This thread in fact should be called, "How to TRY to make things Playmobil-like?"
All ideas come from need, they say. Here in Buenos Aires it is not easy to get PM spare parts (not to mention DS parts). It is not easy either, not to say impossible to get 1/12 scale doll house stuff.
So I have to work with what I have. Therefore the need to transform certain things that are not PM at all and don't fit the scale or the PM look.
As a Victorian fan I'm always trying to expand my collection and my accessories. So I was THRILLED to came across the most unusual items in the most unusual place.
I found some pencil sharpeners that are very Victorian and beautifully detailed. Of course they needed work.
Here is a pic. The one on the left is the original. Cute looking but kinda tacky. The white balls had ruff edges and looked "plastiky". So the first thing I did was change them for some bigger wood spheres that are better scaled and made the central one bigger that the rest to fit better the architectural style of the era.
What was needed then was the right scale. As it was, the post lamp was about 12cmts tall when I needed it to be around 20cmts. So the best option was to create a stone base, again to fit height and Victorian look.
The base is very simple. Just a wooden cube, some cartboard and foamboard. Here are a couple of pics to see the step by step process.
And this is what the whole lamp would look like. Now better in shape and scale. Then a pic with a clicky to show PM scale.
Now color. I tried the base to look the more similar as possible to the color on the 5300 house. Didn't want to make a color but to use it as it comes in order to be able to match future lamps. Here is the base painted.
Traditionally in Buenos Aires post lamps were English green or black. I decided to go for English green to make them look more sophisticated.
Of course the wooden balls were supposed to be glass so I painted them shiny white.
And the "piece de resistance" or the cherry of the cake, are the golden finials on the top of the glass globes.
I had this things for years, from when I had to make a scaled model building when I studied architecture. They are bra holders. Yep... they hold (at least then, they were sold for that) the strings of invisible bras. And they make the perfect finishing for my lamps.
I hope this help others to put their imagination working and find the right use for the most unusual stuff and TRY to make them look palymobil suitable.