I wanted the chimney to match the style shown on the box. First, I painted the inside edges of the openings on each side of the chimney, and I painted the backs black to match. I glued the backs while assembling all the sides, ensuring the glue was still wet so I could adjust everything perfectly. After clamping it all together, I set it aside. It's important to assemble the chimney correctly, with the four openings facing outward and the two openings facing the roof at the top.
I then assembled the flues and glued them to the top of the chimney. While they dried, I attached the top trim to the chimney. To achieve a similar texture to what was on the box, I made a quick mortar/stucco mixture using spackle and gray paint, which I applied all over the top trim.
Next, I printed out bricks from my computer and used a glue stick to wrap them around the chimney for a brick-like appearance. I carefully cut out the openings on the sides with a sharp craft knife. After that, I painted the chimney top and flues black and inserted them into the top opening.
I completed the third-floor staircase railing in the same manner as the first-floor railing. I used wood strips to cover all of the back edges of the floor and walls on both open sides. I had enough leftover strips to add baseboards to both the first and second floors.
Finally, I varnished both floors.
