aggiemae Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Hello all, I have seen these decorative trims, scroll and such on sides of stairs in Carpenter Queen Anne houses and want to add them the stairs of my Heritage. Are these avaliable ready made in dollhouse size? I can't google because I do not know what they are called! I tried to make some. They are to small to make of luan and ply it to thick. I made one out of foam core- it came out nice and it was fast too. I think I could add lots of detail with a scribe tool. Here is the question...The stairs will be in an "active" area of the house will the foam core decorations dent if something bumps into them? Also is there any way to make foam core harder? I have never used it before but got some today to fill in some places on the Heritage that should have sharp crisp angles but instead are all gunked up and rounded with spackle and badly cut trim. The wall looks great now and I have lots of foam core left. BTW, I think I love this stuff almost as much as corrugated cardboard and shoes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Well if you have made one piece that looks great, could you perhaps varnish/coat it with glue or something like that to make the surface slick and tough and cast a mould from it and go from there? Perhaps use the plaster of paris or even fimo as that is tougher in regardings of chipping? Looking forward to seeing your progress! Hugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Day Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Hi Agnes, I thought maybe they were called corbels, but when I googled "stair corbels", I got a site that has them and calls them "stair brackets". Click here for that site. Good luck, I love that look! Traci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakyshaky Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 My suggestion would be to make one and do a mold too. That way they all would look the same. I imagine it would be less expensive too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrazelt Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 You asked about toughening foamcore. I suggest gator board instead. It has a foam interior but a much tougher outer ply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Another suggestion- Make one that is the depth and design you like, cover it with a resin. Once you have the design in the negative, fill it with spackle and allow it to dry. The resin should be pliable enough to allow you to pop the piece out without damage. You can sand any rough places and glue it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfire Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Why not simply try card stock? If you are talking about the outside of the stairs then in 1:12 ratio the thickness/depths of those scroll like decorations would be just about the same thickness of heavy card stock. Cut out and glued on then covered with paint they should be just about right in scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellee Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I need pictures !! I just cannot vision what you mean by the scroll like decorations. Kellee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggiemae Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 Traci, STAIR BRACKETS! Thanks for the link. Thanks all for your thoughts. I think I will make a mold. I have to mold a couple of windows for a restoration. Does anyone know of a product that makes flexible reusable molds? I will also go and look at Gator Board. I wonder if it would be good to lighten the weight of larger houses. I have an external shell that is alrready about 40 pounds without the roof. I think I will try to make the interior walls and floors with it. I want to see if the house can be built so it can be moved by just one person. It is a collectors house but of course you never know where a house will end up so I do want it to be sturdy enough to play with. I am getting so many fine ideas from all of you. In such a short time already I can't even list all of them. I have made stone from egg cartons and paper plates that look like china. Also added so much more to my notebook to use on upcoming houses. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Micro-mark.com carries Liquid Silicone Rubber for making molds. They have an RTV (Room Temperature Vulcanizing) silicone putty that works in just 10 minutes. The price is about $30 . Item # 81853. They also have other products for the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adallae Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I purchased stair brackets from Earth and Tree awhile ago. North Eastern Scale Models makes them. Cost me about $3 for 4. To find them on the website, go to Building Materials, then Brackets, then pick Northeast. They're made from wood, but they are very, very thin. I've found dozens of uses for them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Here's a link to Northeastern Scale Lumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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