Some woodwork and other bits

Mah friends, the brickwork is finished, but that's not all! I also started 3D printing the individual roof tiles, added a base for the roof, cleaned up the rear "invisible" wall and also did the attic. 

First things first, I stippled plaster all over the bricks, thicker plaster works better as it doesn't leave as many bubbles and empty spaces - but hey you can vary the neatness of the mortar with this. I then wiped it down with a moist sponge and did some extra clean-up with a stiff brush. As someone who hasn't used plaster in modelling for at least 15 years, I'm blown away by how sturdy the plaster is. After some point I wasn't able to damage it no matter how much water and pressure I added! All things considered, the technique works like a dream. 

Then there's the roof, I made some very simplistic timbers first and then covered them with thick paper. Ironically, this comes from the T29 kit box 😁 This material is perfect because it cuts beautifully, it's sturdy yet flexible enough and it's free. Plus I can draw guidelines for the roof tiles on it. 

When this was done I was able to carefully cut the unneeded balsa from the rear invisible wall. This was the most satisfying part because to my delight everything ended up looking perfect! 

Last progress of the day was painting the "hidden" foam black and then adding planks on the attic wall. Here I used hardwood veneer because it's 0.5mm thick, creates more realistic cracks and breaks compared to balsa and most importantly, it's warped! Which is exactly what I wanted as this can be seen in the reference photo. It's very hard to cut, but it's worth it. 

It was only then when I noticed a HUGE mistake I made on this model. The large barn door is off center! This must've happened when I was measuring the front wall and taking the individual bricks as measurement. I was completely oblivious to this as I only noticed it like, two days later. It bugs me to no end, but there's nothing I can do about it now :( I can always say "hey, it's not impossible!", but it just doesn't look right or nice. That's how we learn though, right? 

I wanted to add at least one row of roof tiles, but I don't wanna rush things, so I'll finish up the doors and then add the roof. Once I test it out, I'll upload a 3D model which you can download. Chances are I might need to make some adjustments before it's ready "for the masses" 😁