The roof and the side walls are now installed

Morning!
The owners of the Chinese shop have now a roof above their head. It's not painted yet but I'll do that on Monday.

I have to add some windows on the side as usually these houses are built in  a row.

I will find some elements to give life to the facade. Old sposters, incense holders, Chinese lanterns hanging from the awnings...

As you can see, I don't use miniature tools, just regular ones I bought second-hand on my local flea market.

The next step will be to use filler on the walls and find the right kind of roof they have here, tiles or shingles. I think I may have to go back to the location and take more pictures.

and now let me show you some pictures, these are the real ones...

 If I dared, this is what the facade could look like but I'm afraid to go that far, though I admire Mr Ichiyo Haga's work and his reproductions of French shops

 Now about the shop itself. What about this Chinese pharmacy near the Indian quarter of Bangkok?

 Nothing has changed since 1900! It's like a movie set but the difference is that here everything is genuine.

 or this Nouveautes shop? I met the owner, an old man of Indian origin. His father opened the shop in 1910 and everything dates from that date. A real museum. His father's picture is hanging on the wall.

 Now the next step will be to improve the ageing process. I don't know much about cracks... and how to give that look but I'll try. That's a new challenge.

 About the inside... this is how the remodel small shop houses into one big. It would make a nice living room, wouldn't it?

 And to make miniaturists dream, what about this one? That would be a crazy project, wouldn't it?

Have a nice Sunday!

Patrick

The awnings

I have just finished painting the awnings and I want to share it with you.

I am not too far from the real facades...

Ok, it's been a busy day with miniatures but for sure a lot of enjoyment!

Ageing the Chinese shop house

Morning!

Yesterday I started ageing the facade. Remember what it looked like?

 

I started with a gray tone with a little yellow in it.

Then I prepared a darker tone which I put with a sponge. 

Brushes leave marks but sponges don't.

Here is my first video tutorial:

A bit amateur but I promise I'll improve, LOL

Click on the arrow in the centre....

In the process, I often checked with the original pictures on my computer. 

Then, gradually, the building started to have its own life. Little by little, I added colours to angles and moldings as usually, in Thailand, because of the monsoons, this is where black stains first appear.

Of course, you have to be creative and not afraid to use too much color and then wipe it  in order to get the right tone.

Then I aged the door and the shutters using a white layer, then used the sponge technique again until the green painting gradually disappeared.

After an hour, sweating in the Thai afternoon heat (before the evening rain), the house started to look like what I had in mind.

 Now the fun part, adding details: 
Chinese always decorate their facades with votive posters to bring them good luck or money or both (LOL), so I added a few I had photographed.

The metal sheet for the awning for the door and shutters is ready and so is the wooden sign that shows the name of the family in Thai and in English.

And now the sign hangs above the door

Thanks for spending a few minutes reading my blog and I hope tonight I'll be able to show you the awnings.

If I dared, this is what one of the houses looked like

But I am afraid it would be too much....

Have a good day

From sunny Thailand.....

Patrick