A new project: Die Verwandlung [The Metamorphosis]

With the Attic project finished, I decided to embark on a new one, inspired by the writer of a world famous book. The writer's name is Franz Kafka (1883-1924), and his world famous book is titled "The Metamorphosis" (or, in German: "Die Verwandlung").

I invite you to to join me as I work on a room box that, once finished, will be my personal tribute to one of the greatest authors of the 20th century, and his unforgettable , surreal story.

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© 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.

The beauty of decay.

I've always been fascinated by decay. Even as a child, I was drawn to crumbling structures, dilapidated buildings and rusty objects. Not to mention old cemeteries and relics of the past, like ancient monuments, gardens, and even the forgotten, disused railway tracks that were to be found in some parts of the city where I was born.

I believe that there is beauty in decay; there is art to it, and there is a certain emotional charge to it too, perhaps not for everyone to see, yet it's definitely there. I feel truly blessed to be able to appreciate this beauty that gives 'character' to inanimate objects, like in this case, my vintage toy trains.

Some collectors pay huge sums of money to buy items in pristine condition; items that look as if they came straight out of the factory, even when they were made many decades ago. As much as I love those objects also, to me they do not possess the natural beauty -not to mention the 'mystery'- of a train or wagon that saw heavy use in the hands of a child of a bygone era.

Yesterday I bought a vintage clockwork locomotive made by Hornby in the United Kingdom. She is in rather poor condition, missing some parts, like the front bogey and one of the buffers. Not to mention her wheels.... they will definitely not able to run on metal tracks ever again, even if the clockwork engine would be operational. They would simply disintegrate! But doesn't she look great!? I got so excited that I decided to celebrate the acquisition with this blog, ahead of her arrival. I selected the few pictures from the seller's ad that were 'presentable', and worked on them using photo editing techniques to bring them up to Rust & Steel blog standards as much as possible.

I can't wait for the old locomotive to arrive! She'll be a great addition to my collection, and I'm sure she'll star in many a photo shoot. The camera loves her, that much is clear!

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© 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.

Jane's attic update LIV: A little go-cart.

Hi all! Here's another addition to Jane's attic: a 1:12 scale go-cart which I got as a kit.
Even though I followed the basic building instructions faithfully, I decided to apply some changes of my own, in order to make it look more according to my taste.

One of the main differences with the original kit was replacing the paper artwork which came with it with the image of a vintage red car painted on the side panels, and a number 3 on the back panel, just to give it that extra 'racing' look. 

The weathering was also done 'my' way, with the purpose of giving the cart some history of its own. After all, this little go-cart saw a lot of action in its heyday, and its 'battle scars' (the wear and tear) should be evident at first glance!

The measurements of the cart are approx. 7x4x2 cm, or 2,75x1,57x0.78 inches.

Below image: some basic padding was also added to the seat of the cart, just to make the kids feel a little bit more comfortable during the ride. It's not fixed, so it can be removed if need be.

I hope you enjoyed this pictorial 'walk-around'! I think the little cart looks the part, so I'm pretty happy with it!

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© 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.

The arrival of 19-1803.

Today saw the arrival of a vintage clockwork locomotive which I saved from the scrap heap. Constructed by Karl Bub Nürnberg (KBN) somewhere in the 1930s, and missing many of its parts, the loc was offered up for sale to serve as a spares source for other locs - a practice that in the aviation world is referred to as 'cannibalism'.

Of course I couldn't let the poor loc be further reduced to scrap, so I decided to buy it and keep it 'as is' for display purposes or use in a future project.

I think she looks beautiful in all its rusted imperfection, industrial to the core, sehr Deutsch, and totally at home in my collection of old, dilapidated toy trains and steam engines! I gave her the name "Glück", and assigned to her serial no 19-1803. I wish her a happy life!

The above and below images show the missing front of the smoke box.

The clockwork misses most of its parts. To make this old lady run again, I'd have to replace the entire unit. It's possible, but I'll leave her like this for now. Less is more, remember...?

The 'KBN' letters stamped below the cab stand for Karl Bub Nürnberg, Germany.

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© 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.

Jane's attic residents sneak preview: Little Victoria.

So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Matthew 20:16 KJV.

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© 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.

Jane's attic update No LIII: a very special doll.

Last week I was at a miniatures fair in the city of Arnhem, The Netherlands, organized by DollsHouse Nederland in a truly exceptional venue: a gothic church in the city center! Below are some pictures of the scene.

The whole fair was an incredible gathering of magnificent artists showing skills that made one feel very humble indeed! The level of expertise was stunning, and the items displayed jaw-dropping. 

One of these artists was Mrs Victoria Heredia Guerbós, a miniaturist and sculptress from Málaga, Spain. I would actually add 'magician' to her titles, because the miniature dolls she makes look as if made by magic! I bought one of these tiny little wonders for Jane's attic. Below are some pictures of it for you to enjoy.

The doll is made in exquisite detail, everything about it is just right! She has five fingers on each hand, her legs can move, and she even has tiny beads for eyes, which were painted green. The doll's clothes are made of antique fabric for that extra authentic look. And to put things into perspective, you should know that she's just 2,5 cm tall!!! That's 0,98 inches!!! As I said: magic!

The doll even came with her own cardboard box. She didn't have a name, but I will call her 'Victoria' to honor the wonderful lady that created her.

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© 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.

Jane's attic update No LII: attaching frames to the walls.

Jane's attic holds many old portraits and enigmatic paintings hanging from its aging walls, sitting on the dusty floor, or the dilapidated sofa! These are interesting enough to be reviewed in a separate blog, but the purpose of this one is to discuss the way they are attached to the attic walls.

Most dolls house builders use some sort of adhesive wax or paste to fix frames to walls. That is a quick and effective way of doing things, and what's more, the paste is more or less removable. However, despite the advantages, this is not my preferred method. For starters, I like to work on the back of the frames as much as on the front, even though the back is hidden from view for obvious reasons. I don't mind that the extra details will become invisible; to me it's enough to know that they're there! Hence, if I put so much effort in making a frame look like a frame, then hanging it like one comes only naturally!

I feel that hanging the frames on the walls in the same way real ones are done, adds that extra bit of realism to my work. To achieve this, I attach a metal cord or loop to the back of the frame, and hang it from a metal hook stuck into the wall. By doing this, the upper part of the frame comes a bit off the wall, adding depth, specially when shadows and lights come into play. This is something that cannot be achieved by fixing the frames with adhesive paste (ok, it can be done, but it looks very ugly!). True, it's a lot of additional work, but I think the result is worth the effort!

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Thanks for visiting, and see you next time!

© 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.