Restoration of a Trashed Green Spot House Best Ever

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:00 pm

This turned out to be the best restoration of a fuzzy window Green spot house that I have done. I took some pictures and passed them to a few friends and one finally suggested that I put some paint stripper on the grossly repainted base. I did and discovered that it was indeed a green spot house. This article takes you through the process and gives you some idea of what this thing looked like originally. Good for another 50 years! However there were ODD brush strokes on the fence and even the original posts were green. This color of green was never used by the fuzzy window green spot house but instead was a lime green. I finally figured out that this had been rehabbed at least twice and once fairly recently because those mullioned windows were backed with red acetate. Also the door was a T. Althof door. Notice after I got the house fairly cleaned up that a dark green had been painted around the base of the house. Certainly nothing like that was done originally and was likely done as a light seal. In addition there had been a glue sprayed on the house and plastic glitter sprinkled on it as seen in photo 2. I scraped off the glitter and wound up repainting it with a well matched paint I mixed up and sprinkled German glass Diamond Dust glitter over the paint as was originally done. (Yes this is authentic) I had tried spraying the glossy sprayed on glue with a Flat model paint spray but it simply didn't work. So went with a paint job.

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:27 pm

This first photo shows the new base that I made for the house. The old base didn't have a bottom on it and the perimeter had been reinforced with old Orange cardboard from a Quaker Oats Shredded Wheat box from the 1930's. It seemed more practical to make an entirely new base and preserve the base as it now exists as a record of what had transpired with this piece over it's long life.
Also you can see the model RR white chat or ballast gravel that I used on the base after painting it with my toned down white latex interior white paint. I used the little bottle of Antique White which was too dark to tone it down. With the ballast gravel (fairly fine) and the paint the finish is very much like the original.
In this next photo you can see That I have put on the coconut on the house and also coconut on the green spots on the base. This shows the fuzzy windows available from Pete Oehmen and BOY did I have a blast installing them. This was the EASIEST install of any restoration I have done as the house was off the base. The glue I used was Aileen's Tacky glue and I applied it with a Q tip swab.
And lastly is the first photo of the finished building. I have a theory that this must have been a Nun's Convent as ONE wing has a church window (perhaps the chapel). And the left wing with small windows would be the dorm and then the large central hall. Notice the Gothic arched roof lines that seem to additionally suggest this. Thanks to Pete and his wonderful Restoration supplies this is the easiest best and most authentic restoration of a fuzzy window building yet!

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:30 pm

Here are some other views

Post by **Tom Hull** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 9:38 pm

Just a few more shots and with light. One of the interesting things to me was that this house has holes punched from the main central hall to the two wings. Interestingly the chapel had the same type window punch punched in the side for light and the central hall had the smaller arched windows punched into the sides for the same reason and the left side had a rectangular window punch for the light hole. It didn't really matter because this doesn't really show and the light in the left and right wings is minimal anyway. At least they tried.
The last photo is a close up featuring the green spots. Note that this has a special coconut that Pete made for me for the green spots and I used it here for the first time. REALLY worked well!

Post by **BrianB** » Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:37 pm

Awesome Tom! That is a SUPERIOR rehab!!!! Thanks for sharing all the details on this one too. So cool to see people using the replacement fuzzies!

Post by **Tom Hull** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:03 am

BrianB wrote:Awesome Tom! That is a SUPERIOR rehab!!!! Thanks for sharing all the details on this one too. So cool to see people using the replacement fuzzies!

You of course KNEW I would be using them and this was the BEST experience. Previously recreating fuzzys was a slow and painful process. NOW it is easy. It also helped that he house was off the base as that made it even easier. It was almost like building it originally! I think I am going to call this one the Convent. Maybe put a Mother Superior inside! LOL

Post by **paulrace** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:08 am

Tom, Lemax used to make a nice series of nuns.

Thanks for sharing - this was a great rehab project. Agreed, the windows look great, too!

Post by **Howard** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 7:24 am

tom...

as usual...another super restoration...members and visitors to the forum learn so much from your of step-by-step outline and photos...not only about the "how" and "why"...but some "interesting history" as well...

note to new forum members...here's a link to see more of tom's "how" and "why" methods...

http://www.cardboardchristmas.com/papateds/fixit.html

my very best regards...howard...

Post by **Tom Hull** » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:54 pm

paulrace wrote:Tom, Lemax used to make a nice series of nuns.

Thanks for sharing - this was a great rehab project. Agreed, the windows look great, too!

Yes Paul the window DO look great and were SO easy to use and we have Brian to thank for his work on these authentic replicas. tkh