War Horse

Hi all, I hope you're doing well!

The First World War saw the introduction of a new, deadly weapon: the tank. First used in combat by the British in September 1916, the tank revolutionized modern warfare, and has been the spearhead of every land army ever since. 

I've always been fascinated by the otherworldly appearance of those 'archaic' war machines of the Great War. So after seeing a video featuring a stunning replica of one of these monsters (a British Mk IV), I decided to pay it a humble tribute by using a still from the video as the basis to create something that would resemble a WWI photograph. I do hope I succeed in my endeavor.

The replica was constructed for Steven Spielberg's 2011 film "War Horse." It was based on original Mk IV's present at the Tank Museum in Bovington Camp, England. After shooting the film, the special effects studio that made the tank sold it the museum, which added it to their collection. The cool thing about it is that it's not just a static display, but can actually 'move around' through the mud like a real one.

I hope you liked my "WWI era photo" and please visit the Tank Museum's beautiful website and support them for the great work they do. I've put a link down below. Have a great week ahead!

https://tankmuseum.org/

© 2022  José Pereira Torrejón. All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.

Rust & Steel: a New (Old) Dolls House.

Hi all, I hope you're well!

Today I'm sharing with you my latest dolls house, which arrived from the UK last Friday.

It's an historical, 1:16th model of a so-called Wealden house, traditional in the south east of England.

When I saw it on eBay I immediately fell for it! Worn down, desolate, and in desperate need of TLC, what more could I wish for!

I contacted the buyer (a gifted miniaturist and dolls house builder, whose houses are constructed to stunning perfection) and the deal was quickly done. He took great care to make sure the old lady had a save journey to her new home, for which I'm thankful!

The pictures that you see here, are meant to share her forlorn and totally authentic beauty with you all. They were taken by the buyer as part of his ad on eBay, and he kindly granted me permission to post them here.

I'm totally in love with this house, to which the passage of time has given an incredibly realistic look!

The house is totally hand made, probably as far back as the 1930s. It does miss the removable panels it once had, and my intention is to try to reconstruct them, and add them to the house. This will be done with the greatest care and respect, trying to get them to match with the house as close as I possibly can. And, being removable (add-ons), it means that they will not alter the original structure of the house in any way. It will take all my skills to make weathered panels to match a weathered house of this quality, but I gladly accept the challenge!

Above and below image: check out those weathered wooden panels, the hand-painted glass windows, the plastered walls, that front door, the cracks... what a beauty!!

Below: this is what I call the 'blue room'. Honestly, I don't like this color very much, it does not go well with the rest of the house! The problem is that painting it over with a color similar to the other rooms will prove very difficult because of the limited accessibility to the room. But I'll figure something out..

Above and below: pure magic!! That interior wall shows lines which look like humidity, as if the house was exposed to water at some point. I can't stop looking at it, and every time I check her out, I discover something new!

That's all for now; I hope you enjoyed the old house and the photo's!

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Thanks for visiting!

© José Pereira Torrejón, except for the photo's, published courtesy of Frances.  All rights reserved. No part of the content of this blog may be distributed, published or reproduced without prior authorization from the author.