Curtains?

[Railrunner130]

I'm nearing completion on a small house with a few big windows. The windows are fairly prominent, so they need curtains.

I've tried tissue paper and it didn't quite look right. I've also considered cotton, wood staining material, but the threads are too big.

Now, I've painted paper and am planning on folding it to get a more natural, hung look. I'm not sure how it will turn out.

What are people using for curtains?

 

[goscrewyourselves]

Have never thought about curtains. The models I have have windows that already have them or blinds. If your house i a commercial kit you might want to to try the makers web site and see if they have any accessories.

Take a look at this site:

http://www.builders-in-scale.com/bis/parts-window.html

They have all sorts of curtains and blinds etc for HO buildings.

 

[Railrunner130]

Tony,
I actually have those exact venetian blinds. I dismissed their use in this particular situation because they just wouldn't look appropriate.

I'm actually building a highly modified Swede's Fit-it Shop as a house. http://carolinacraftsmankits.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=31 The window is in the same spot, but the bump-out is on the left side, not in front. Photos will follow soon.

 

[Lynnb]

I've used tissue paper but only used the one ply of two.

 

[Greg@mnrr]

RailRunner:

What type of glazing did you use for the actually "glass" part of the windows? There are several glazing materials that can be applied in the window openings which dries clear or use clear plastic.


Then "paint" the curtains on the interior side of the glazing.

Greg

 

[Railrunner130]

I used the clear styrene windows that came with the kit along with those from the Tichy assortment kit I have. Excellent purchase on my part BTW. Some of the kit you will never use, but the rest is fantastic for providing options. I saw someone had posted that you can clean the windows before installation with soap and water to get the "dirt" off. But I figured that they'd be best left dirty.

Here's a mini-tutorial about what I decided to do-

1. I cut three pieces of paper (one for each window) so it would cover the window and overlap by a little bit. No precise measurements here. I also left enough to make a valence. Once I had that figured out, I painted them with "Concrete". I already did the large side window as a trial.

2. Sorry, bad photo. Anyhow, after the paper was dry, I cut off the valence and folded the remaining piece vertically. The first fold was in the middle to designate where the two curtains come together. After a couple folds, I had to roll it because it wouldn't fold any more. I unfolded it and cut an inverted V. Nothing fancy or precise.

3. I screwed up (we'll call it trial and error) on this part. You will notice in this photo that the valence went into place first. This is ok if you want that part to be a shade. Anyhow, place the paper FIRST then drop a small bit of CA on the wall near, but not touching the paper. You want the CA to wick to the edge of the paper. Dropping the CA directly on the paper will glue the paper to the applicator. Anyhow, place the curtains in the spot you want them. Make sure an imaginary line in the middle of the curtains goes down the center of the window. Glue it into place the same way as before. Apply the valence as required. Make sure what you are doing is straight.

 

[Railrunner130]

You'll notice that the window on the right side is sideways. That's a Vermont thing. I've noticed a bunch of houses up there have that. It has curtains, but the dirty windows hide it in this photo. I also decided to put shades in the upstairs room.

Not there, but getting closer. The roof is now test fit. The left bump-out wall needs to be trimmed to the correct width and glued in place. I wanted to get the roof for that side done before I went any further.

 

[goscrewyourselves]

That looks really neat Railrunner ... nice work.

 

[Railrunner130]

I hung a pre-wired grain of wheat bulb from the ceiling. Yea, it's a bit ghetto, but I hope it will do the trick. I'm anxious to see the front light lit up as well.

Can someone aim me in the right direction on how to wire these buggers so they don't blow out when I put power to them? Do I need to put a resistor on them? I'm looking to hook them to an Atlas Connector and AC of course.

 

[goscrewyourselves]

YES! You definitely need a resistor on the power lead to stop them blowing up. I'd suggest something around the 470 ohm mark for building lights.

 

[josephbw]

Back in the day I would use a Sears or Penny's catalog, turn to the curtain section and cut out pictures of curtains. Size them to fit the window and use Elmer's to glue them in place. That way you have a selection of colors, the folds are already in them, and you have different styles for each room.

For the GOW bulbs, all you have to do is match the power source to the bulbs rated voltage. I would use an old power pack and wire up the bulbs to its variable DC voltage terminals, then crank the voltage up slowly (measuring the voltage) until the lights were the desired brilliance, and not more than they were rated for. You don't need resistors for bulbs, but you do need them for LED's.

Good Luck, Joe