French Caryatide Vitrine and table 12th scale kit
Exceptional Louis XVI style table andvitrine The vitrine opens by one door. The legs of the table are tapering fluted quiver-form legs joined by a pierced stretcher. It is not supplied with the little urn on the stretcher. The style dates to 1754 - 1793. Louis XVI's reign who will forever be associated with the outbreak of the French Revolution and the end of Versailles' royal era. However the design is attributed to François Linke, born in 1855 in Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), worked as a cabinet-maker in Paris from about 1882 until his death in 1946. In 1900, at the apex of his career, he opened a new shop at the famous Parisian place Vendôme. He specialised in Louis XV and Louis XVI style furniture: all pieces were beautifully mounted with gilt-bronze ornaments, and he received numerous commissions. In later years his style become more ornate after collaborations with the sculpture Léon Messagé.
A simply beautiful cabinet to display your most precious miniatures.....there are too many options of how to present this piece...all of which would look perfect; Faux wood and gilt, Painted French grey with off white highlights, black and gilt, cream and gilt....the list goes on....
The kit is available as a table or Vitrine and as a set of the two
The table comes in 6 parts and unpainted.
The Vitrine (display cabinet) comes in 7 parts plus acrylic window to be cut.
The table is made from metal
The Vitrine is made from resin and metal.
The little finial is not part of the table design and therefore not included in the kit.
Made from lead free pewter alloy & Rresin
Vitrine (top section) Measurements: 5.8cm wide x 4.5cm deep x 7.5cm tall
Table Measurements: 6.5cm wide x 4.1cm deep x 7.2cm tall
NOTES
As with all my metal designs the pieces will require a little cleaning using a file and/or sandpaper. The metal is very soft so this is a simple and satifying part of the build process.
I tend to use superglue (Hafixx being my favoured choice) with a super glue activator to speed things up.
To paint the item I strongly recommend a metal primer. Spray primers are the easiest and just a light coat with give the paint something to 'key' with......then the choice is yours. I use all types of paints from acrylics to cellulose spray paints. All have their own merits and so I choose according to the finish I wish to create.
After applying my coats of paint I will always add an aging layer of raw umber acrylic (water it down and then paint and wipe off to leave the dark paint in the recesses). Aging can be very rewarding and there are many options for this. One little recommendation is to use rotten stone/pumice stone powder to add what I like to describe as "dust" to the piece. It is a powder and will always be a powder unless mixed with a binder such as glue. The powder is a soft grey and if it is brished on then off it will leave a slight dusting in the recesses of the design.
A final flourish of splatter (very subtle brown/grey applied with by splattering the paint from a bristled brush such as a toothbrush) adds a little more interest.
