Outstanding work as usual buddy! Really like that service panel. A nice touch!
J

Thanks Claude!
I will try here!
I found a small tree in my garden and the roots are very fine and similar.

Thanks again!
Congratulations!

Ok guys, it's been a month since my last update.
Since then i worked on it every day, but this work has been done on many levels.
The farm house roof got completely covered.
I do not even have a picture except this view from a setup of the display i made


The farm house on the right at his later place near the river.
I made some furniture, made also the lightning of two houses.
It occurred to me that the kitchen would remain pretty dark, so i figured out a way to get a LED light into the kitchen lamp to do a decent lighting.
I do not want to post a picture before the whole interior is done as the effect would not be the one i want. (also, lately i am pretty much disgust by my photographing skills as i can do want i want, i can't get a decent crispy picture)

I also lightened the bike shop, just in case somewhat would really like to see the work i did on the interior

This is not the defintive position of the light neither the full interior! Foto just for hun

I will allow for a separate light switch for this. I recognize that it is not in line with the rest of the dio, but who knows the potential use it could get(museum perhaps) , so i placed the light and wire while possible.

This all took a lot of time already.

I then figured out that , in order to correctly be able to access my workspace later on, i really need to get the third house done and placed before i even could think of setting the farm house and the bike shop.
So i also started the third house, called "Bouvier".
Advantage here is that the house still exists today, minus some steps on the front side



Disadvantage: The massive size of it. So what i will do is build a scaled down version of it and it will not be standing isolated but build on the bike shop. I simply do not have the space for more.

In the end the windows and doors fit in the right place anyway, the space in between is a bit less of course.

So , for fun again, here is my method to calculate window sizes. So if someone thinks i should incorporate such an article in my next book, i seriously do not know how i would explain that


After some master building,

mould making and two weeks of copy making, hehemm, you got that here


Some 35 windows and doors and double this count for shutters.
Now i need to fill all the bubbles and find a way to effectively paint this. The stone sill and the wooden window are in one piece here!
Set on the sketch of the house, this will look like this.


I also repaired the Sherman who got damaged during the expo in November! Finally.
I did not even had the time to get the last water work done, my Envirotex is now probably not good for use any more.

Excuse for this messy update (and probably my english as i am tired), it's probably so chaotic as my recent work progress.

It's going forward, that's the most important.

By the way, for some photoetch work for the house on the last module, yes i am also planning that one already, i spend hours and hours of computer work to extract the original balustrade design from a picture. I then also prepared some posters for the dutch expo. Is that it? Man, this is a hobby, a hobby, a hobby

Greets

Claude

This is,of course,stupendously awesome,jaw-dropping work here my friend! I am happy to hear that you cast all of those windows instead of making all of them by hand!
J

Claude you continue to be a source of inspiration and ideas... I may have to try pouring some resin for my next diorama?

An unbelievable amount of work you are putting into this piece. You are a machine good sir... a machine!

Awesome windows and shutters!

You may never get around to a copper roof afterall.

Dave

Claude,
Welcome back have missed your weekly updates. I check your Blog every Sunday. Your work is the best. The effort you put into research is the best. Any idea when you might be doing your second book? As always look foward to yor updates.
Tom

Jerry, Dave , Thomas, thank you very much!

There is indeed a lot of work involved with the windows and casting. I have some filling to do around the fine details of the door i showed above. This is due because of the detailing i made with 0.25 mm soldier wire. This is really so thin that the resin does not fill every spot.

The moment i did put in all the pieces, this house is essentially done. The roofwork is not difficult and more routinework.

Ok, i forgot the cleaning of 60 shutters and doing 120 hinges! LOL

Thomas, the book is certainly at least two years away.
You see my progress here, it willl take the rest of the year to finish this module (there is more vegetation, wall and fence, 30 cm cobblestone street and i need to put a driver on a nearly finished Harley.
While building the last building, the big Villa, i would like to start the book work in order to get it done with the completion of the dio. The Villa will take a year probably (it's very big and complicated). Take a few more overall pics and voilà, finish.

But then, i think i said that already, i have still no idea what kind of book it should be.
My WIP pictures are not better then for the last book, i do not want to rehash tips and tricks already in other publications (and i can not reinvent everything), on the other side a pure photo book will probably not sell so well. This is all really more difficult here as for the first book. If i want to get professionnal help for the photos of the finished dio, there are a lot of logistic efforts already needed. If i do that, i can start the book only after completion of the dio, means at least one more year.
As randomly as my writing here are my thoughts around this. I am not yet on orbit and still looking for the best solution.

Claude

Claude, If it as good as the first the wait will be well worth it.

Keep up the fantastic work.


Paul

Claude, it's always getting bigger and better! I love the light in the bike shop.

Well Claude you seem to perdre la main uh? good moulding parts. As usual I am getting dizzy at the sheer size of this..

Yo Claude,

Respect for all your patience on this massive moulding session...

The result is spot on!

Greetz Nico

Hello Claude!
I will tell briefly - everything looks simply excellently!

Thanks everyone!

Claude

really a herculeus effort for a superb result
Ciongrats one time more Claude

Thanks Carlos


Everyone, i need your input, in fact i need your fantasy

I want to model this fountain-lantern mix

from the other side


here is the best i could do with photoshop to see the sculpting details, in the middle and on top




What is your opinion ? What does it show? I have opinions, but don't tell them now to avoid any influence.

Everyone please!! This is the only existing picture!

Thanks

Claude

Boars head (top part)

Well... I think that can be the coat of arms of the town or the anagram of the company that give the service:electric service, gas service or water service
carlos

I think on the top part those are fishes, the "fantasy" one what you can see on old maps.

BTW I can't stop admiring your enthusiasm ro replicate the old town as real as possible. Most people won't mind a second to find out the real details of a not-any-more-existing foutain.

Hi Claude,

The bicycle shop is looking grand. I like the lighting. Don't forget under the eves. Outstanding work as always you must have the patience of a saint.

Cheers and keep up the good work.

Al

I think the top part looks like a coat of armsof important family or town badge.
The middle looks like two running animals.
The middle I would do as ascene of something.

Cheers
Robbo

Ok, well, thanks for now... i will analyse the pics with your proposals in mind. please bring more

I tell you what i think

The very top with those protruding part looks for me like some children head and upper torso, meaning eventually angels (on the right one you might distinguish the arms)

Just below looks indeed like fish heads, on the first look, later on, i don't know anymore

below that, i did not even yet think about it, a little scene probably, yes...

the bigger part below certainly features some inscription...

And I must do four sides of this

Lazlo, yes , this looks a bit crazy, but i prefer not doing it at all instead of a complete fantasy piece. It should at least be plausible. I hope that in some future this dio will get some attention outside the modelling world (local and national history) and with this in mind i can not start to do complete nonsense. The location in this case is also not far from the original location. In fact i will place it on the other side of the Bouvier house where it should really be.

More ideas??

Thanks for your contribution

Claude

I really tried to see any of the coats of arms on the fountain but can't. So I suppose it's negative help but. Nothing seems to match the coats of arms for Clervaux or the Counts of Clervaux ( and there is a great number of those) or even the coat of arms for Luxembourg.The Coat of Arms for Luxembourg does offer armorial Lions Heads but darned if I can see the three blackbirds from Clervauxs armorial bearings. One source suggests that over the portal to the chapel are the Counts Armorial coat of arms borne by vultures ( no picutres of course) could that be the fountain decoration?
Cheers
Will

Hey Claude, Kind of looks like cupid on the top right square section to me. Hard to tell but the two look different to me.On the middle rectangle it looks like dolphins over waves and the bottom looks like a section for inscription/writing. I could be way off as it is not that close to the ocean, but it's a guess. By the way, bike shop with the lights is real good. It keeps getting better each time I look at your work.

Hi William,
that's some well supported answer! Your knowledge of Clervaux coat of arms surpasses mine.
Thanks a lot

I see where you recognize dolphins, ... the Clervaux river certainly had a few fish species ...

I think i will start sculpting and see where it leads me.
The figure's head, if it is a figur, has a mere 1-2 mm wide! Sculpting in 1:200 anyone!? LOL
I need to do that besides the other tasks, otherwise i will never finish.

Thanks all for your contribution

Claude

Don't expect any news any time soon from the fountain above. It is going to be a side project for the next few months.
Priority now to the buildings, one after the other.

The Bouvier house, the big one, is the one i am finishing now.
Here it is after i inserted the windows and doors

notice how i proceeded to get a support for the roof tiles.

I imagined the Bouvier house as it is originally would dwarf to much the rest and downsized my model here and there to fit it in my dio.
My plan was to build the house on the bike shop (the back of it seen to his left on the pics).
When i saw the layout i did not like it at all

The lots of windows on one house do absolutely not match with the minimalistic features of the other one. Also, there was really more space and air to make the Bouvier house bigger.
So i went back and added an feature the original one has, the lower stone part. This raises it by 4 cm. I also will put the house alone and will completely change the layout of the parc with the willow.
This looks better (the styro simulates the added height)

A wall , hedges or a tree will limit the view to the lower bike shop.
I would need more space between the house and the river, but i don't have it.

I wanted to update you this evening but noticed that I only had this picture ready

It is already ten days old. So i went to my work room and took some quick shot to show you the latest progress as one side of the roof is already covered. There is a lot of gutter work done here, a few hours work for each side. Unfortunately it is not really visible.

Notice the stone work and the space left free to insert the stairs.

No painting is yet done on the house!

Greets
Claude