Visible and Measurable Progress!

Today as I worked on the Haish house I realized that after today I will have logged almost 30 hours of work on this little model. Quite honestly, just by looking at it you wouldn't be able to tell. I'm only now starting to make the visible changes/improvements that seem to mark my progress, and I am more excited about this project than ever.

Today, I tackled a couple of different sections of the model. First, I reattached the pieces of the roof that had fallen off in the past. I figured I would work from the top down so I:

1. don't lose any of the tiny fiddly bits that go on the roof
2. minimize the chance that my sleeves/tools get caught on things I've already completed as I'm working on the roof
3. can tackle a manageably-sized project without having to put it down over the weekend before I come back on Monday. 

And I did indeed finish the roof today! The thin metal trim around the roof, the spire on top of the tower, the unsteady chimneys, and the other random trim/decorative bits have all been restored, and I am very pleased.

It's a little hard to see, but the small floral-ish motif along the top of the roof was all falling off. I fixed that today.

 In addition to my work on the roof, I also did some repairs on the tower. In my last post, I explained (probably badly) how the tower is supposed to be connected to the rest of the house—by a strip of sandpaper which had since fallen off on one side. Today, I replaced that strip of sandpaper.

I haven't yet connected the tower to the main house, or the floors of the main house to each other, but I think I might wait a little longer for that anyway, to make some of the porch repairs a little easier.

In the process of replacing the tower, I had to get rid of the scourge of my existence, this terrible paper tape/glue/stuff. It's not very sticky and doesn't hold things together very well generally, but when I want to take it off the model I swear it actively tries to spite me. It also ends up leaving a disgusting film that has to be removed and will take bits of paper along with it if you're not careful.

Me removing the Tape From Hell

Finally, a quick update on the last window I need to replace. I precariously glued it in on Monday, but when I came back today I wasn't happy with it, so I removed it and cleaned off the glue. I'm going to try and place it again next week. 

On an entirely different note, some of the details regarding displaying the model are falling into place. I looked at cases today with Cindy, and we talked about how to make sure the model has a steady base on which to place all the pieces. Once the gazebo and porte-cochere are glued onto the model, it has to be placed on a very steady base, so we looked at different placement/display options. We've settled on a base of sturdy, archive-quality foam with a top layer of acid-free cardboard sheets. Ideally, we can cover it with green paper or felt to make it look like a lawn, even though we don't have the original plans or space to recreate the Haish House's landscaping.

It goes without saying that I am very excited about this whole process. 

Hours Today: 6:30

Total Hours: 22:45 (plus approximately 6 hours of prep time)