Saturday, December 23, 2017

Making a list and checking it twice

I realised this morning, while in bed and contemplating my day, that part of the problem I have with my HBS Creatin' Contest 2015 build is that there are so many unknowns: things that I'd always just assumed would make themselves clear as I went along.

And which (alas) didn't, so I ended up wandering round in circles not knowing what to do next or which decision I needed to make first. Which led to me just putting the whole thing in the 'too hard' basket (literally, as it turned out) for rather too long.

So this morning I tried another approach. And returned to my long neglected Pinterest board that I'd set up for the build, adding some more pins of things I liked that might help inform my decisions.
Collection of pictures of browna nd white holiday homes on Pinterest.
(Luckily I gave myself a time limit, which meant I was able to extract myself from that particular rabbit hole before the whole day disappeared down it with me).
Notebook and pen on a table in front of a half-built one-twelfth scale miniature bach.
I printed off my favourite options, pulled out a notebook, pen, scissors and tape and sat myself down in front of the carcass. Made a page for each decision I had to make. Then listed (and sometimes drew or pasted in) the options,
Notebook with scissors, pen and double sided tape next to a collection of cut-out pictures of holiday homes.
and remembered how much I hate logic puzzles. (You know the ones: the farmer, the fox, the goose and the beans and a rowboat that only fits two of them at a time. Or the five houses one...) Because this, it turns out, is very much a logic puzzle.

('If the rafter are brown, how high off the ground is the structure?')

I decided I needed to stop for lunch before I tied my brain into complete knots and had the urge to return the build to the top of the fridge for another indeterminate length of time.
Bowlful and forkful of couscous and haloumi salad in front of a notebook containing pictures and many notes and scribbles.
A few things became clearer over lunch (e.g. The rafters could be one colour inside and a different colour outside. If I have no copper tape, and the dolls' house shop possibly isn't open until after Christmas, I probably need to just use wire. If I use wire then the structure should be elevated so I can hide wiring underneath... Actually, even if I did use copper tape, isn't there a wire that goes from that to the transformer anyway?)

And I realised I needed to return to the drawing board. Literally: if I had a drawing of the options I was stuck on then it might help clarify things.
Sketch of a two-room holiday home with sliding doors and patios on each side and windows across the front.
 And so starts the new plan of attack...
Lightbox with a sketch of a holiday house and a sheet of tracing paper on top.

2 comments :

Sheila said...

I recall that I had to build a base for this one so that is one of the kit's issues.

The other option is running lights off of batteries and hiding them in cabinets.

AMCSviatko said...

Thanks for the info, Sheila. I know that the kit came with some bits of wood to make a low base (which does have space underneath to run wiring) and I have a shed that I planned to put out the back to hold the electrical.... thingies I might use...