Pasty Shop Hanging Sign

The pasty shop set is going to have a main sign stuck onto the top half of the centre wall, but we also thought it would look really nice to have a shop sign hanging from a pole stuck straight onto the shop, to make the set look more believable and add extra detail to the shop walls. I started making this prop by sawing off a small rectangular piece of thin wood to make up the main base of the shop sign. Once I had filed down the edges, I cut some wooden coffee stirrers (these have been really helpful!) into small pieces and glued them around the edges of the rectangular piece of wood to make a 3D edging. Whilst the glue was drying, I cut a measured piece of aluminium metal tubing to make up the pole that the sign would eventually hang from. Once the edging had dried onto the sign base, I covered the whole thing with a layer of poly-filler and sanded it down once dry, to cover up any cracks and disguise the wood grain:

In the meantime whilst the poly-filler was setting, I glued squares of wood I cut into shape onto both ends of the metal tube pole, one square larger than the others on one end for bigger surface area to glue onto the shop set. I also glued a plastic ball that I cut off the end of a pin, and glued it onto the smaller square end as decoration. Once this was dry, I covered the entire pole with a layer of poly-filler and sanded it down, to help paint stick later on:

To allow the sign to hang from the pole, I made two holes on either side of the top of the sign using sharp tool. Once these holes were deep enough, I glued two sections of aluminium wire into the holes to make 'loops,' so that chain could be attached later on. Now that the main structure pieces were complete, I sprayed the main sections of the pole with metallic paint. I then painted the edging around the sign and also the wooden squares stuck onto the pole with the same green paint used on the outside shop walls. Once this was dry, I painted the middle section of the sign black, and then added the text 'Mr and Mrs Leg Pasties' onto the surface with a thin brush and white acrylic paint. Now that the painting was complete, I attached some thin gold chain onto the aluminium hoops using a small pair of pliers, and then linked up the chains with small jump rings so that they could be hung from either corner of the sign:

Here are a few photos of the sign finished and hanging from the shop: