Greetings to all…
I know that many of you have vintage and reproduction cast metal “zinnfiguren” or “flatties” in your village…but if the terms are new to you…go to this link to see an impressive collection…
http://www.antoinettestockenberg.com/Putz2014.htmI’m not going to go into their history…or where to buy them…this topic is about making your own out of cardboard…by the way…they are much easier to buy than to make…but making things is what I do…
Flat cardboard figures have been around for a long time…toy train scenery figures, toy soldiers and knights come to mind…they were a very inexpensive dime store alternative to cast metal…
The snowman is a good first subject…just a simple cardboard silhouette with layered details like the hat brim, scarf, arm, broom and handle…the base is a cardboard oval with a small wood brace where the body meets the base…see the pattern and photos below…note...make the body first...then cut the other pieces to fit...i had to cut out several of each to get them right...
The next step is primer…a couple of coats of white craft paint…this really changes the look of the layered cardboard…it fills in all the gaps and seams…
The final step is painting the details…followed by spraying on a clear protective finish and adding glitter and mica flakes on the base…
The above finishing steps will follow later in a reply to this topic…
I’ll hope to post a few other basic figure patterns…I'll do an internet search for “Christmas silhouettes”…and see what’s out there…that will be a good place to start for the next “flattie”…
My very best regards…Howard…