and it really needs a bit more beam running under the window, I did have a bit but it's temporally lost :-\
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I used white Plastruct strip to go under the window and down the side of the door opening and foamboard(?) for the blank wall section (also this on the whole blank wall in the custom). I'll see if I can find my custom window wall as far as it got and post a pic or two.
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Wow Emma...magnificent!