After many weeks of working on this dollhouse, we are finally at the finish line.
Though it was much easier for me to assemble this dollhouse this time around, since it was my second attempt, I stand by the belief that it is quite a complicated assembly and should not be tackled by a beginner.
The only thing left for me to do to this dollhouse structurally is decide how I am going to fit a back cover on it.
I decided to use a railing system on the back of the dollhouse, much like I did with Beacon Hill Dollhouse. This railing will hide the edges of the plexiglass, keep the plexiglass against the dollhouse and help guide the plexiglass to be slid on and off. Unfortunately, this dollhouse will not be as easy as the Beacon Hill. This one has three areas that need to be covered individually, the back, the attic and side.
Let's start with the back of the dollhouse. On this dollhouse the plexiglass will slide to the left, in order to open and close. I applied a rail at the bottom of the dollhouse base. Remember, you need for the plexiglass to rest on the table the dollhouse will be displayed on. I added a rail at the top, on the third floor edge and I added a rail at the right. I circled them in the photos below.
The attic is different. It has a very curved mansard roof opening, so not only does it require a different system altogether but also a different material that's thinner and less rigid than plexiglass. For this scenario, I will have to use the more flexible plastic poster frame "glass". That way it can curve like the mansard roof to keep dust out and miniatures in.
Basically the "glass" will go under the three top brackets, curve against the side trims and the bottom edge will be held in place by the two trim pieces on either side of the mansard roof side trims. This will allow the "glass" to remain curved against the roof line. I also added a knee wall to the area that would be exposed and without a cover. This knee wall goes against the center attic partition and over the third floor top edge.
Notice that I made a special trim for the curved back edge of the attics center partition. I had to take strip wood and strategically snap it in intervals until it made a curve. Snap it enough for it to make the curve but not break. Then I glued it in place, over the knee wall.
The side wall is much simpler. For this one, there is no railing system. The plexiglass go on and off without the need for sliding. The bottom edge will rest on the bottom rail and the top will be held in place by the top brackets.
For the brackets to be able to do this, you need for them to be slightly separated from the vergeboard at the bottom ends. This will most likely be the case anyways but if it isn't, you might have to modify them or omit them all together in the areas you want the clear cover to go.
You will be able to see more of how this will all work, once I have the plexiglass pieces cut and in place but for now, I am returning to the rooftop garden. Even though this garden is not part of the dollhouse kit assembly, I think most will want to see how to create one since it can be done on any dollhouse model with a flat roof top.
