The Little House

Built By: Steve B

Description: Construction of this module begins December 2011. Inspired by the illustrations in the classic children's book "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton. Photos of the module during different stages will be posted as work continues.

Above: Book cover and the page I'll use as inspiration for module.


12/18/11 Step 1. Using the illustration in the book as a reference I cut pieces of foam core board and pink insulation foam to serve as a foundation. I cut into the foam core to make a depression for the pond and the section of the creek that runs down stream from the pond. Likewise there is a drepression for where the steam shovel is digging.



12/19/11 Step 2. Multiple layers of DAP DryDex Spackling used to build contours of hills. Goes on pink. Dries white. I used a hairdryer between layers to speed up the process. Probably one more coat in some small areas still needed followed by a light sanding.

12/20/11 Step 3. (No photo). Light sanding followed by small patches of spackling to fill minor cracks and low areas.



12/22/11 Step 4. A coat of light brown latex paint used as a base and to seal the surface.





12/23/11 Step 5. Paint grass, dirt, etc. Sprinkle 'grass' on last coat of paint. Build stone dam at end of pond. Seal and then pour Woodland Scenics Realistic Water (tm). Let harden. In this picture the pond is still a little cloudy and additional layers will need to be added.



12/29/11 Step 6. For several days I had to add layers of Realistic Water after it would dry and shrink. Finally I had the level I wanted. Next I extended the stone fence from the dam around the front of the hill. A few extra stones were added to the foreground in front of the tracks. I also added the waterfalls over the dam and some ripples using just a dab of Woodland Scenics "Water Effects". Finally I made a bridge over the creek out of a scrap of plastic and painted it grey.