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Volume 05 is focused on <b>The Hattifatteners</b>, and we will be building the <b>Ground Floor</b>, starting the <b>Kitchen Stove</b> and adding to the <b>Porch Roof.
<li>Sandpaper (240)</li>
<li>Wood glue</li>
<li>Double sided tape</li>
<li>Paintbrush</li>
<li>Brown paint</li>
<li>Toothpicks</li>
<li>Modeling mat</li>
<li>Plastic glue (I used JB Weld adhesive)</li>
<li>Paint palette (see below for how to recycle packaging here)</li>
<li>Pipette (I have no idea where this was used in this Volume, maybe I was just looking at the photos but I did not need this at all. It's in the list though.)</li>
<li>Paper towels</li>
<li>Wood varnish/oil (They recommend varnish to spice up the ground floor, I had some mineral oil in the garage and used it since it was on hand, but they recommend something more glossy.)
The parts for Volume 05, another floor piece and some paper roof tiles.
You will start this Volume by finally using that huge floor piece from a previous month. You get a second one of these, and they will combine into the ground floor. However, first you will stain the floor. They provide you with a small tube of brown paint (which did not have a metal cap like in the instructions, it was a regular plastic tube) that you will mix with water to create a wash. I believe I added a little too much water (and added some more paint in to compensate), but I'm still happy with the floor color. As listed above, they suggest having a paint palette on hand, but I used the plastic packaging from the stove in this Volume.
A blob of brown paint in a plastic container from the kit packaging.
The two floor parts next to each other, brown paint 'stain' applied.
I was thrown off by the floor pieces having opposite wood plank orientations, but I believe these are separate rooms in the house. After the stain, I glued the two pieces. I applied wood glue to one edge, then pressed the second edge downwards into the slot so any excess glue would come out the bottom instead of the top. I then applied some mineral oil to the base, since it was convenient and would at least give it a little bit of shine. The instructions recommend a glossy varnish, but again I'm trying to use stuff I have as much as possible.
Afterwards we will add some extra support to the porch stairs and roof, which I desperately wish had been included in the previous Volume where we assembled this. These are two metal rods that help support the roof without being too visible. Really don't understand why they include this a month later. Note that there are holes for it in the very bottom of the base, because the rods will not fit if you don't slide them down into the bottommost holes first. Add some glue at the top in the roof, and I added a little glue at the bottom as well to hold them into place.
Next we will be putting tiles on the roof. The tiles are thick paper that you will layer on each other in numbered order. This process is pretty easy due to the lines in the wood of the roof. The biggest thing you need to know is to make sure you get enough glue on all the edges and the tips of the shingles. They will not stay down well if you don't. You can use wood glue for these just fine, if you notice them peeling a little at the corners you can take your modeling knife and a tiny drop of glue and slide it under there, just be sure to wipe your knife well afterwards (I own several xacto knife blades absolutely ruined with dried glue). Once you have the tiles on, you'll add a plastic cap piece to the top. This is a darker red than the roof, which irks me, but looking at the finished house on the magazine cover, I don't think we're totally done with the tiles yet, so I opted to not mess with it yet. It looks like you will do some step later to add some sort of extra color/weathering to the roof and a few more edge pieces, so for now I'll leave it be. It's always kind of a judgement call to know whether you should get creative yet or not, which is another reason I wanted to do this blog--so you can learn from my mistakes.
The porch roof with the support poles and a few tile pieces glued on.
The porch roof finished with the tile pieces and top ridge.
There is one part left in this Volume, but it's anticlimactic. You will snap together a few pieces of the kitchen stove to use in a later Volume. I will want to do some weathering here for sure, much like the previous tiled stove, since old stoves tend to be grimy and leave soot over time. But I'd rather wait until we're doing more with this part later. I didn't even bother to get a picture yet.
In progress.
In progress.
In progress.
