a few more photos

Just a few more photos of the Tiki Bar. I'm very proud of this; it's my first foray into miniatures and it's also my contest entry for this years HBS/miniatures.com Creatin' Contest.

clicking any of the photos offers a higher resolution view

Another rear view. This one shows the aging mural better than the previous photo I posted:

I sawed a notch in the apex of the roof and used glue to affix the sign:

Some finer details...

Hammock and side table:

Approaching the bar:

Linda's niece made me a shrunken head to adorn the Tiki project. I thought above the bar was the perfect spot:

An eclectic collection of posters adorn the rear wall:

Full frontal view:

Tiki Bar - Almost Complete!

Approaching the building from the rear reveals a fading, overgrown mural...

From the front, an inviting, tropical establishment...

Take a spot in the coveted hammock and spend a lazy afternoon with a cool beverage...

...or sidle up to the bar for a frosty tropical drink!

1" Scale Tiki Bar Update

Just a small update. Stained the roof and am experimenting with leaves. I was thinking of thatching the roof with coconut, but I'm pleased with the way the stain looks and I may do something more minimalist for it and use it more to showcase the Tiki Bar sign (see previous post). Besides, the coconut fiber looks great, but it's a pain in the ass to work with. :P

I wasn't completely happy with the columns that came with the kit (it's a gazebo) I'm using for this project, so I "roughed 'em up" a bit. I carved off the square corners, distressed them, and did a green and brown stain treatment (by "stain," I mean a wash of watered-down acrylics).

That's it for now. The project is getting very close to being ready for the main structure to be assembled and then the fun part begins... adding the details!

I've actually made some headway with the 1/12 scale Tiki Bar. The bar itself is finished and I've put down a floor. The Tiki mask I made is being incorporated into the bar's sign, which I think will be flanked by Tiki torches (that will actually light up and flicker!!!) at the front of the bar. Here's some photos of the progress...

Welcome to the Tiki Bar!

Pull up a stool and have a drink...

The bar, with stools, trim, and drinks!

An aerial view of the establishment (a work in progress)...

miniature tiki bar - the bar!

It's been a while, but here's an update for you!

In a moment of sheer inspiration, I grabbed an empty tea box and thought it'd make a great bar for the Tiki project...

While out shopping for some craft supplies today, I picked up some cool fabric and paper grass accents...

Thinking these would be perfect accents for the bar, I knew exactly how to integrate them. Here's some shots of the rough concept...

The bar is also going to get some legs to raise the height a bit. These I'll be stained a dark brown to match the fabric accent.

Stay tuned, readers!

Okole maluna!

After getting inspired by my wonderful, beautiful, and talented better half, I decided to set up my own mini 'blog. Having moved to New Hampshire just over a year ago, I still have some personal belongings in Pennsylvania. Of some of my most missed items are the fixings for a vintage tiki bar.

Not sure yet if I'll be doing an umbrella for the bar or a hut-style bar, but either way, it's going to be thatched. The umbrella is proving difficult... errr... proving that I'm lacking the patience for it, so I may be doing the hut after all. I bundled some coconut fiber together to ease the process.

I've also fashioned a tiki wall mask out of Sculpey III. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I swiped a sponge brush with watered-down, brown acrylic paint to get that wood grain look.

Once the top layer was dried, I added the finishing colors. I'm thinking of calling him Baka Nala Ala.

That's all I have for now! Stay tuned for more.

Mahalo!