| Custom Orders
That is entirely up to you. You need to think about where you are going to put the figure and roughly how much you want to pay. If you wish to put your dummy board in a smaller modern fireplace, you need to decide if you want it to hide the grate or want it to sit to one side purely for decoration.The dummy board heights useful for modern fireplaces are from about 36 inches to 42 inches (915mm and 1067mm ). Larger fireplaces like inglenooks and other antique features can take figures up to life size. If you wish to use your dummy board as a trompe l'oeil work of art and therefore a visual joke, you will need to consider what sort of lighting it will be seen in. Dim staircases or hallways are just the sorts of places in which they would have been displayed in the past. If you want it to be the sort of board that could be taken for the real thing then it will need to be life sized or just a little smaller. All size indications on this website are approximate. Miniature figures are in one twelfth scale, suitable for most dolls houses. No PastMastery dummy board should ever be used as a firescreen when the fire is lit. This depends on the finished size of the dummy board and the costume you choose to be painted in. If you want to be a Lady or Gentleman from the court of James or Charles the 1st, the costume will be complicated and full of embroidery and lace and will consist of many different textures (fur, leather, jewellery, satin etc.). However if you would like to be a middle class Dutch merchant in the more sober black suit with lace ruff, there is less paint-work involved. If you would like to be an early 18th century Lord or Knight, you will find that his waistcoat in particular is highly embroidered; further on into the century dress becomes less decorated with surface embroidery and pattern begins to appear in woven and printed form. Remember, as a rule, the humbler the person you choose to be, the less your dummy board will cost you. Miniature dummy boards are also priced on the complexity and size of the original. The cost will be agreed by PastMastery and yourself before we go ahead. This also applies to miniature figures. Which century should I choose? Dummy board figures were made in numbers from the beginning of the 17th century to the first quarter of the 19th century. If you wish to remain historically correct you should look at costumes from the reign of James 1st to the Regency era for your dummy board dress (in England). Of course you might like to have a costume based on a portrait from any nation that made dummy boards, during this time. (America, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Spain and Sweden.) Costumes outside this time scale can be made but they will not be as convincing. Look carefully at yourself...are you a 17th century sort of person or do you have a more 19th century look? It's up to you - but if you are unsure, we are willing to guide you. Please - ask PastMastery for advice. Which actual clothes should I choose? This is again up to you. If you have always had the desire to be a Gainsborough gentleman or a Van Dyck lady then choose from the portraits they painted. We suggest you look at pictures on the web or in costume or history books and try to imagine yourself in the costume you are looking at. Costumes can be altered slightly and colours changed to suit you but you do need to think carefully about the clothes you would like to be seen in. For example, you might find yourself drawn to a era in which a short costume was worn ie: dress for gentlemen around 1600 but you do not like to have your ( or your chosen person's ) legs on show! Likewise, you might want to be Charles the 2nd but don't want to be seen in a full bottomed wig! Miniature boards do not neccesarily have to match the age of your dolls house, though obviously a Georgian dolls house could contain a dummy board of the 17th or early 18th century. What sort of likeness will we achieve? The face that is painted will be the best that can be achieved without seeing you in the flesh. The better the photograph(s) you send , the better a likeness. Holiday snaps are really not good enough! A good portrait photograph will help us to create a lifelike dummy board. It is important also to work out whether you want to have your whole head painted onto another's body or if you want just your face. Some costumes rely for authenticity on hairstyles and hats. Miniature figures may look slightly different and the tiny scale might be responsible for slight changes in your appearance. For example- Susanne painted herself in miniature as a lady of the early 17th century and so was seen wearing a ruff and close cap, which altered her face a little. Why does my dummy board look different to the way I think I look in real life? Sometimes the costume you choose to be painted in alters your appearance a little. Of course if you are a person of small proportions and you have chosen to put your face into the full length portrait of someone who is bigger, although the face will be yours, the body may not resemble your own. lt will make a difference to the way you look when you choose to have a different hair style or colour or want to be an historical person who wears a wig or a hat, for example.
You will need to think about where the figure will stand. The folding back is handy for storing your figure should you wish to put it away in a cupboard for a season or two. The size of the folding fin is proportionate to the height and width of the board size you choose. If the place in which you would like to display your board is limited for space, this sort of stand may be too deep. For example, on smaller hearths and in modern fireplaces there is less room for deeper back fins. The rebated and shaped block into which the board slots, is better in these circumstances. (See image to right for an example of this kind of stand.) The painted dummy board figure is not fixed to this type of stand and is without any integral bracing. However there is a strut which extends vertically from this base to prevent warping and flexing of the painted figure. Consequently this type of figure should not be stored or displayed without the base unless it is laid flat. This type of stand is much heavier than the folding one and requires more careful packaging. Consequently, shipping costs are going to be greater. All miniature boards, within reason, are based on the original full sized figure and will have the appropriate stand.. How might my custom made dummy board be finished? A large PastMastery dummy board figure is made on m.d.f. which is primed, painted in oils and then varnished. It can be distressed to give it an appearance of age, with crackles and knocks and scratches. It is possible simply to varnish it to protect the painting should you wish to have a figure without the ageing. The rebated stand is made of painted wood. The back of the figure is stained a dark brown. Miniature dummy boards follow this pattern too. All miniature figures are painted in oils on basswood and the back is painted the same colour as the original. What if I don't like my dummy board figure? You will have several opportunities to see your dummy board figure in e mails as it is being made. At each stage PastMastery will ask you to agree the way it looks and that you are happy with it. It will be possible to work on the figure until you are pefectly pleased with its finished appearance. However, in the unlikely event that you really are unhappy with the finished product, you are under no obligation to take delivery. However the deposit you will have paid before we began to make the figure and which covers the material costs, will be non returnable. How do I take delivery of my finished dummy board figure? PastMastery will notify you that the figure is finished and ready for despatch, by e mail and will appraise you of the cost of packing and carriage. Every figure is unique and so will be weighed individually and charged at cost. The figure will be wrapped carefully and sent in a custom made box (our thanks goes to the The Bag and Box Man for providing us with the packaging). When PastMastery have recieved the final payment, including the carriage, your figure will be despatched to you by courier. Another e mail will tell you when it was sent and when to expect it. Miniature figures are sent in a special box with an accompanying leaflet giving the provenance, history, full description of the figure and a brief resume of the history of the art form, in padded bags. All photographic miniature figures are sent in bubble wrap in padded bags. If I do not like my dummy board figure or it is broken when it arrives what can I do?
In the unlikely event of the dummy board being faulty or broken in transit PastMastery must be informed by e mail immediately. PastMastery would be obliged if you could inform us if and when the item is to be returned to us and the reason why. For all returns, except where the item is faulty, you will be required to arrange and to pay for the return of the products to us. If possible, the faults will be repaired and it will be sent back to you. If it is not possible a full refund will be made to you. When returning items you are strongly recommended to obtain proof of posting.PastMastery cannot accept responsibility for parcels lost in transit. PastMastery will only refund for the costs of postage where the item returned is faulty. You are assured of our best attention at all times.
On my computer the colours seemed different. Why is this? Every care is taken to ensure that the appearance, description and specification of your commissioned dummy board are correct when PastMastery contact you by e mail. However, whilst the colour reproduction of the images sent is a close representation, PastMastery cannot accept any responsibility for any variation in colour caused by the browser software or computer system used by you. If I want to have a dummy board made of another person, how do I go about it? Ideally PastMastery would like the permission of the other person if they are to be painted. It might be possible however, to paint children with the permission of the parent or guardian. Just send a good portrait photograph. A miniature figure can be made from any good clear colour portrait photograph. PastMastery can paint your face into a tiny figure providing you send a good likeness ( see above ). You can also let PastMastery know if you would like your commissioned dummy board to be delivered on a special date, to another address or to another person as a gift and we will endeavour to deliver on that date and to that person. How do you safeguard your commission? When you have placed a commission with us, you will be deemed to have read, understood and to have agreed to be guided by Pastmastery in the above instances. Please print off any e mails sent to you for your reference. Your e mails to PastMastery will be stored for the duration of the commission undertaking and deleted after your figure is despatched to you and you take delivery and are happy with your purchase. PastMastery will not pass on any of your information to a third party and will not send you any promotional e mails once your commission is complete. PastMastery may, with your permission, display a photograph of your commissioned figure on the page "Works in Private Collection" or elsewhere on PastMastery and you will be credited with ownership. The location of the figure will not be displayed. If you are unhappy with any aspect of our advice or terms, then please contact PastMastery by e mail to discuss any queries before placing an order. |
 |
There are two kinds of stands available. Which one should I choose?
PastMastery will not despatch the figure to you until you are perfectly happy with the appearance of your commissioned figure in the pictures sent to you in e mails. If however you are not entirely delighted with the dummy board when you receive it, you may return it to PastMastery in its original condition within two weeks. You must notify PastMastery by e mail. We will be more than happy to offer you a refund of the cost of the board minus the deposit and the carriage. If you decide to return the item it must be in its original packing. If the packaging has been damaged in transit and is unuseable it must be returned with the figure.