Building Popsicle Stick Houses, Advanced Edition

Okay, so my "Building Popsicle Stick Houses" tutorials have been viewed many times over so I thought it was time to up the game a bit for anyone out there who wants to move on from those small "fishing shack" or "shed" sized buildings. These photos and the upcoming posts will take us into the more  advanced land of building, you will need all of the techniques that I've taught you so far to get through to the end and be able to call yourself a true "Master of Popsicalia".

PHOTO ONE the first step is to plan what you're doing, just take a bunch of masonite and luon bits and start to arrange them in a way  that appeals. I decided to get this house up off the ground and put down some blocks. I also kept this 21st Century Toys Soldier nearby and use him as a measuring stick and although the fit under the second floor is a little tight, he can still stand comfortably. I used the small dowels for aesthetic effect, and  then glued them into place and supported them with some popsicle stick " floor boards". This step could have waited until the end but I did it anyway.

PHOTO TWO Here's a back view where you can see some popsicle sticks, blocks and other bits that were used to hold things in place. DON'T FORGET to wait for things to dry, you don't want the walls to come crashing down - just slow down trooper.

PHOTO THREE Once everything was set I started in on gluing the "bits", the odds and ends of popsicle sticks that I use to make the ground, you could go get sand and stuff from modelling shops but I'm not into that right now, we'll do a "texture" workshop somewhere down the line, but not soon, there are lots of proper model building sites on the Internet where you can learn those techniques. After that was glued down I used the canvas supports that come with prestretched canvases to make the "cinderblock" wall, it's important to have different looks on your model if you want it to really look "real". Then I began making the "brick" walls, just take a WHOLE BUNCH of popsicle sticks and break them down into brick sized pieces, yes, this is boring, but most hobbies have a boring part- making brick walls is boring, no way around it.

PHOTO FOUR Ebay mail! Look at these great 21st Century dudes, I'll have to swap some heads with other figures but was really happy that these guys showed up.

all for now
A.Shay Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building A Popsicle Stick Doghouse!

PHOTO ONE Here's a quick one for you legions of fans out there on the Interspace, I took two of the pieces from the house kit that I bought a week ago or so (yes, scroll down and make it snappy) and used them as the ends for my doghouse. I also traced my entrance and cut it out with a pair of scissors, the wood these kits are made of is soft and easily cut. Then I used two trimmed popsicle sticks to connect them and added to extra pieces for support. I put it aside and let it dry

PHOTO TWO After the piece was dry it was a simple matter to clad the doghouse in popsicle sticks.

PHOTO THREE I basecoated the piece with my usual brown/black mix, it was a little dark, should've added some white to it so I could get to the end product faster but hey it just goes to show you, you're always learning when you do these builds.

PHOTO FOUR I did THREE passes with both red and white to get the finished colour that I wanted and I'll add that in my second coat of white I did dirty it up with some raw umber, after all it's a doghouse and is probably kept outside.

So there you go a quick one for a rainy day, currently I have TWO really big pieces being built and I'll get those posts up later today.

While I have your attention head on over to "The mad craft shoppe" blog (see links) and check out some paintings, yes I do accept paypal and there are some good auctions that I'm looking at on ebay, so I need your help.

keep on stickin'em together,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

send us an email! send some pics of your builds!

Building Popsicle Stick Crates and Boxes

TOP PHOTO Nothing makes a crate more interesting than putting something in it, here I took some Raffia and glued it into the crate then I painted a couple of wooden beads (very handy, get a bag)  and glued them on top. I first based the beads in black then just stipped (dry brushed) a mix of umber and white over them. I don't know what the objects are supposed to be, but hey.

SECOND PHOTO To make the crate on the left I built  each piece separately with popsicle sticks and then used then ends of popsicle sticks as inside supports to hold it together, the box on the right was actually built around a little cardboard box, which is a quick and handy way to make them fast. I'll do another tutorial on this later.

THIRD PHOTO I really dig those baby alphabet blocks, I'm sure I've bought over one hundred of them. I wanted a few sturdy crates for people to stand on so I just covered one in popsicle sticks and painted it. The pile of logs is made from the spare ends of wooden dowels, I had a bunch lying around and just glued them together, it's simple, but looks great.

FOURTH PHOTO Here's what a bunch of them look like together - sweet!

FIFTH PHOTO - Here is a new idea, these are winches - I'll get to them in the next post

SIXTH PHOTO- I always let the unpainted stuff pile up and then do it all at once, that way, if you have mixed up too much basecoat chances are it won't go to waste.

Okay,back to work, be sure to check out my paintings over at "the mad craft shoppe" blog just find the link in the right side bar, - and send us an email!

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building Popsicle Stick Platforms and Ramps

This is pretty straightforward and can also be applied to building tables for your figures to sit at (make the legs shorter), just a quick note here your drying time is VERY IMPORTANT keep an eye on those legs to make sure they stay straight, be patient, do what I do and work on three or four at a time - or build some crates (see last post) while you're waiting.

 Another note if you have a drill that you're allowed to use (or get your parents to help you) it never hurts to drill a hole for the legs to fit into - it will save ALOT of frustration as you wait for them to dry.

 I also add support by gluing in some ends of popsicle sticks to keep the legs sturdy, you don't have to but I think it helps, especially if you're as rough about storing your pieces as I am, I toss the stuff everywhere.

The ladder and ramp are pretty straightforward, just build them separately, let them dry and attach later.

As you can see by PHOTO #3 if you build a bunch at once you can end up with a pretty cool play set really quickly and it's always cool to have levels for your figures.

Lovable Logan poses in front of one of the platforms to give you an idea of scale.

Happy Building!

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building Popsicle Stick Crates and Skids

Here's a quick side tutorial for you, something to do while you're waiting for your houses and trucks to dry. Detail is pretty important when assembling a diorama, if you notice that yours looks empty, that it's just a figure and a vehicle and a background (yes I spent a long time with boring shots too, don't worry) you have to fill in the space with something, so make some skids and crates. I think the top photo gives a good view of both projects. The skids are pretty easy, build one at a time and then stack them - but as always, be patient and let them dry or they'll just fall over and drive you crazy.

The crates are made of the corner pieces that come with prestretched canvases, you can also just use popsicle sticks. Make a lot of them, they really come in handy for filling in space on your diorama. The crates are full of the ends of popsicle sticks, which I always keep, they are more handy than you think, just keep a ziplock bag nearby and toss them in there so you don't make a mess. Plop some glue on top of the bits and then let it dry.

PAINTING - You don't need to use a tiny brush to paint the skids and crates, I did the skids with raw sienna with a bit of burnt umber mixed it, I thinned it just a little and then got a medium sized brush and just went to town on them AND, you don't have to basecoat! Just paint the wood to look like wood.

Finally here's a picture of lovable Logan standing with the finished product to give you an idea of scale

NEXT UP: Building platforms and ramps!

have a good one

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building Popsicle Stick Vehicles, Painted War Wheels!

Here are the boys all done up and ready to be driven into battle. I had mentioned I was going to do a tutorial on painting metal, unfortunately the pics that I took indoors had a crappy yellow cast to them from the lights and gave no good information.

As an apology here are a couple of tips to get you through until I do a proper tutoral, or scroll down the blog and find the tutorial on animal painting. Alright

TIP #1 - Use as little paint as possible, the technique we're using is called DRYBRUSHING - it means that your brush is dry - so pat out all the water on a cloth and then dip it into your paint. Before you start painting pat off as much paint as possible and then lightly start to work on the area. We build up colour slowly.

As you can see in the bottom photo we went from a dark base, to a medium grey, then a light grey highlight was added to the grille and then after that just little touches of a red oxide/raw umber mix were brushed in to add a rusty battered quality. Turned out pretty well and very little paint was used.

TIP #2 If you want some objects to look bright and shiny, paint them WHITE first. I know this seems obvious but sometimes you can end up doing alot of coats on a section that has a dark basecoat and still not get the POP that you want. My advice is paint it white and then add two or three coats of whatever colour you desire- this works especially well when using red.

Alright next step

Add a figure and a setting.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building Popsicle Stick Vehicles, War Wheels!

Here are views of the other three "Karza" War Wheels that I was building this week, these are the beauties before I take them to base coat, which I thought I was going to include a photo of but I'm not. Basecoating is boring, you're going to dislike doing it, but it is important and your stuff will look all the more awesome because of it. So I've got these guys built, based and ready for paint. A couple of years ago (has it been that long?) I did a tutorial on how to paint animals, this time around I'll do a vehicle painting tutorial on one of these bad boys.

Now it's time to ask something of you internet, it's time for you to tell someone else about this blog, that's right, just let someone else know about all the cool stuff that happens here, maybe drop me a line to let me know that you did.

cheers,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Great Dioarama Bits and Pieces

Okay I'm back after a trip to the Absolute Dollar, the best dollar store in the East End of Toronto, at the top we have a new find and remember, if you find something new and cool, always buy two or three packs. When I find something new that I like, I use it - alot. So these spools are going to be awesome for engine parts, misc. stuff on shelves, they are hollow through the center so you can insert dowels into them. They have all kinds of possiblities.

The next pic is of these great Time for Crafts vehicle kits, I especially like the Train one because it comes with lots of good pieces that can be used to make steps, seats in vehicles etc. So I reccomend buying two of those whenever you see them. I included the photo at the end because bits like these are the ones you'll use first, sure weird shaped pieces look cool and make great details but it's these squares and rectangles that will be there for you in the beginning stages of your builds - so I thought I'd shine a light on them.

Alright, if you haven't been over to my other blog, "the mad craft shoppe" (see links, right side) I suggest you hop over and check out some great new propaganda inspired pieces and read my thoughts on creating that work, you can also find out where my paintings are hanging in Toronto and yes I accept paypal and ship worldwide.

take it easy folks,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Popsicle Stick Vehicles

Here's some first shots of these heavy wheeled bike/truck combos that I'm calling "Karzas" as an homage to the first and true bad ass of the Microverse, Baron Karza. These are Gardan "War Wheels" I'm starting to think that they are used to hunt people over heavy terrain that's why on the left side of this vehicle I've added another seat where the "hunter" would sit to shoot a net gun. I have four of these on the go and was going to start basecoating until I had a late night brainwave that will make these boys look even more awesome and imposing than they already do. This is the first one I built and it looks a little too much like a motorcycle for my liking, I want these things to be unique in the world of Any How Town and the subsequent builds are starting the reflect that plan. 
TIPS FOR BUILDING VEHICLES - as you can see in the second photo I've got a couple on the go, it's important to let things dry the way you intend them, stand them up, flip them over and lean them against things to get the desired adhesion.
Also, something that is important is to do second and sometimes third passes with glue, just to make sure everything is attached securely and won't snap off, just think of yourself as a welder and get in there and secure those parts together.
One more tip that I neglected to add to yesterday's post - on your first basecoat DO NOT add too much water. Thinned down acrylic paint doesn't adhere to glue very well, so go a little more heavy with the paint vs. water mix on the first basecoat. The water is just in the paint to help it get in all the cracks and tiny space.

alright go get some popsicle sticks and get to it!

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Rainy Day Purchases for Models

Here are some new Dollar Store Diorama sets that I'd thought I would try, I've been buying the same ones for awhile and wasn't making anything that interesting so I picked up this racecar ($1.50) and these two other sets of baby furniture, that has some groovy curved lines on the pieces and this house. Also as you can see I picked up more black and burnt umber for base coating.

My basecoat formula is this - lots of brown and just enough black to bring down the tone. You still don't want it to be super flat black, I find that it's harder to get a good sense of depth. You can also just add a wee bit of water to the mixture when you are ready to basecoat your car, building whatever it helps to fill in the cracks.

Alright I'm heading back out into the rain to pick up some woodglue, stay tuned this week to see what I come up with.

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com

Building Popsicle Stick Cabins In the Woods!

Here's a quick little build I did a couple of weeks ago, nothing too fancy just yet, but I wanted to show just what you can do with, POPSICLE STICKS- made the door, door frame, window frames, base boards and the facing for the table with them. COFFEE STIRRERS- the window slats and VARIOUS WOODEN DOWELS- which made the pipes in the room and the legs of the table. I've included a back view so you can see where I added little bits of popsicle to support things that needed binding together.

Next Stop BASECOAT, PAINT and PROPS!

If you need to holler at me, call me here madcraftshoppe@live.com

A.Shay Hahn

Building Beasties! Let's Add Wings!

PHOTO ONE I had made this ostrich/dino monster awhile back and it just hung around the studio staring at me, I wasn't totally thrilled with just doing the old "Attach a different head to a body" thing I'd been doing and frankly the guy looked a little dull.
PHOTO TWO AND THREE I had this leftover dragon body from when I made the "Gobblers!" (Scroll down and find that post) and decided to take the wings and add them to the monster. I measured out the area that I wanted to cut and carefully used the Leatherman saw to cut the wings out, I then did the same to the body of the beastie.
PHOTO FOUR I glued in two small wooden cubes to fill in the hollow body and give some support (no photo, oops! sorry) and once that was dry I glued the wings into place with ALOT of the Titan All Purpose Glue and left it to dry.
PHOTO FIVE Once the glue had set I wet a bunch of paper towel and used wood glue to secure the wings to the body on the top. I did this by adding a few wet layers and let them set. I piled them  up until it was level and looked like the wings belonged there. I left him to dry and now it's ready to paint.
PHOTO SIX I was going to throw the dragon body out now that I'd taken the head and the back off but I kind of see some possibilites for a new beastie -so I'm going to hang onto this and make something crazy.

have a great long weekend,

A.Shay Hahn

madcraftshoppe@live.com