Making the Palace Interior (3) - Pictures and Furniture

1. Pictures

These are the easiest to do;

• firstly select your picture, browse the web find a suitable image download and size it as required. Print the picture on gloss photo paper.
• next add the frame, this can be done by either sticking the image to some thin card and painting the frame on in gold paint and addding some moulding effect using black ink pen or using frames from a dolls house supplier.

cardboard frame on the left and dolls house frame on the right 

2. Furniture

This is the most tricky as there is very little available to buy - there are some tavern tables and dungeon style stuff from MegaMiniatures. There was some miniature dolls house stuff available, so far I've only found one pack of this. So generally I've built stuff myself from scratch. Seated figures are also in short supply, usually as singles in a pack (eg Old Glory AWI command pack and the Creepy Governer pack).

I usually make a piece of furniture for a room or concept. Mostly I use cardboard, foamboard and some plastikard strip materials. Below is a harpsichord I made up (the main structure took three attempts before I got something I felt was about right).

The current project is furniture the for the library. Book cases were needed, so I found some dolls house cupboards (take a spare figure with you when shopping - although you may get strange looks as you offer up a tiny figure to various items !). The cupboard doors and shelves were removed and painted white.

Then I built up the voids to take some images of books; I found a nice one on the net and made up a little sheet and stuck it to card. I used thin strips of sticky labels to indicate the shelves.

Also a desk for the king to sit and look out at the view through the patio doors was made, simple box construction for the drawer sets with desktop, the drawers indicated with paper.

Things are progressing well in the library and Brother James and the Librarian are checking the books have been correctly placed in the first of the large book cases to be completed.

Items left to do finish for the library

1) 2 large books cases

2) The kings desk

3) some astromical instruments to paint (from MegaMiniatures)

4) A large folio book reading lectern

So pictures of the finished library in the next couple of days. Hope you have found my little series of "how to's" useful and enjoyable.