Movie Set Design Furniture in 1:6 Scale

We received a really cool call earlier this year from a film studio making a 1:6 scale stop-motion film. The location setting for the film was a study in a castle/mansion for a rich nobleman in a foreign country.

They asked if we could make two wing-backed, weathered-looking leather chairs that looked like they belonged in an old, wealthy castle. The chairs needed to look like they were 100 years old, showing signs of wear over the years but still in decent shape.

We loved the challenge! I thought I'd share what our final product for them looked like.

Our challenge? How to use leather or fake leather on this smaller scale. Now if you asked me to reupholster full-size wing-backed chairs - no problem. But when you're working in 1:6 scale, the pieces are small and the curves are tight. So how do you make faux leather and have it look real.

I gotta give a shout-out to Bentley House Minis for their excellent video showing how to make simulated leather while using regular cotton fabric. I followed the video pretty closely and I think the result was great. The film company was happy with the end result as well, which makes me really happy!

We get calls from folks who want custom furniture and now I feel pretty confident in making simulated leather. Check out the video!