Last lap

I have posted some photos of the (almost) last part of the build for Bentleys.  I do still have the flat roof to do but that is waiting on being able to get a fine strip of wood which I want to edge the roof with and also the right gravel.  That might be a while, so we are moving in despite that!

The heat shrink tube arrived and proved OK for the job.  It adds to the bulk of the wires but anything would and I am sure this is the least worst of the other alternatives. It was easy to apply and I shrank it with a hair-dryer despite all the stuff on the web saying pretty much to use only a heat gun as that is easy and totally successful.  The hair dryer seemed to work just fine.

There are several photos to look at if you want to see this being done.  They show me joining the wires by twisting them together, having threaded a piece of the tubing on one of them first.  You then slip the tube over the join and heat it.  Do this for each of the two wires and you are good to go.

I also added lead to the dormer windows as I managed to get a good buy from EBay.  Initially I thought I was scuppered as the lead was all wrinkled when it was unrolled and just going at it with a rolling pin simply ironed the wrinkles in rather than out.  I then realised the paper at the back needed slitting behind each fold and it worked fine.

My inspirational bit of work on the last lap was making a couple of 'floors' for the window displays.  These are removable so I can do just that.  Slide them out, window dress them and slide them back in.  No-one in 1911 had shop window displays with items standing on the actual shop floor like we do nowadays.  This window shelf has its own name.... it is driving me potty trying to remember it from my teenage years (when I was at school) working in dress shops.  Circa 1960 not 1911!

The last of the glazing for three windows was put in and here we are ready to move in.  I have sorted out what goes in each room ready to start dressing the rooms properly.  I won't make a lot of headway with that as I still have a lot of furniture to buy and make and alter.  I will of course keep you posted as I go.  Meanwhile if you want to see the collection of stuff I already have you need to visit Bentleys - by room album.