[GardenGnome]

So nice of you all. I appreciate every word.

Tony: I am going to paint him with latex and Ceramcoat. Once painted I will give him a coat of Clear Gloss Tremclad. That is real good as it has UV protection and will make him waterproof as well. Then I will use some Krylon Matte Finish to dull it down a bit so he isn't so shiny. I am going to use some of my modeling tricks to make the wheelbarrow look old. So we will see how that comes out.

Ash: I have a wood stove in my garage. Not a big one, but big enough to take the chill off the air. I scrounge wood when ever I see it go for free. Nothing like free heat! I picked up some old fence posts one day when my neighbour was cleaning out her yard. Last fall as we were going through the pile I came across some old cedar 4" x 4" posts. they had been in the ground so long that the bottom was rotted off. That takes a considerable time for cedar. The posts were clear and had a tight grain so I pressure washed them and now am carving things from them. I cut some scale lumber for my train layout and when it was time to carve a gnome I used a piece for his body and head. Nice wood, but being so old and dry it was a challenge to keep my tools sharp enough. The slightest bit dull and the wood would mush over and I wouldn't get a clean cut. The arms and legs were carved from a scrap of pine 2" x 4" that was clear. The wheelbarrow was made from 2" x 4" cut in to smaller stock on my table saw. There is a little bit of bass wood on the trim.

Mary, Ken and Hi Ho: He is 14 inches tall to the tip of his cap. The wheelbarrow is 10 inches long and 4 inches high.

Wade: I'm glad your wife likes him. If you would like I could post the plans. It wouldn't take me long to draw them up. He was fun to carve. I don't thin he will see much time out in the garden. My neighbour had one of their gnomes stolen and he was cement. So Alphonse (that's his name) will only be in the yard when I am, but he will look neat in the greenhouse or next to my wife's indoor plants.

Christopher the Garden Gnome

[GardenGnome]

Hi there. I finally got some paint on my gnome. I am happy with the way it has come out. I thought you might enjoy a looky.

Christopher

[Thor]

He's wonderful! The wheelbarrow full of leaves is such a nice touch.
He really does look like he is walking along with it too. Thanks for showing the pictures of him finished.
Thor

[Ashbys]

Christopher ,

Awesome ! ... but watch out for Kenny if it picks up Leaves .... he may disapear !@!!!!!


And please don't let my wife see it !


Garry

[tucker1931]

Well sir, it's nice to see a fellow Canuck turn out such great work, you have done a super job on that little fella, I'm sure your garden will be the talk of the neighborhood with him in it. Great carving, thanks for showing.
Cliff

[Keoma]

OH HE IS WONDERFUL! Congratulations! What a joy!

[GardenGnome]

Nice of you guys to notice after all this time.

Christopher

[Claude]

Great carving, Christopher! Somehow I missed this one the first time around. That "antiquing" in the wheelbarrow is fantastic. How about a description of how you did it?

Claude

[GardenGnome]

Sure, Claude. It's simple really. I am a model railroader and I scratch build all my structures. Not only do I scratch build , I also cut my own scale lumber.

The technique is what is referred to as a weathering technique in order to add an aged look.

It's called "Black Alcohol" stain or "B/A" for short.

It's made by taking 1 pint of rubbing alcohol and mixing in one tablespoon of black India ink. Be sure to use at least 99% pure alcohol and water soluble ink. If the mixture separated into globs of black floating around then you have something wrong. The right mixture will be dark and clear as the ink dilutes evenly in the alcohol. Why alcohol works better than water is that it is thinner so it pools in the cracks and depressions better. It also evaporated faster is it's less likely to loosen any glue.

B/A works on all kinds of stuff. Figures can be painted with it to help bring out details, and in fact that is exactly what we do with little plastic people who inhabit our layouts. The B/A helps to bring out small facial features. The gnome's face has a wash of B/A to help define it's features.

Painted on wood it gives the effect of the wheelbarrow. The idea is to mix a weak solution of the B/A and this way you can give your project multiple coats to build it up just as you want.

Here is a pic of a tarp I made that is part of a tree house diorama. Weathered with the B/A. This is 1/87 or HO gauge.



Here is the whole tree house complex. Lot's of B/A was used on this model.



The tree was carved from a cedar block. Cut out first on the band saw.



Once cut out then knives, chisels and a Dremel were used to carve it to shape.



If you would like to see more photos of this model and the gnome, check out my photo albums here:

http://public.fotki.com/TrainClown/

Yep. On my model train forum I'm known as TrainClown. Oh and by the way. That tree house model is only as big as it is because it was part of a "Peanut Butter Lid Challenge" I took part in where we were challenged to make a diorama using only the size of a jar lid as the footprint. My model was a little more unusual because it is animated. View the model in action here:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...40025458360272

To see more of the hand carved mechanisms look at this.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?doc...62816497309594

Lots of fun!

Christopher

[Mischief]

Wow Master Garden Gnome....your carvings are truly inspirational. Are those people and cat carved too?