Selkie Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 A while back I asked all of you about desecrating a vintage kit that I had. (Link to that topic). I went ahead and started the process. I've had a bunch of bumps in the road already. The kit is designed as a 1:12 scale playhouse for the backyard of a house like a Garfield or such. I wanted to create a compilation of the many variations of the Russian/European fairy tales about Baba Yaga. At first I thought I could morph it into a 1:18 scale but that did not work. In order to accomplish it properly, I've needed to change it to 1:24 scale in order to have it be large enough for adults to fit in and to house all the details I wanted to portray. After I got the siding on, I realized I forgot about the windows and doors being out of scale so I'll have to go back now and redo them. The poor dolls are not tall enough to see out the windows!! What a pain. Live and learn. I have a couple of things I'm looking for advice on. One is which doll to use for Baba Yaga. I am using Erna Meyer 1:24 scale dolls. The little girl in the middle with the blue dress is Vasilisa. She'll need a pocket and her magic doll. I bought two old women and will need to mess up the one I choose. Is it sacrilege to mess up an EM doll? I'll need to make her have wild hair and dirty, tattered clothes, add a apron and do something to make her nose more prominent. I'm leaning towards the one in the black dress because the other one looks like too sweet of a Grammy to become a proper Baba Yaga. Thoughts? The other problem is the slanted walls - the thing that gives the kit it's charm. However, it is a decorating nightmare. As you see in the pictures, the furniture can't lean against the wall correctly because of the slant. So, do I add a triangular piece to fill it in, do I tip it backwards against the wall and shim the bottom so it will stay that way, or do I just leave it alone and live with a weird look? My favorite thing so far is my teeny mortar and pestle that will go in the kitchen for Vasilisa to cook with. It matches the one I have for Baba Yaga to fly in. I also have the broom for her to sweep away her trail but no pictures of that yet. I'll try to keep this thread as the place to update. I'm not sure how far I will get in the next little while because I'll be having my other knee replaced in three weeks but I wanted everyone to see that I had started it and where I'm at. There are more pictures in the album, if you are interested. Thanks for your thoughts and advice ahead of time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I responded in the album, but for the record, the black dress for Baba Yaga and tip the shelves to follow the line of the walls. Baba Yaga is one of my favorite tales. In college, I made an articulated marionette of her and hung one of my real wisdom teeth around her neck. I still have her someplace ... makes me want to dig her out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesq Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Hmmmm... Are the dolls still available, and is the artist still making them? It's hard to say about changing the dolls. Like anything else, they are yours to do with as you please. If they are each really unique OOAK dolls I think I'd have a hard time changing them, but that's just me. If they aren't OOAK then I'd go ahead and do what you want to them. It's kind of like Heidi Ott dolls. It's basically the same doll, so getting one and changing it doesn't mean you are destroying a unique item. I hope that's the type of thoughts you were asking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Erna Meyer dolls are made by a company in Germany that makes both scales of dolls on the manufacturing scale although they are handpainted faces. All the faces are almost identcal and are soft cloth. I'd equate them with a Heidi Ott type doll. They are beautifully dressed. They are bendable and yet hold a pose well in spite of being soft. Their hands are a unique charateristic of them. They do not have separate fingers. One of the traveling dolls that went around GL a few years ago was a full scale EM doll. Thats when I became fascinated by them. Thanks for your thoughts. It's what I was looking for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 ... Baba Yaga is one of my favorite tales. In college, I made an articulated marionette of her and hung one of my real wisdom teeth around her neck. I still have her someplace ... makes me want to dig her out. So when will we have the fun of seeing this. I'm so excited to think about what it might be like!!! Pictures please ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonberry Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Hmm, you could tip the furniture back, but then everything inside the shelves will also fall over. What if you added slanted pieces to the back of the shelves so that they fit flush with the walls, but the actual shelves remain upright? I agree that the black-dressed dolly would make more sense to alter. Easy enough to add ripped black fabric to the dress. Since the face is soft cloth, you could add more stuffing to the nose to make it more disfiguring, I guess. Maybe make a tiny hole in between the hair, and push stuffing forward, rather than poke on the visible parts of the face. This is going to be such a fun build! Good luck with the knee operation and hopefully you'll feel up to minis very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 It would be a pain to do, but if it were me I'd work on benches and shelves mounted to the walls. I would leave the black dressed doll's clothes lone, maybe frizz her hair a bit and add a wart to her nose and maybe another to her chin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Shelves mounted to the walls produces the same "Help me, I'm falling" effect. I tried that first and was sadly disappointed. I thought it was the answer. The only saving grace is that with the front wall on, you can't see the gap as readily so securing it to the wall with an extra piece or to the floor and leaving it as is, might work. I do have a bench b'cuz Vasilisa has to sleep on one. I don't have a table yet. I need to build a custom one b'cuz it has to hold a lot of food. Baba Yaga eats enough food for "4 or 5 strong men" at each meal and yet remains super skinny! Kathie's point of it being a weird sort of hut is a good one too so anything cockeyed could work easily. According to Vasilisa's first impression, it is bigger on the inside than on the outside thru some of BY's magic.That's another effect I'm going for. I adore the older fairy tales ~ not the politically correct, purified, and modernized ones. The older Baba Yaga stories are as different from each other as they are similar, if that makes any sense. Think of them as a combo of Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, and Snow White ~ Not the Disney versions. In some stories there are 3 Baba Yaga sisters, each with their own chicken leg huts in different parts of the forest. Basically there is most always the wicked stepmother, evil stepsister(s), absent but loving father, an impossible and treacherous task, a lot of magic and scary things and ultimately the happily ever after!! I think I must have lived in some other parallel universe in some other time zone. Thanks for all the help and ideas. I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Selkie, I also love all the old fairy tales in their Grimm versions; virtue may eventually be rewarded, but bad children get eaten. Something like shims on the backs of the shelf units will make the wall slant less obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 So when will we have the fun of seeing this. I'm so excited to think about what it might be like!!! Pictures please ?! She's hanging out in Missouri. We won't be back there for several weeks, I'm afraid. And then I have to remember where she is gently packed away. I promise pictures, just can't promise when. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra from Olde Cape Cod Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Instead of messing with the clothes, how about just adding a large messed up apron over them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathieB Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I never thought of Baba Yaga as being particularly messy ... unconcerned about worn spots in her clothing, but maybe a bit vain about a gold-lined cloak that she's owned for hundreds of years, but not apron-worthy messy. Tease her hair into a bit of disarray and maybe dry brush a little sage green or coppery areas on the black cloth to antique it. Age her skin to a golden yellow, add some slightly grayed shadows and wrinkles, put a pinprick dot of red in each eye to give her the appearance of a sharp focus ... I think what I'm saying is that I see her as an ageless crone who uses magic and doesn't care about her looks particularly. I always see her with a wart on her nose. The doll as she stands is too sweet looking for the role, hence the need for a makeover. About the shelves ... I'd scrap the cupboards and make individual open shelves along the wall. The shelf could be level to hold items, yet it would keep the curved lines, which are so precious to this build. I think putting the vertical straight lines of the cupboards would also tend to close in the room, just the opposite of the "bigger inside than outside" look that you're going for. Maybe a few shelves attached to the wall with a trunk (instead of the closed cupboard) on the floor below? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Just added these notes in my album but I know some folks look one place and not the other so I'm adding them here too. For those that don't know the Baba Yaga history, here is a tiny blurb from the Encyclopedia Britannica about the mix of stories. Baba-Yaga, also called Baba-jaga, in Russian folklore, an ogress who steals, cooks, and eats her victims, usually children. A guardian of the fountains of the water of life, she lives with two or three sisters (all known as Baba-Yaga) in a forest hut which spins continually on birds’ legs; her fence is topped with human skulls. Baba-Yaga can ride through the air—in an iron kettle or in a mortar that she drives with a pestle—creating tempests as she goes. She often accompanies Death on his travels, devouring newly released souls. For a more detailed (but not complete) history of the stories - not the stories themselves - you can look at the Wikipedia version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Oh, Selkie!! I'm LOVING this!!!! I prefer the doll in the green apron, but that's just me. I also like the idea of shimming the bookshelves so that they're slightly less tippy, but still tippy. Personally, I'd just glue everything to the shelves and then nothing would fall over. ;) I think the charm of the house is fantastic, and I love the whole thing. WHEE! :jump1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 Posted some of my working reference pictures for the designing of this build. Hope that is of interest to some of you. Also posted the #$%$# stove I'm trying to build. It's driving me nuts. I've built several and still not happy with it. I can picture what I want in my mind based on the reference pictures I've collected but it's a lot to consider in this small little kit. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and ideas. I really appreciate it all. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Still messing around with the Russian stove ideas. I've redone a whole new piece - very similar to what is in the album already but changed the smaller top right opening to a square on instead. Now my big frustration is what color would go inside these openings. I have lighted fire grates of varying sizes and flames to go in each one (and round wood to go in the wood box one). The base color of all the grates are black of course. So the problem - I tried painting the insides black and then the grates just disappear into the abyss and the little lights look lost and pathetic. I tried tan and I tried gray. They looked yucky and unnatural. I left it white and it was too pristine. I added some smoke smudges and it still looked dumb. To also consider - the largest one (on the left) is the cooking area and it will have a hook for a hanging stew pot and a spit for meat. It might have some other do-dads. The lower right will have a door with a open metal work design that will further darken the interior effects. The top right square one may or may not have a door - can't decide yet whether it is just a flue clean out, a bread oven, or a food drying/smoking area. Anyone have any brilliant ideas out there? EDIT: Oops, forgot the link. (This is a previous version with gray interior.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 You could try grating a little bit of soft artists charcoal pencil and brush a little bit for soot until you like how it looks. I did similar with grated black & gray chalk pastel for the Glencroft's fireplaces. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks. I wondered if I should articulate some stone or brick type shapes in the back. It would be a more natural collection spot for soot and debris with the indentations. However, this is 1:24 scale and those little openings are very little indeed so getting at it to do that job would be a challenge for this clumsy handed oaf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I used a soft bristled paint brush to apply the grated chalk, and a Q-tip to smooth it into the bricks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonberry Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 The stove looks gorgeous! This might be a very out-of-the-box idea, but if the stove was built of bricks, they wouldn't have painted the inside white too, would they? Paint would curl and shrivel off if it is inside near a hot fire. Perhaps you could paint the inside a caramel-brick brown shade, and then put the black soot marks on the bottom and gradually lighten them to the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks so much. I do think the interior "bricks" should look like sooty bricks - a traditional firebox look. It is just so small inside, that I can't draw or carve in the "bricks" to look realistic to save my soul. I doubt it would really show anyway. I need to remember that I'm going for the illusion of it not the real thing. Smoke and mirrors, Selkie, remember that. I did one version with the tan-ish paint and soot look and hated it. I think it needed more red mixed in so it was a more brick-ish color and then soot it up in good shape. I think I was being too conservative. Back to the drawing board. I put spackle all over the outside of one of them but then cut it all off with the band saw because the entire piece was too big. Most of the RL stoves have a white stucco type finish all over the outside of them so what they were constructed from doesn't show at all. They usually have some type of mantel and trim around the curved areas at the tops of the openings. The wealthy folks have elaborately tiled ones with all manner of elegance. That is not what I'm going for of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra from Olde Cape Cod Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 What about using a piece of brick paper inside there? I just love your stove! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I cheat and brick the interior firebox pieces before I assemble them into the fireplace... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 The piece is a single solid piece of foam that I have carved to fit the odd angled space. I carved the openings out from the front side so the solid thickness is still one piece. I'm thinking I could cut in from the back and pull the piece out, paper or carve and paint them, and then slide it back in afterwards since I can't get my fingers in there. It isn't the "real" depth that the stove should be but it gives the illusion of being deeper than it really is. Hmmmm ... Maybe I'll just scrap this latest one and make another one in 2 thinner pieces, decorate it in between on the flat surface, and then glue them together to achieve the thickness. Probably simpler in the long run than continuing to fuss with it and end up still hating it. What's one more version? Thanks for helping me think this through. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuttiwebgal Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I for one am enjoying your process :popcorn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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