"Pier Pylons" party rental sculpture

Beach Party theme

Every so often we would get a call to something completely different. A party rental place in San Diego put out a call for some "Pier Pylons" for a Tiki Safari Beach theme party.

Even though we typically do just miniatures, many of the same faux finishing tricks can be used in full scale. Besides, we have the tools, talented people and plenty of space to work. It was a great way to mix and use up paint from previous projects and put it to good use.

We bought 12" diameter cylinders from a company that makes Styrofoam architectural elements for custom houses. We cut the ends off at an angle and rounded the top corners with hand saws. We threw some coals in the hibachi grill and heated up a couple of hatchets nice and hot. Then we would lay the hatchet on the Styrofoam and it would just melt right into it, then wiggle it while slowly dragging it down the cylinder. As it cooled it wouldn't gouge as deep until it finally cooled to the point that it wouldn't gouge at all. Then we just put it back in the hibachi and switch off to the other hatchet. That kept the look very random and organic.We bonded them together with silicone caulk adhesives and then scenic painted them. The drop off pieces we cut up into big rocks. The barnacles were just macaroni shells, the planks were a single "property for sale" sign we found (that guy probably never figured out why his land never sold). We cut jagged lines into it with a jig saw that looked like individual boards. The seaweed was florist lichen and the bird droppings were just globs of white bathtub caulk.

When the truck showed up to get it, they brought along several feet of 2"thick nautical rope that we wrapped around them. They came out great and the client was real happy. We figured that if someone went to put out a cigarette, it would just melt a hole right into it!

Bakery / Sweetshop model in 1/12 scale (P2) >click here to see models on my Flickr page<

Interior Stairway

On a building that is this complex and detailed, I like to start with the interior and work my way out to the walls rather than start with an empty shell and work inside. Some spaces are going to get pretty tight anyway as time goes on, so I like to finish things out right down to the paint then build on from there.

The first part I made for the interior was the curved stairway. This was thanks to Marsha at Enchanticals for the clever idea :)


I ripped pine strips for the treads & risers then glued them in long extrusions. I then cut the treads to a equal width using a stop block on the band saw. That put a slight V shape on one side which became the inner radius. Everything is constructed on a scrap of 1/4 luan to be cut to finished size later.









To keep the stairway fabrication consistent I found a glass mug with a fairly parallel vertical wall. Each tread is just glued & weighted to the tread below and allowed to dry before adding the next. As the stairs grew I raised the glass with a block of wood underneath.


I did a drawing with a cross section of the entire house on graph paper to work out the stair count, etc to make it easier later on. The landing will become the main floor, the bottom of the stairs will be an implied basement. That will end on a stone floor and be the 'kitchen' area with mainly 'old world' brick & stone construction











Stair Rail Assembly

From the landing on up there was no support under the stairs because I wanted the option to detail underneath. It was somewhat flexible so I made the handrail pieces long enough to reach all the way to the floor. That helped stabilize the piece.


The tall vertical piece is a 3/4 'post' (9"x9" to scale) that will accept the stairway as it continues back around itself. I pre cut a vertical notch in it to lock in the front door, which is set up at the same height as the stair landing. Everything is glued down to the working surface which in turn will be glued to the model base.

The tabs of wood under the landing are just to glue in the sub floor of the first level. Then the finished surface will be 'planks' ripped on the table saw and glued to that sub floor. This locks everything together really tight so it lasts for years.

Bakery / Sweetshop model in 1/12 scale (P1) >click here to see models on my Flickr page<

Front Door & Stain Glass construction

Layout & fabrication of the front door

For the Bakery / Sweetshop project, I started with the most basic element, the front door. I did a whimsical sketch on graph paper to keep it in a 1/12 scale, then used it as a template to cut the pieces.

I rip all my pieces on the table saw from 3/4" pine shelving, rough shape on the band saw, then clean up on the spindle sander. The clear window is 1/16" clear Plexiglas cut to shape on the band saw.

I like to use 4 penny finish nails as the hinge pins. I always prefer this to store bought miniature hinges that wear down and deform over the years. When I build the threshold and header frame, there are holes to receive the nail heads, with a small washer as a spacer in between. The "Old World" hinges are just made from bits of basswood pieced together in place, drawn black with a sharpie. Because everything is wood (except the clear Plastic of course), its all carefully glued with white glue, then wood stained.




"Coloring" the stain glass

The stain glass "lead" is just a thick black thread about 2mm thick, carefully glued on with white glue. As a rule, it doesn't stick to clear Plexiglas in the long term, but it will hold it down long enough to drip in the color inks.

The ice cream cone was just an afterthought. Originally, it was just going to be the random pieces of glass, clear in the middle with a color border. This piece is a Sweetshop / Bakery, so it stands to reason there may be ice cream as well, plus the fact that Snowfern makes the most amazing mini ice cream cones :)

The coloring is from the kids 'light catcher' craft toys where you drip the color inks into the clear plastic frames then hang in the windows. For the cone itself I wanted to suggest a shadow by using a drop of brown and several drops of yellow, then carefully swirling them together with a toothpick. This is not unlike old world glass, to have distortions and color variances. The clear is used in the other open reservoirs which completely lock down the black thread to the clear plastic. Use very sparingly for the very first coat because its water based and will dissolve the white glue and the black threads will just liquify into a messy bowl of spaghetti. Just a single drop of clear (or color) and carefully move it to the strings and let it soak in then dry overnight. That locks them down. The next day, refill the reservoirs with multiple coats, filled to the top (the clear is like milk, but dries clear). As it dries it recedes down and can take another coat again in a couple hrs. Mix colors, add clear over colors, have fun with it.




The finished door from the outside

The door and frame should always be a complete unit then installed rather than trying to make it all as separate pieces and build into the wall. Work out any problems on the workbench rather than deep inside a room box.

I cut all 4 vertical frames (2 inside 2 outside) at once on the table saw, then shaped the freehand look on the band saw and spindle sander. The actual jamb is 1/16 thick and follows a parallel cut to the thicker frame, just stepped in slightly.

Only the outer (exterior face) frame & jamb can be cut on the freehand curve. The door itself and the interior frame must be true vertical, or else the door can't swing inward. The effect therefore is an illusion that the exterior face of the door is just as "crooked" as the frame.





The finished door from the inside

Typically an exterior door swings into a house. The exterior side gets the free form crooked frame, but the inside must have a straight vertical frame parallel to the hinges or the door will bind up when you try to open it.

Technically, you could curve the doorknob edge as well like on a Hobbit-type house, I will play around with that on another door sometime.

The header above was stacked pine pieces and parallel cut on the band saw then spindle sanded. The compound curve within was just 2-part polyester resin spread in the stair step, then a dowel with a rounded end drug thru it for the finished effect.

The door now swings nice and free with no friction. The wood fin above is the attachment surface to the rough cut opening in the wall above the door. There are slots along the 2 sides for the same vertically (they just weren't in the picture).

Fantasy Storybook Village Houses in 1/2" Scale >click here to see models on my Flickr page<

Collectible Storybook Style Cottage Models overview

I own a carpentry shop & art studio with a full compliment of tools from the finest to the largest and have made Architectural, Engineering & Prototype display models as a profession since 1982. We build the display models, pedestals, dust covers, and the crates to ship them in.

Sometimes the work gets slow, and I like to have other creative things to fall back on between big jobs. I began my first old world storybook style cottage in the early 1990s. The first several were exterior only and in 1/2 inch scale. This was mainly to cater to the G gauge garden railroad people, and they are easier to store and display in someones home than many larger 1/12 scale houses.

Modern architectural models are very straight lined and sterile compared to fantasy houses, so it certainly is a nice break from keeping things so precise and by the numbers. Many of the same tricks are used on the table saw, and new ones have to be invented on the fly to get the desired results.

Part of the trick is keeping lines flowing like a freehand sketch. The saw rips everything parallel, so several extra steps are needed to give the distressed look. Most artists and animators strive for a free flowing look, yet not sloppy crooked or 'cartoon town' so there is a balance in between.

I have worked in theme park design for years and many companies do their designing right in their model shops. Often, we may get just a rough sketch and we will flush out many ideas in 3D that aren't always obvious on a 2D drawing. Something like an old world cottage would go from drawings mounted on flat card, then cut and glued in layers to work out overhangs, head clearances, traffic flow, stairways, etc.. then move onto foam sculpting to better refine the details.

When everything is pretty well figured out we go onto the finish model. That's when having a full compliment of tools and a good size work space comes in handy. These being exterior only I can get away with quite a bit on the inside with glue blocks in corners to nail and reinforce to. That's not the case with open back exterior & interior houses. None of these are foam or light duty materials, they are wood, resin castings, plex windows, and can be very heavy.


Over the years I have built up a pretty good library of silicone molds of bricks, railings, stones, window frames, shutters, doors... many scales & styles from old world to modern. These come in handy with repetitive installations and saves time & hand work. I keep wood 'plugs' for each profile piece to act as a template when I assign a door or window to a particular place. After the irregularities of the stucco effect is put on, the plug is removed, and the casting fits right inside.

When complete, its painting, age and weathering for that "Old World" type of look. Very little is air brushed because there are so many tight places to get up into, under and behind. When I do larger houses with interiors, I like to build from the inside out, with paint, textures and finishes completely done as I go along. Exterior walls are actually the last built.

I hope this has been informative! More will follow as I try to show some step by step on construction ideas for these and other styles of miniatures. Most people don't have access to the larger power tools and dedicated space, so I focus more on the architectural elements rather than the details that dress it out (foliage, furniture, collectibles, etc). I like to get it out to the collector to finish it out and personalize it however they wish.

I hope to hear from you any questions or comments!

Ron Nelson / Artisan of Ocala, Florida