An important part of the original Mr. Rogers’ show was the opening shot of zooming into his miniature neighborhood set. Pee Wee’s Playhouse used a similar device in its opening shots as well. There is nothing quite as charming and engaging as a miniature world of make believe and the Green Room is determined to follow in the steps of the greats!
Building the Base
The plywood base was 4′ x 5′ with detachable galvanized pipe screw-in legs making it easier to transport. Some of the initial buildings were rough placed to see how it would all fit together.
Everything had to be very lightweight for easy transport, so rather than build the hills out of the standard chicken wire and plaster, 2″ thick house insulation styrofoam was glued to the plywood.
Once the foam base was built, additional realistic geographic features were added, including grassy hills, a stream and waterfall. Prior to finalizing these details, rough assemblage of some buildings was done to check placements:
Then to apply the concrete (grey cardboard) pavements and grassy hills and make the stream and waterfall.
Stay tuned for Part 4 where we discuss the model buildings.
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