1:35 Lázeňské lavičky

Promenade furniture in model scale

A bench is one of the least conspicuous and at the same time most recognizable elements of public space. The spa and promenade version usually had cast iron side frames with an ornamental pattern and the slats of the seat and the back between them. They stood in rows along colonnades, by bandstands and on station platforms, and they have survived in the streets of many towns to this day. In a scene with vehicles they work as a yardstick: the viewer estimates the size of everything else by them, because they know the dimensions of a bench.

The set is made from a laser cut wooden sheet.

Sealing the wood before painting

Wood soaks up paint unevenly, and that is why the first coat usually looks patchy. Sealing helps: first go over the surface with a very thin acrylic primer or with alcohol-based shellac and let it dry completely. The fibers stand up in the process and the surface roughens, which is fine. A brief sanding with the finest paper follows, with the stroke along the grain, and only then the paint. The result holds more firmly and the shade is the same along the whole length of the slats.

Unify the side frames that are meant to look like cast iron with a dark paint and pull out the edges of the ornament with a dry brush. Leave the wooden slats lighter by contrast; the difference between the two materials does more for the model than the most carefully chosen shade.

Do not set a row of benches in one straight line with equal spacing. Turn one seat, shift another toward the edge of the path and leave an object set down on it; that turns furniture into an inhabited place.