The War cabinet or Home Defence bureau

Having bought this piece of furniture a month before lockdown from a charity shop now thanks to tea and glue and paint on the big table and carpet underneath i have a hobby station!?I carefully removed two upright shelves!please use appropriate tools and safety items;

Having had a spring clean i found a lot of bits n Bob’s that I couldn’t throw away but we’re messy so put them in a folder away.I then stumbled across these old copies of Battle Action weekly from the late 1970’s.Added to this a load of clippings pages from W.I that seemed pertinent to my armies!?

what to do with them?we somehow decided on cutting,sticking and glueing or decoupage!war hero comic book furniture ahoy!

I really only have given this unit a clean over with a slightly damp cloth and polish and a duster afterwards.The glass can be cleaned at the end of the entire project!you will need paper/comics\card cut outs,3 litres of P.V.A glue,3 brushes,a small Tim of clear varnish and some scissors!some floor protection for glue drips should be used as a.precaution

We worked on doing panels of this cabinet one at a time and found that by doing a watered down slightly pva straight on to the cabinet a few minutes before helped make it tacky but slightly movable.you will see the progression through panels where we become less structured and start to flow with images better!I say that some is collage and some decoupage!when the glue is on you just have to go with it so it’s best to prep the space and have the cuttings handy so you have a general idea.don’t be afraid to overhang as this can be rectified when glue is dry

Having waited patiently for over 24 hours my daughter and I took with gusto to cover the paperered elements with a thick layer of neat pva,it needs to be brushed thickly on and appear white.again left for a minimum of 24 hours.we left longer as school work took precedent!

When I was sure that the unit was dry i carefully drilled a small channel to feed cables in from the back(phone,tablet,radio and light).I do like neat cable management and to hide plugs behind units.partial Lloyd shot included

I then commenced neat pva layer two and waited again

again having waited at least 24 hours with a sharp craft knife removed any over hanging paper clippings and took the chance to neaten edges etc.I applied a coat of high gloss varnish to all of the paper covered areas to give protection and durability.two coats were given to both sides of the fold down part which would be most used.be aware here that at no stage have i put glue or varnish on to any metal parts such as hinges and the lock as I want to be able to put precious minis under lock and key!

Please don’t judge me for the drawer of unpainted minis!I had a great sense of satisfaction in loading up the lower cupboard shelves with all of my hobby supplies and boxed minis and models and then re arranging it immediately.

Moving up to the desk area i now have a dedicated tea space so no more accidents(potentially)I have here also my movable clip light with a gu 10 lightbulb to give coverage wherever or whatever I’m working on!As this desk folds up and can be locked it has to stay relatively clear so forces me to be tidy!I have a couple of mugs with tools in for easy access,a cutting mat and what I’m working on now space

Here I have added some bits n bobs and stuff that I have collected over the years and added them to the unit to create focal points of interest and added dimension such as the Russian paratroopers watch(cheapo mag thing)to the outer desk part and the various badges etc.Please accept my apologies for the shaky,blurry Gerry style of photography

I have enjoyed myself thoroughly throughout this as I’m sure that we all do enjoy going through old stuff and putting together a new project. I shall now have to return to the other projects.okay so not perfect but seems to be working for me and I learnt a new skill and had fun with daughter.Any feedback is welcome.I look forward to slowly adding bits n Bob’s and Nick nacks over time.oh one last thing I decided to put my oversize letter opener on the side and to show you my grandfather’s medals as ve day has just passed and he\they who served should be remembered by us who play war games!stay safe