BSC2018 Juxt's Sorcerer's cabin... you'd be ill advised to knock on the door

[Hammers]

Cool. Like the hut of Baba Yaga.

[Juxt]

Thanks guys   the Baba Yaga element will be started next week I think, for now though, the often ill-advised act of attempting to sculpt thatched roofs in 28mm.


I started off by applying a layer of wood glue to my roof structure, air-drying clay has a habit of not sticking to anything and this helps it grab on whilst sculpting.  While the glue was still wet I smooshed on (technical term there) an even layer of fimo air light and shaped it into the thatched shape that I wanted, not being too careful about getting anything square or completely smooth.  The next step was just scoring the bejesus out of it with a dull scalpel blade, and picking at a few areas with a pin to tease some bits apart and add some uneven waving, maybe it's being blown by some magical breeze?  You can also see a few areas of crackle paint added to my plasterwork for extra texture.



The groove in the front?  To allow a bamboo and wood buttress to be fixed in place, supporting the crooked first floor. Sculpted in greenstuff over a length of styrene tube.



Also, inspired by Mason's build, I scrounged some mdf sprue offcuts from a friend and fashioned a section of railing to prevent my sorcerer from tripping and falling off the walkway...



First floor roof and the second floor.  Same as the earlier thatched roof just slightly less putty    I still need to apply some edging to hide the seams between the thatch and the wall...



...and where the shack currently stands, starting to look like something




The next steps will be building doors, adding windows to the first floor and finishing the thatching off.  After that a few little character pieces like amulets, charms, tatty door screens, sculls, herbs etc.

[von Lucky]

This is already proving to be inspirational for me. Mentally bookmarked for a future build!

[Mason]

Looking stunning so far.
Nice work on the thatch and that support looks great, like a giant, long handled hammer.
 

Still wondering how you are going to attach those bird feet, though....

[Constable Bertrand]

That's brilliant

Loving the textures mate.

Cheers
Matt

[LordOdo]

  Really impressive and inspiring!

May need to get myself some of those bird feet

[Juxt]

Just a quick update for now-

I need four identical windows for on the first floor of the shack, luckily I had enough ancient silicon and resin to knock up a quick mould and blast a few out.  Considering how out of date the chemicals were, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well the casts have turned out.



the master for the windows was just a piece of foam board, edged with coffee stirrers and the bar detailing made with 1mm x 0.4mm inlay veneer wood.  The wash of liquid green stuff was just to help me see if there were any areas that needed further attention.

[Mason]

They seem to have come out very nicely indeed.
 

[ichwillauch]

This is very impressive. May I ask what material you used for the mold?

[Juxt]

This is very impressive. May I ask what material you used for the mold?

It was just some random silicon I had knocking around, I think it was t28 from Tirantis but I couldn't swear to it 



A bit more progress on the front door and surrounding area, it really needs a spray of primer to bring all the differing elements together and make it all visible.

[Vanvlak]

Very nice, the windows came out great

[Ragnar]

That is some seriously good modelling!

[Dr Mathias]

Sweet looking project, I wasn't aware legs like that were available on the market!

[Juxt]

This week has seen some detailed progress that you'd probably not notice without being told, but it's all important stuff...  and a blast of spray primer to help get past the confusing mishmash of materials

Firstly a big shimenawa (enclosing rope) on the second floor sculpted from greenstuff.  Shimenawa are used as both a warning to people that a mighty spirit is contained within something- like a spiritual high voltage sign, and as a means of suppressing the spirit and containing it behind the rope boundary.  Normally seen on shrines and wrapped around particularly old trees, I'm still uncertain as to whether it is warning of the sorcerer who lives in the shack or the building itself...



The bamboo support buttress was gently heated over a candle flame and bent into a slight curve to suggest the pressure applied to it by the crooked walls.



A greenstuff straw hat and broom were sculpted and applied to the build to start to give it a lived-in feel.



A roll of straw thatching was sculpted and applied as a join between the walls and thatched roofs, providing a slight decorative element and ensuring that the building is watertight.



The rear of the building, I wanted to keep this area relatively plain, nothing spooky or supernatural going on here, honest...



...and just a scale shot with an Onmyoji- he's not the man who lives here, he might be the enemy of the inhabitant, I'm not sure yet, this is the sort of detail that evolves as the build goes on.



I'm quite pleased that I've gotten this far with £0 spent and no commercially available parts used.  I think I'll be able to carry on with the £0 target, but the feet come into play soon so my not-scratch-built ratio is going to drop a tad

[Mason]

Well, the whole thing looks stunning as it is and if you called it a day there it would be a spectacular build, especially as no commercial parts were harmed in the making of it....
 

...but you have yet to add the bird feet, so I am guessing that we all cannot wait to see just how that is going to turn out.