Saturday 11 August 2018

Roman turret, part 8 in which a fire is lit and various items are added


Read the previous posts about this project: part 1, part 2,  part 3, part 4 and part 5, part 6 and part 7.  

As I mentioned in the last post, I cannot finish the exterior until we have eaten enough eggs, because I need egg cartons to make stones. I had just enough to finish the right and left wall, but now I will have to wait. It doesn't really matter because it is just the back wall, but I still want to cover it.

Meanwhile, there are many small things to attend to. For instance, I was dissatisfied with the fire because it just didn't look right. After a number of various attempts, I gave up on using a tea light - it doesn't work in this scale. Instead, I cut a quarter-circle from a piece of foam board, painted it to match the walls and built a fire with twigs from my garden. I burned the twigs slightly on a candle for the effect.


Then I covered it with glue and sprinkled some red glitter on.


Next, I added two metal bowls. If you want to know how I made them, read this. I am glad I remembered them because they fit in nicely. And then of course there must be some food cooking in the bowls. The large one is couscous (reluctantly, as I don't like using real food in miniature projects, but it was less than a teaspoonful), and the small just tiny bits of leftover twigs. I think it looks like chunks of meat. I may add onions. 

The wall behind the fireplace must be blackened with soot. For soot effect, I burned some matches and crushed them, then painted with my finger on the wall.


Maybe not enough? I put some more twigs in a pile by the side.


Not sure whether the large cauldron is right here. But I am not attaching things permanently yet.

On the same wall, I wanted a shelf with some kitchenware. I made the shelf from craft sticks. The bowl and plates are from the same set. The shelf wouldn't stay so I had to support it and leave to dry overnight.


The metal ornament hanging from the ladder is an earring of unknown origin. I think it looks like a Roman thing.

On the upper floor, I wanted a wall bracket with a torch. In my Tudor house, I made wall brackets from beer rings, so I thought I would do it again, but see, the scale didn't work! And I wasn't sure how to make a Roman torch, although Wikipedia was helpful with images. I first tried to make flames from tissue paper, but it didn't work at all. I was about to give up, but browsing Pinterest, without results, I suddenly got an idea.

 
It's the same technique as making dolls' hair, and I think it worked fine.

 

I made a bracket from a small eyelet.

The sign from Hadrian's wall also had a rack on the upper floor with some fabric hanging on it - not sure whether it's supposed to be clothes, maybe a cloak?




I used a coffee stirrer and toothpicks to make a rack. I should have put a coin beside it for scale, but it's tiny. And it is probably a cloak hanging on a peg.

 

(Don't you love this character? I do. He told me his name is Cat).

There are probably other interior details I can add, but otherwise I feel that the project is finished. Of course, a project is never finished, but it is finished enough to be shared with people who are not interested in work-in-progress.




A picture doesn't do it justice. Maybe I should try to make a video to show it at various angles and zoom into details.

This has been a small but challenging project. Because I have been relatively free and because it has been far too hot for gardening, I have worked several hours a day so I estimate it took about 80 hours all in all. It gives a better sense of the scope of effort.

I enjoyed it a lot and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. If you enjoyed following my work please leave a comment.



2 comments:

  1. You have made incredible progress in what seems like a small amount of time, but that is exactly how it goes when one has the time and inspiration for a project! Great idea, and great use of on hand materials!

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  2. I really liked watching this project.It was great to see it as a continuous process: inspiration, execution, completion. The soldiers really made it come alive.
    emjay

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