BALCONY HOUSE

Post by **maria** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:39 am

Without a doubt and I don't own this house, one of my favorite vintage putz--mainly due to the balcony

Post by **BrianB** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:23 pm

That is an AWESOME house! The balcony is super cool, I remember seeing one on Ted's site and in a chapter of Pete's collectors guide. I can't remember what it is made of. Does anybody remember what it is fashioned from? Is it the same as the little people?
Thanks for sharing!!
-Brian

Post by **maria** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:28 pm

isnt it just cardboard?

Barb · Post by **Barb** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:40 pm

Brian, the balcony is the same material as the small figures... chalkware or composite. Someone like Tom can probably give us the recipe!

Barb

Post by **Howard** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:52 pm

good afternoon to all...

i'm with maria on this one...have had my eye on building my own version someday...i'll have to look at ted's site and see if there are any other views...if anyone has additional pix of this house and wants to share...i'd like to see the pictures...

my very best regards...howard...

Post by **BrianB** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:39 pm

Good afternoon! Thanks everybody for your input! I had a chance to look in the chapter of Pete's collector's guide called Giant Coconuts its one of two chapters that I have. The pic above is the same one that Pete has in his book. Pete has the Balcony listed under features as "A Cast Composite Balcony painted with Silver & Orange" He also has an awesome close up on the next page, and it looks very hand-made or sculpted. However there are two little dots that look like they could be part of a tiny mold release. I dont think it is cardboard after looking at the close up because the details are defintely tooled in.
I too would love to see more pics of this style of balcony if anybody has any!!!

Post by **Tom Hull** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:52 pm

Uncle Tom Checking in on this. What I believe this is is the same thing that was a sort of craft in the 1920's and 30's. On wood picture frames what people were doing were piping on gesso in designs with a cake decorator piping tool. They would then gild and decorate the frames. This balcony is similar in treatment and could have been done on cardboard. The following I copied from Wikapedia on Gesso. The technique used on this balcony is very similar to those used on the balcony. Tom
TRADITIONAL GESSO
"Gesso", also known "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso"[2] is a traditional mix of an animal glue binder (usually rabbit-skin glue), chalk, and white pigment, used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden painting panels as an absorbent primer coat substrate for painting. The colour of gesso was usually white or off-white. Its absorbency makes it work with all painting media, including water-based media, different types of tempera, and oil paint. It is also used as a base on three-dimensional surfaces for the application of paint or gold leaf.[3] Mixing and applying it is an art form in itself since it is usually applied in 10 or more extremely thin layers. It is a permanent and brilliant white substrate used on wood, masonite and other surfaces. The standard hide glue mixture is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, thus making it suitable for rigid surfaces only. For priming flexible canvas, an emulsion of gesso and linseed oil, also called "half-chalk ground", is used.[4] In geology, the Italian "gesso" corresponds to the English "gypsum", as it is a calcium sulfate mineral (CaSO4·2H2O).

Post by **Howard** » Thu Jul 25, 2013 8:37 pm

tom's post got me to doing a little searching...and i found "Scribbles brand 3D craft paint"...there are other brands i'm sure...try your local craft store...not sure if the tip of the squeeze bottles have a small enough hole for very fine lines...might be worth a try...lots of colors available...not sure silver was listed...but i'm sure it's available...

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/scr ... nt-224030/

my very best regards...howard...