You have to use the bottom edge of the front half timber trim assembly in order to draw a pencil line all the way around your dollhouse so you can install the trim needed so your hip roof will go on straight. You really have to make sure that your line is completely straight all the way around.
Do not use the bottom of the window openings as a guide for this line like the instructions suggest because the bottom edge of your front timber trim assembly will not be exactly level to the bottom of the window openings due to the way the bays fit, the roof and the added stucco. There is going to be a slight difference on every dollhouse as to just where the bottom edge of the front timber trim assembly will be. I suggest you use the bottom edge of the timber trim assembly to make your line around the dollhouse. That way you know it will be straight and the hip roof will match up all the way around.
Once your lines are drawn, you have to paint and glue on your trim pieces. Let me them dry for a few hours before you attempt to install the hip roof. Make sure you paint the underside of your roof before installation.
The difficult part of this hip roof is that it is basically not being held up by anything. The downwards slant it creates as it leans against the dollhouse is the only thing that will keep it together. This means you have to clamp the roof correctly so that the glue has time to dry on the top edge of the roof. Make sure you get enough glue under your half timber trims so that the hip roof stays put. Once your clamps are taken off, this edge of glue is basically the only thing that will be holding this roof up.
Your main priority is to make sure the roof is straight all the way around the dollhouse. That is vital for the dollhouse to look correct. You do not want your side hip roof to sit lower or higher than the front and you don't want either roofs to be lop sided. You must have it sit straight and if you drew your pencil lines correctly, then your roof should be straight.
The only problem you may encounter is that the roofs may not butt together where they are suppose to join at the corner. Do not attempt to force them to join together if they do not because you will end up lifting the hip roof from the wall of the dollhouse and you don't want that. If you don't want this hip roof to fall off later on, then you have to sit it tightly against your dollhouse wall.
This problem can happen for a number of reasons but it seems like the main one is how the bay walls sit. I noticed that trim piece #3 was cut slightly short so I think that the front hip roof was cut short as well because the side hip roof seems to have enough length to join correctly. It could also be the layer of stucco that is affecting this joint. This is a problem that may happen to you or may not. I am not concerned about this because the thatch will hide this gap. If you experience the same thing with your dollhouse, you can cut your shingles to hide this joint as well if your not using thatch. The joint is not as important as the straightness of the roof because the joint can be hidden. You just have to make sure that the hip roof sits against your dollhouse wall as tightly as possible and that it is straight.
