Witch Hut

I think it's time I documented this build. I started it two years ago and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since - still not finished.

I know I'll finish it one day though! I've learned some new techniques since then. I think it needs some flocking and a bit of color to break things up. Then it'll finally be something interesting to look at.

Right now it's not completely finished, but I still think it's worth documenting how I got to this stage.

So that's where it all starts - at the very base. I can't remember if I bought it myself at a flea market or if it was part of the pieces we got for my daughter that I ended up keeping. But these big knotty roots - I thought there was a way to do something cool with them. Especially with some of the trees.

I also grabbed a fake plastic bonsai from a store's trash. It has this really knotty tree shape and I got it for super cheap.

I started laying things out on a cork board and positioning different elements to try to get the general shape roughly right. Once it seemed correct to me, I drew the final shape on the cork that I needed.

I added quite a few pieces of foil to fill the holes and give some real structure to everything. Glued different pieces together to fill it all in properly.

Here's a view from below the build. What's nice is that the Playmobil piece is hollow, so I can really push the aluminum foil inside properly to fill it up as much as possible.

I glued the entire structure onto the cork, then continued adding aluminum foil all around to smooth out the transition between the structure and the ground.

I pushed a large piece of polystyrene into the hollow at the top and added the plastic bonsai I found. It's going to be this super tall tree towering above everything.

Also added a piece of polystyrene standing upright on the facade. That's going to be the entrance to the witch's dwelling.

I then added a bunch of details to the build! Started with the facade, glued on a door, then built up the area around it with different sized planks. Used matches, coffee stirrers, and popsicle stick pieces. For the triangle around the entrance, I went with larger sticks I found outside.

Added lots of little touches throughout. One cool idea I had was using plastic bones from an old dinosaur model kit and placing them around the piece. Once painted, they should blend in with the roots to create this roots-and-bones vibe.

Put a trapdoor in the back for another entry point, added some small stairs going up the tree, threw in some mushrooms, and made a little tiled roof. Scattered more details here and there.

Next step is to unify everything with paint!

I made a filler paste mixture with a bit of sand to give it some grittiness. Added a little brown ink to it as well - helps me see where I've applied it properly, and if I miss a spot it won't be as noticeable as white would be.

I applied it pretty much everywhere to get better adhesion between all the different parts. It helps bring out the cork grain more clearly, fully covers the aluminum, and gives a more uniform look to all the pieces I glued together.

Once it was dry, I applied a second coat to the areas that needed a bit more coverage.

So I moved on to painting. First I covered everything in black to make the different pieces easier to paint later. Then I started blocking in all the brown earth sections, the tree itself in another color, and anything that needed to be lighter in white for now. I also did some dry brushing on the stone exterior.

But honestly, this is where I kind of lost motivation for the project. While I had a super clear vision for the structure and I was really excited about this witch's house nestled in the roots of a giant tree, I didn't really have a plan for the colors. Everything is dark, swampy, and just ends up being brown and grey. I tried adding color with the mushrooms, roof, and pumpkins, but it's not enough.

When I get back to painting this, I think I need certain elements to really pop color-wise. The pumpkins definitely need to stand out. The bone pieces probably should too. Maybe the mushrooms as well. And I'll need to add some interesting flocking.

I'm also unsure about the tree itself. Should I add Spanish moss hanging down? A rope? It already has this nice abandoned look going for it, but I'm not sure how to paint it exactly. That's where I'm kind of stuck on what to do next.