Badger House Kit Price: $31.00 plus shipping. Shipping is actual cost using priority mail via United States Postal Service. Plus .70 for delivery confirmation.
Measurements: Base:
Unpack kit. File all rough backs on resin pieces to assure easy gluing and clean fit.
Take your wooden base and check to make sure there are no areas of raw wood showing through on the base edge. Use a burnt umber acrylic paint (any brand) and fill in any areas that need attention. Let base dry. Look at your cardstock sheet and choose your flooring. Center the flooring you choose on the oval or rectangular base and then use the main structure provided in your kit to make sure it fits over the flooring without leaving any gaps and showing bare base. I usually either use my fingernail to gently score the cardstock to the contour of the oval base, or you can use a pencil. Cut out with scissors and glue onto your wooden base. Let dry.
 Take the main structure and turn it on its back. Paint the ceiling a country tan, being careful not to get paint on the timbers separating the upper and lower levels. While the paint is drying choose a color to paint the lower paneling. I usually use a forest green or a driftwood blue and dry brush with a lighter color for highlights after the basecoat dries. Dry brush the ceiling with an antique white using a stipling motion. I usually add a lot of this color because I don't always use electrical lighting for my minis. Another good color combination for the ceiling is a basecoat of antique gold and a dry brush of antique white, this makes a very rich and warm interior glow. If you decide you want to light your piece this is where you need to drill a hole in the top of the main plastic top. I have found that Evans Design has very reasonably priced battery powered LEDs. You can find their address in my favorites section.
The next step is to take the long shelf with the scalloped bottom and paint it accordingly. After everything is dry, go ahead and attach the shelf to the back interior wall. I usually use Tacky Glue*. You may have to file the edge a little to get a proper fit. You can see all of the steps described so far in a completed state in the photo below.
I usually start working on my chimney while everything that I have painted is drying. If your kit didin't come with a completed chimney, here are the steps to finish it. Carefully cut out the traced pattern on the self adhesive fun foam sheet that is provided in your kit. Then use an Xacto knife* and cut the interior section out. Be sure and have something under it to protect your work surface. Take the protective backing off of the fun foam and stick it on to the chimney base provided. Use your scissors to cut off any unsightly overhangs after it is attached. Take the two red straw pieces and apply glue to the top of the chimney base and between the two straw parts. Glue accordingly.
The next step is to paint your bricks that will go on the outside of your model. The bricks in these pictures were primed light gray, but your brick will be primed a dark brown. Through trial and error I have discoverd that the dark brown works better and looks more natural. Use any brand acrylic paint and begin dry brushing your brick patterns, being careful not to get paint in the areas that would be mortar holding the bricks together. The tall chimney below was base coated with a dark maroon or red, then lightly dry brushed with a dark gray and a golden yellow. Experiment with the colors and add some random orange and yellow bricks to break up the regular pattern. If you dry brush an antique white over the bricks when you are finished, be careful not to use too much paint, it fades out all of your hard work!
  
The next step is to paint your exterior doors and windows. You can pick any color scheme you want, just be sure and use a dark color for your base coat followed by a lighter color for your dry brush. The stonework can be dry brushed a light gray and then random browns, tans, and cream colors can be added to bring out the individual stones. Be sure to leave the dark brown primer showing in all of the cracks and crevices of the stonework. It really adds depth to the finished model. You can see some examples of painted doors and windows below.
It is not shown in the photo above, but I usually glue a seed bead on the door to represent a doorknob. When you are fininished painting all of your brick and exterior doors and windows, go ahead and glue everything onto the exterior of your main house structure. I usually use a combination of Super Glue* and Tacky Glue* to get mine to stay in place. Apply the Tacky* first and then add a drop of Super Glue* to it and hold in place. You can see how messy I am in the photo below. You're not a true miniaturist until you have glued your fingers together at least once!
I have everything glued in place in the photo below. You don't have to glue the chimney in the middle, it can be set anywhere on the flat surface.
Now for the fun and challenging part. Remember, perseverance!!! Unpackage your grass covered Styrofoam*eggs. Take a sharp knife or Xacto* knife and cut through the outer layer, this is very similar to peeling a very, very, stubborn orange. The goal is to peel the outer grass layer off without destroying it, sounds good on paper, but it is not a fun process. That being said, it’s time to suffer for your art. I usually only cut about half of the outer layer and then peel, expect some pieces of Styrofoam* to peel away with the grass. Don’t worry if it doesn’t all come off in a nice neat piece. All of the pieces are usable. I use tacky glue* to adhere the grass to the hillside. Once the grass is pulled away from the Styrofoam*, you can cut it easily with scissors. If this part of the instruction set looks familiar it's because I took it from another one of my kit descriptions. :-)
 
 
I generally use Tacky Glue* to hold my grass in place with. Don't be intimidated, glue will squish out from underneath and bleed through as you can see in the photos below. It dries clear and is basically invisible.
 
Go slow and do one section at a time. The final step is to unpack all of your colorful flower mixes and vines. Sprinkle onto your grass and press into place. The bristles on the grass will hold everything in place. You can seal it on with hair spray or a coat of clear acrylic spraypaint. I should have some photos of finished class pieces soon. If you have any questions or see a glaring hole in my directions, please feel free to email me at shaunpf@centramedia.net . Thanks and have fun!!!
Above: Finished badger house from class in KC.
More examples of finished kits and class pieces. The photos don't do them justice.
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