Roundhouse model

[whulsey]

Well, I'm getting up there Scooter. As a little kid can remember the afternoon passenger train in Temple TX stopping with the steam engine right by our bunk car. Oh, did I mention that my dad retired from the Santa Fe as Senior Welder, Maintenance of Way in charge of the track between Purcell, OK and Gainesville, TX. And yeah they were (are when you get the chance to see one run) fascinating to watch.
Back to our regular scheduled program.

[kwarts]

Originally Posted by tawnyman

and across Europe I suppose.

The strange thing is, no roundhouses around here in the western part of the Netherlands. In the neolithic it started out with small houses, just for the family, and somewhere in the later part of prehistory (bronze age - iron age) they change into "woon-stal-boerderijen": elongated buildings with two or three bays, up to about 7 m wide and as long as 20 - 25 m housing both (extended) families and their cattle.

This tradition is continued well into the Roman period and beyond. If you would like to know more about the Dutch prehistoric - Roman building traditions, you might search on terms like "ijzertijd huisplattegrond".

Kind regards, Christiaan

[tawnyman]

So a bit of progress, now I have a deadline for mid-March for finishing this. My six-year old son told me the posts (now covered with milliput) were too yellow - I was aiming for oak. So I gave them a wash of dark brown and this has improved them enormously.

[/IMG]

[tawnyman]

The base has been painted and covered with dyed sawdust of a few different colours. It's strange how much it resembles a wood-henge, which was a wooden version of the more familiar stone henges. Perhaps no coincidence though.

[Utnapishtim]

I'll be attending the mandatory annual safety briefing at the railways I volunteer at, and I can assure you the locos do still make that evocative sound! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxFmEPTmB4

[tawnyman]

Yes, that SLR engine has a lovely beat to it, music to the ears to hear an engine like that climbing a gradient. Is that leather seating in the coaches! We're visiting Snowdonia in May so I might try to stop on the way there. If ever a scene was worthy of modelling, this 1950's shot of Welshpool is crying out:



Christiaan, I had a search on the term you mentioned, these rectangular houses are most impressive. I liked this reconstruction in Brabant :


It's given me an idea of a stack of logs drying out under the circular eaves of my model too. I picked up some coir today from the local dolls house shop for doing the thatch, I just need to make a tiny mouse to go in it!
Julian

[tawnyman]

So the roundhouse is all finished, here's some photos. I think the least satisfying bit was converting the figures, I need some more practice with using Milliput. The thatch came out well though, I used coconut fibre. The roundhouse has survived it's first use by children, though I'm happy to repair or modify any bits.
Rather an enjoyable project, I really enjoyed making all the little bits that go inside the house, particularly the loom, which I had to understand the workings of as I built it. I soldered it up from wire so it should be fairly sturdy.
julian

[elliott]

Nice to see this project completed. Keep working with Milliput and you should be able to turn out some nice figures. Good job scratchbuilding!

[eatcrow2]

Beautiful modeling!!

[tawnyman]

My first attempt at the male resembled He-Man , I had to trim him back quite a bit! As you say, I'm sure it gets easier with practice.