I am trying to come up with ideas for scratch building different ceiling lights and table lamps in
1/35th scale. Electric lamps or oil. I just have a modeling block like you can't believe, any ideas would be great. Bases are easy enough, but to get a good shape for the tops is difficult. Paper lampshades no problem either, but I would like to come up with some fancy glass shades like Tiffany or other fancy antique styles.

Thanks,
Paul

You have yourself a bit of a challenging scratchbuilding task Paul. I reckon the lamps being generally simple shapes could be made of Milliput or similar putty for the table ones and for the taller floor models you could use a combo of putty for the base and wires for the stand.

As for Tiffany like shades, scout around the stationery shops for transparent colored wraps. They come in many colors and you can mix them up to create different colors. Paste them over a thin wire frame. You'll need a fair bit of patience and small fingers given the scale.

A source of bulb looking materials would be the transparent sprues that hold plane canopies or AFV windscreens. Sometimes you can bump into a nice round shape of the right size. I've used them for headlamps and once as a fog light for a boat.

As a last resort scout around accessories for doll houses and you may be able to get some close to scale or at least good enough to modify. That's about all I can think off now. Good luck.

I've never tried anything like that, but for a tiffany lamp maybe you could build the frame of the shade out of thin wire to simulate the lead lines, then use colored tissue paper for the stained glass. Might need a coat of clear gloss or something to shine it up. Or maybe the lead lines would be close enough for surface tension to hold some fluid in place until it dries - paint, tinted varnish, maybe even tinted Future?

A paper shade with tassles hanging off the bottom would fancy it up.

Good luck.

a little harder to work with, but you could use saran wrap to make the shade

then you could add the wire, then use a thicker wash in a few colors for the stained look of a glass lamp shade

Or you could use waxed paper and crayons. Heat it in a toaster oven at very low heat to melt the crayon into the wax paper. Really looks like stained glass.

You could also try things like banisters used in model railroad houses for railings and such. Just look in the railroad section of your LHS and let your creativity do the rest.
Kyle