Talyce's Domain: Buildings

This page is divided into two sections: Linka and Hirstarts Molds. Pictures will spawn in a separate window. I have been making buildings for just one year, and only my original designs are displayed here.

LINKA Molds (2000-2001)

A discontinued building system from the 1970's, one I was fortunate enough to pick up secondhand from my local hobby store. The molds are extremely shallow and produce pieces 1/8" thick. All the pieces interlock, if you manage to get them out of the mold intact. These were very tricky to work with, especially as a beginner, but I eventually got the hang of it. I built more structures than those shown here, but I have this habit of giving my work away. I may or may not continue the use of these molds, but they are irreplaceable antiques and the rubber has begun to stiffen.
Linka Links:
Examples of plaster pieces. Jackie's Architectural Pages
The full kits, building plans, and pictures of the molds. Model Collectors

A Small Church

My very first building. It fell apart at least 4 times while I was trying to put it together, but it's solid now thanks to a lot of Elmer's glue.
Details: The base of this building is an open, partially mangled CD case, and the rolling texture beneath the scenery grass is...lint! Smothered with glue, it dries hard and looks soft. The points above the windows went on as an afterthought. There are a few steps curving away from the back door as the doorway seemed a bit high. The roof is a good fit and comes off easily. The twisty tree in the front was my first attempt at foliage, made from copper wire, cut up sponge and scenery leaves. I used rubber bands to keep the back trees tight against the building until dry so they look very "grown in." I decided to use this building as a resting place for old mementos and business cards.

Front view
West view
Bird's eye view without roof, interior

The Black Tower
My second building. That's a dwarf standing nearby. This was a project done on a whim from various glued sections that I had built previously with no actual plans to use. They fit together nicely though, and I had fun laying out all the vines along the side. Unfortunately I painted this with enamel which is shinier than I wanted, but I went with it and used blue ink on the trim and roof. The pond has good depth considering the materials I used. The roof does not come off since the back side is already open.
Details: It looked too boring with just walls so I added a spike strip (small nails pounded through a cut up emery board). The rocks are real, and the apples are rocks painted red. The pond is aluminum foil shiny-side-up with blue ink and gloss on top. As with all Linka pieces, the backs are flat. No amount of sanding got them perfect so I painted the interior black. Sponge shrubs on one side, a very big tree on the other, and lots of black/brown washed sand in between.

West view, apple tree
East view, sprawling vines
Rear view, cutaway interior

Blue Water Temple

My fourth building (the third was a small red brick house which I gave to a friend) and my largest so far. I wanted to go for something grander and make use of some curved pieces. I also wanted a blue building (why?) and I wanted real windows. The water temple has a river flowing straight through it, and is not meant to be completely covered by roof since rain is welcome (in theory). The back side of the temple should probably have benches, it's where the plebes would go to worship. The interior has bridges across the river. This was fun to build, but the large arches took me several casts to get intact pieces.
Details: The inside is wallpapered. I tried sanding the backs of the walls but could not get a good smooth finish so I papered the whole interior and speckle-painted it. It goes from blue to blue-green from front to back. The water is foil again with blue ink and gloss, which looks ok but I think this method should be reserved for small scale ponds in the future. The ink did not want to adhere to the foil at all and took several coats. I'm not sure why I crowded the front entrance with trees; maybe I was expecting to make a lot more foliage but got tired of cutting sponges. The stones lining the walks and the retaining wall are made of cat litter (washed!) but the larger rocks on the embankments are things I picked up outside. The windows didn't come out as clear as I had hoped for. I used Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker by Testors. The larger the surface area of this stuff, the milkier it looks when dry. I used blue ink on the windows for a colored glass look.
TIP: The clear parts cement I used here is great if you want a broken glass window. I left a window piece with wet cement on waxed paper to dry overnight and it got moved before it dried, so I got a window with jagged little clear edges all around.

Front view west
Front view east
Bird's eye view without roof
Rear view east
Rear view west
Inside windows

The Watchtower

Commentary coming, please check back later.

Corner view
Rear view
Top view
Detached
Arched windows closeup

HIRSTARTS Molds (2001-Present)

I'm just getting started with these since this is my Xmas gift in 2001. I have switched from Plaster of Paris to Hydrocal for the moment, and these bricks are a breeze to cast. The rubber is extremely flexible but sturdy, and I don't get breakage problems when casting. You will not find a better building system for fantasy designs. I have the molds for the Dragon's Inn, Wizard's Tower, Tomb, Gothic Church, and Belltower. I won't include any of the structures designed by Bruce Hirst for now, because you can view the originals at Hirstarts.com. These are my designs, be they ever so humble.

Figure Balconies/Stands

I like to display my miniatures because I spend a lot of time and effort bringing them to life. These fit figures with a 1" square or smaller base and make them look a bit more special.
Details: The capstones didn't do it for me just painted to match the rest of the balcony so I turned them into lanterns. Soft glowing flames are painted on all 4 sides of each lantern, with a black top and aged metal frame. The flash did a good job of washing out my paint job. The braced balcony is a bit more decorative than the simple one, with gold wizards tower faces on each side. The back arches are open.

Simple balcony
Braced balcony

Small Candleholder

I wanted something a bit fancier than a plain 8 oz. glass candle jar to give for Xmas this year, and here's what I came up with. The first one took me way too long but I find them fairly easy to build now.
Details: The holder is painted in engine enamel, which is very heat resistant (and fairly pretty for metallics). Minor accents are painted in gold acrylic, but not in any hot spots. The round top is formed by arches from the tomb mold. I tried very hard for a perfect circle but I just don't have it with my current molds. I know the belltower window trims are upside-down around the bottom, but they were too hidden when I tried them the other way. Sometimes these particular trim pieces required a little shaving down to fit the corner pillars exactly. A big hint on how this is most easily built: upside-down.

Side view
Top view, empty

Cathedral Candleholder
This one is for me. It fits exactly to a 3.5" diameter keepsake candle jar that I carry, and it was a challenge. I am not finished with the paint job yet, but here's how it looks so far. It is heavy.
Details: Engine enamel again, but my can of silver is about empty so I switched to gold. I am keeping the accents to a minimum again, and so far I'm painting the arches in "sandstone." The bottom arches are not doubled up (they are half-thickness as out of the mold) because it just isn't necessary. I probably could have avoided the blocky outcroppings on the top corners but I was getting concerned about support for the rounded top pieces.
Side view
Corner view with candle
Top view without candle

That's all for now, I hope your visit was enjoyable. In the future I will be adding a page of miniature fantasy figures I have painted. Back to Talyce's Domain.