I’ve been working for a couple months on some things I plan to give my mom and sisters for Christmas. These are based on an LED candle lantern I bought for $5 at Aldi, and disassembled to removed the fake candle part. I made tiny HO scale houses to go inside, based on the pattern I used for this house.
Okay, so here’s the question. I’m thinking it might look even better if I added a little snow to the scene. I’ve got a package of model railroaders snow here to do it with. But I can’t decide. If I do, it would only be appropriate for display in the winter (which is probably okay). And the other thing is I’m afraid of screwing up the job. They look pretty good right now, what if it requires years of experience to get good looking snow on a model? What would you do?
Those are amazing. I have absolutely no help to offer on the snow question – I’d be scared of messing with them, too! OTOH, it might make them even awesomer…(sorry!)
Being generally a no guts no glory kind of guy, I also have a great pile of “risks taken and lost”, and another pile of “just remember one thing” where but for one thing they would be great.
Ultimately it comes down to costs. I have many items sitting finished but cannot be sold that I get to enjoy myself, and usually it is time and money at risk. If you bought more lanterns than you have folk to give them to the question would not be a tough one. If not it is more than tough.
If the lantern is sealed, and the on switch is outside the lantern, than something snowglobe-ish might be possible that can be undone either now or time to come. If not then the risk could easily exceed the rewards.
Well if you want the snow to look like it’s falling I would forget it. It can be done but is that small of an enclosed area it’s going to be real hard to undo.
If you want it on the building and ground it can be done and fairly easily but again you either won’t be able to undo it or it will difficult to undo…
I have been thinking of those tiny finger bananas that in a Glowforge would make the crumb tray ten bananas long or the plantains that make it two bananas long.
I love these, and I bet your family members will be blown away by your skill and artistry. I would skip the snow. Sometimes the enemy of awesome is perfection attempted.
cut another little house and practice putting snow on the roof of that one.
If you want snow to look like it’s falling, hmmm, if we only had a machine that leaves little white marks when we laser clear acrylic that you could slide in as a new “glass” piece…
They are wonderful. I’d keep all of them for myself!
@cynd11 When i put either grass or dirt down depending on the scenery i want around the tracks I did use what is called Scenic Cement but it’s a little pricey. I currently use windshield wiper fluid (summer blend) and white glue or you can use alcohol and dawn dish soap as the wetting agent mixed with white glue. Soak the area and sprinkle the snow it will dry clear so the snow will be the only thing you see.
I am thinking a little air pump send tiny white glitter up a tube squeezed into a corner going up into a top where it drifts down where it covers everything but the excess falls below and recycles. but not on these but some future design that you can do that from the start.
