The Officer and his Lady photographed in front of their new cottage. 54mm metal and resin figures.
I have been house-painting over the last few weekends, working fitfully on wooden cottage No. 2, having finished Blackbird Cottage just before New Year.
This evening I finished the last few bits of touching up the paintwork, so here’s Georgia Cottage, shown here with some 54mm toy soldiers and civilians for scale.
Inside the walls are painted a charming light blue. It could be an English cottage, it could be out in America …
The idea for the light blue painted walls came from this photograph on the wonderful Forgotten Georgia blog / website.
A beautiful flash of blue inside this old abandoned, tree damaged shack on Forgotten Georgia website reminds you that people once lived here and made choices about brightening up their living space.
Great photo by Paul Bridges, posted and hosted on the amazing Forgotten Georgia website by Dot Payton.
The Forgotten Georgia Photo Blog / website and its Facebook group are together a superb photographic record of surviving of vanishing traditional vernacular architecture in Georgia and the South, from shacks and houses to stores and churches, railways and industrial buildings. It also covers buildings and graveyards of relevance to the “Revolutionary War” (AWI) and the Civil War amongst other conflicts.
Thankfully not all the houses and buildings shown on Forgotten Georgia are in ruins – here are two cottages or houses that give a more colourful feel.
I like the simple whitewashed or white painted walls and colourful window frames or shutters of these Wayne County farmhouses. 
Pictures screenshotted as reference for building / painting. Image Source/ copyright again to Dot Payton / Forgotten Georgia Blog (and Facebook Page)
Instead of a generic brown wooden plank house (I can always buy another) I thought in painting a second cottage that I would add a touch of colour.
Blackbird Cottage was colourful in its own way with its yellow windows although mainly pitch black or tar black.
https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/blackbird-cottage/
To paint the second cottage, I took it apart again, so I could paint the interiors more easily. Painting the first one after construction took some minor contortion painting through windows and roof areas!
I used the same colour palette for some aspects using Revell Aquacolor Acrylic Matt paints:
Sand – the ground area
Dark Earth – plank floor
White – fence and this time outer walls
Rust – tin roof
The main difference on this white walled cottage was the Purple Red windows. The Forgotten Georgia photos show pinky red window frames etc. but I think this is faded (red often seems the first to fade, unstable colour). I did not have a suitable pink and failed to mix a suitable colour.
The other big difference is the Light Blue inner walls, which should make the interior of the house lighter then the previous cottage with its Dark Earth plank walls.
Looked at a second time, the ledge above the door (that locks the moving swing door into place) can become a wooden shelf.
Taking the kit apart, I thought that I could maybe add a planking floor in the crude dry brushed way I painted the cottage roof to suggest a tin roof. I tried this painting down a line approach and it just looked messy. I could use fine line illustrator pens to mark in planking but I wanted to keep the simple, solid colours of a toy building.
Of course roof sections can easily be swapped with Blackbird Cottage …
This Georgia cottage should have a more domestic feel compared to the more functional shedquarters of Blackbird Cottage, which looks like it could be commandeered for Coast Watching.
House roof swap with Blackbird Cottage and lead 54mm cowboy for scale
Again some flat details on the walls – paintings, noticeboards – would help add some generic interest without restricting to any one period or nationality.
Peppermint Patty: “You kind of like me, don’t you, Chuck?”
Here is Georgia Cottage with a different set of appropriately American characters: Good Grief! Cheer Up Charlie Brown.
One of those great unrequited gentle love affairs? Peppermint Patty’s crush on the cheerfully unaware Chuck (Charlie Brown). “Peppermint Patty has a secret crush on Charlie Brown. However, Charlie Brown is not aware of her feelings for him, and only likes her as a friend.“
https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/Peppermint_Patty_and_Charlie_Brown%27s_relationship
Another Classic Peanuts line – black haired Lucy van Pelt to Snoopy: “Eurgh! I’ve been kissed by a dog!”
More about The Peanuts gang: https://www.peanuts.com/about-peanuts
For details of where to buy these cottages, see our blog post on the first painted one, which I christened Blackbird Cottage
https://manoftinblogtwo.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/blackbird-cottage/
I am still scouting around looking for suitable affordable basic 1:32 or 1/32 furniture, having found a couple of resin 1/35 chairs and tables. I will also make a couple of framed charts, maps or paintings for the wall.
The Peanuts figures are a Schleich Charlie Brown and the rest are a set of cake toppers.
Previously on Man Of TIN Blog: Snoopy Biplane
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/07/06/tsaf-toy-soldier-air-force/
Blog posted by Mark Man Of TIN (roof), 6/7 February 2023
Man of TIN blog two 
I do like the look of the second cottage which has a different vibe altogether. The blue interior walls are great. Would a paper rug look good ? I will be interested to see what you come up with in the way of furniture and items for the wall. Reminds me ( for no particular reason)of the Borrower house I made as a boy with postage stamps for pictures and cotton reel furniture.
I did wonder if the cottages might feature in Scout wide games or as a hideaway for spies…
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Who knows what games these cottages will be involved in? The rug or carpet is an interesting idea. Still looking around for furniture and will probably scratchbuild some.
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