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lostmymarblz
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Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
The tall cabinets have all been taken apart and the short cabinets are being set up this week. Here's a view of the room as it is this evening....
This is only the beginning of the beginning. What a complex project we are embarking on! Not only do we have to set up the bases, which is going to be the easiest part of the whole project, we also have to put plywood over the bases and design the framing on which the Plexiglas sheets hang and the top sits on.
After that, there is the top to design, which will have daylight (or cool) flourescent tubes lighting the whole "T", with switches to turn on certain lights only during video making, or all lights when we want to view the Village at night.
Second to last will be putting the buildings in the right places. This step will take many, many attempts to get the whole Village to flow naturally from farming area to housing, schools, church and medical area to the shops area then to the Grand Hotel - all the while imagining what the landscape will look like.
Finally, landscaping must be done. Judging from the research I've been doing on model train message boards, this is going to take the most time and effort. I'm not going to be able to use most of their landscaping methods, but seeing their photos is a great inspiration.
I'm really quite jazzed about putting this altogether! The pieces are falling into place very well. Chris has the week after next off from work to lay the plywood as well as get a good start on building the frame and top. The rest will be up to me  It's going to be beautiful!
Last edited by lostmymarblz, 5/8/2008, 8:06 am
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4/2/2008, 6:58 pm
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MotherMoonGoddess
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
It looks absolutely awesome, Beverly. However, I made the mistake of telling my husband about you, so now he is giving me a hard time about the construction of my Village. "He said that maybe when you finished your Village that I could hire you to build mine for me, so that my Sylvanians wouldn't have to continue being homeless. He said that it was getting really hard to hear the TV with all the crying that was coming from my Sylvanian room. He also suggested that maybe I could call the Red Cross to come in since the room apparently was hit by a tornado and their job is to help during disasters. Then he says, I know that you are stubborn, Julie, but even you can't build your Village just by talking about it, no matter how hard you try." He is such a smart aleck and can be replaced. LOL 
Julia
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4/2/2008, 9:15 pm
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millienorwood
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
Oh Julia, that last comments of your husband really made me laugh.
I myself have a whole loft in my home that is pretty much dedicated to SF.I, like Beverly have currently taped out a floor layout for the beginnings of my village, and can totally see the dilemma of getting the village layed out in a"real" way. I have thought a lot about the houses that will be in each area and the families that live in them.For example, i think that my Dale Sheep family should live in the Orchards at Willow Hall, and that the Sylvanian builders( the Waters Beaver family) will live in a run down Rose of Syvania because they are so busy building other things they dont have time for their own home. Sometimes i find that i have sat in my loft staring at my sylvanians just thinking about them for 3 hours !!!
I do have a good tip for trees though - i try and find a fake plant that looks like the foliage part of a tree, then i use oven bake polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpey, to model the base, leaving a whole in the top to insert the foliage into. If you use the brown colours, it bakes to a lovely hard plastic look which i think goes really well with the rest of the SF stuff.its very economical compared to buying trees, i found that railway trees were all too small for my liking anyway.
Sorry, i really didnt mean to write a book!! Ha Ha
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4/3/2008, 3:58 am
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lostmymarblz
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
Julia,
Don't let your husband downplay the importance of talking about building your SF Village. Of course, some action is also required.
When Chris and I first began talking about the possibility of the Village, he was sort of mad at me. He said I was dragging him into another of my hairbrained schemes by continually bringing up the subject. I was taken aback by his comment, so I took some time to think over what he said. At the time, he'd been wanting to set up his workshop in the garage, but was waiting for spring to come so he could work in relative warmth. (It's really freaking cold in our garage when it's -20 up here!)
The next day, we talked again, and I told him that I wanted him to have his heart in his part of building the Village. His response was that I was asking too much to have his heart, brains, time, effort - all of his person involved in my project. I told him that if his heart was in the work that he would do a great job instead of meerly an adequate job.
I took my words to him into my own heart and cleaned the garage for him while he was at work. When he came home, I told him that I put my own heart into his garage workshop project by sweeping and washing the garage floor. He walked around the garage and saw how clean it was. I think the lightbulb went on over his head about what it meant to put your heart into another person's project.
Since then, he's really come through working on the cabinets and discussing some of the general aspects of Village construction. I was also goaded into action to clean up every odd and end of the never-ending cataloguing process. My studio went from disaster area to big clean working space in two days.
Tell your husband there is no freaking way I'm going to build your Village for you! You and he are going to come to an understanding about his time and energy commitment to your Village, but you've got to prove to him how serious you are by your actions. If right now isn't the time for you to be making your Village, tell him that, but also tell him when you think the time will be right so he can have it in the back of his head that you will eventually need his expertise.
Good luck! And, BTW, replacing a husband isn't as easy as it sounds 
Millie,
OMG! Keep talking about your Village on this thread, please I need as much input as I can get! Sitting for three hours and staring at your Sylvanians is a great way to maneouver the buildings, etc. into some final form, at least in your mind.
Here are some threads I've found on railroad landscaping techniques that you might find interesting....
EDIT: This post will be updated periodically to add more links.
SYLVANIAN DISPLAY PHOTOS:
Chel's Visit to London Sylvanian Store - Photobucket list of pics at bottom of page
Rocky's Trip to Thailand Photos
GENERAL TERRAIN AND SCENERY:
Building a Brick Wall - RR BB
Carved Styofoam Cobblestones - RR BB
Circular Model Train Layout Photo Gallery - RR BB
Close Up Photos of Railroad Buildings and Scenery - 10 Pages - RR BB
Grass Clumps from Faux Fur
Grass Clumps from "Pelted Mink" Faux Fur
How to Dissolve Styrofoam
Long List of Terrain Projects - UK
Making Coloured Ground and Tree Foam - RR BB
Making Scenery 22 Page Thread - RR BB
Terrain Tips - UK
Using Mod Podge Instead of White Glue - RR BB
Using Pink or Blue Foam Insulation for Base - RR BB
Vermiculite, Celluclay and Paint "Ground Goop" (partway down page) - RR BB
YouTube Video Tutorials - Using Foam Board for Scenery - RR BB
TREES:
How to Build a Miniature Tree - Commercial Site
Making Evergreen Trees from Caspia
Making Realistic Tree Bark
Making Realistic Trees - RR BB
Several Tree Armature Ideas - UK
Tree Foliage Glued to Painted Backdrop (partway down page) - RR BB
WATER:
Making Water Features - RR BB
Using Mod Podge for Making Water - Hobby Thread
Waterfalls and Pools - RR BB
Waterfall Tutorial - RR BB
Water Making Supplies - Commercial Site
Water, Water, Everywhere - RR BB
YOUTUBE TRAIN VIDEOS:
Japanese Forest Railway - 1:87 Scale - Very Detailed Scenery
US - Details of Buildings and Scenery
Vancouver Model Railroad Museum - Mountain Region
Last edited by lostmymarblz, 8/15/2008, 2:25 pm
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4/3/2008, 7:07 am
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MotherMoonGoddess
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
Beverly,
My husband was joking with me when he made the comments that he did, he actually had me in stitches. He wasn't in the least bit serious. He know's that I have other things to take care of before I can really get serious about constructing my Village. Right now my main concern is getting the nursery ready for our grandchild. Plus, my house is upside down right now and needs a thorough Spring cleaning. I have actually been very ill the past few months and have not had the energy to do much of anything. It's nothing serious, it's just that I am diabetic so I have been catching every virus or bug that I am exposed to and it has wreaked havoc with my immune system. On top of it all, the past two weeks I have been dealing with an infection from a cyst on my abdomen that has required numerous trips to the doctor's, strong antibiotics, pain medication, ect. The last time I had a cyst like this, I literally almost died and ended up having to have emergency surgery to remove it. I ended up with a hole in my stomach the size of my husband's fist and about 6 inches deep. I was in the hospital for awhile after the surgery, and then for months had a nurse coming in twice a day to clean and dress the wound. Since it had to heal from the inside out, it was a long process. Luckily, we caught it in time this time around. However, it is still making me extremely sick.  Needless to say, building a Village is the last thing on my mind and my husband understands this completely. He actually was trying to make me feel better about the situation. He know's how much I want to do this and has told me that he would help me when I am able to start. I actually wouldn't replace him for all the money in the world. To be honest, he is irreplaceable.
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4/3/2008, 12:12 pm
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lostmymarblz
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
Julia,
I'm so sorry to hear that you've been so sick I had no idea, or I wouldn't have made half my comments to you  I apologize for my insensitivity. Please get well soon.
When you do get the time for your Village, you can re-read this thread and take whatever ideas you need from it. On the saltwater aquarium board I frequented (to the tune of 5,000 posts!) when I kept my reef, there were lengthy threads all the time about some person or other setting up a new, often large and technologically advanced system. There were lots of photos, great discussions on the merits of one lighting system over the other, what computerized equipment they might or might not use, etc. My reef systems were always extremely low-tech, but it was always interesting to see people throw handfuls of money at their reefs in the form of gadgets.
Sylvanians are pretty low tech, but handfuls of money seem to get thrown in their direction anyway 
Talk all you want to about your Village on this thread. I love reading about other people's ideas
I'm going to EDIT my previous post every so often with links to DIY model railroad threads or product pages that I think others might benefit from. That way, all the links will be in the same place.
When I get new photos of my studio and Village, I'll be sure to post them here as well as on the Bolg page of my website.
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4/3/2008, 1:13 pm
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MotherMoonGoddess
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
quote:
lostmymarblz wrote:
Julia,
I'm so sorry to hear that you've been so sick I had no idea, or I wouldn't have made half my comments to you I apologize for my insensitivity. Please get well soon.
Beverly,
What in the world are you talking about? I never saw anything that you wrote as being insensitive. You have been nothing but kind in your posts to me. So, in other words, I do not accept your apology because you have nothing to apologize for in my opinion.  So there! 
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4/3/2008, 1:24 pm
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Trinity888
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Re: Making a Sylvanian Village
Hello Julia,
I am sad to see you are ill. I hope you take it easy and get some inspiration from the boards! I enjoy reading your and Beverly's posts on your village. Take it easy PLEASE!
I have decided I might have to join in too! I have a downstairs lounge which we never use. Its a large area, I don't have the cabinets that Beverly has but its a large floor space area, set up with just settees, coffee tables and a large collection of statues.
Beverly, thanks for posting all of the information on how to landscape and make trees. You are right in that SF collecting is a bit low tech compared to the miniature railroad enthusiasts.
Thanks also for the photos as you go along... you do have people watching your progress out there and getting both inspiration and tips!
Matthew.
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4/5/2008, 1:11 pm
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