I finally finished all of the shingling and added all of the gingerbread trim. I also installed the chimney, which was extremely easy. It was about the only easy assembly in this whole dollhouse.
I gave the exterior walls a coat of satin varnish, to protect the paint and deepen the color.
I placed the dollhouse in the foyer and set it on a sideboard rather than on the wall.
This was a long project. It was also a difficult assembly. Several factors caused this, including the instructions, which have not been updated for this model. But some of the other issues are discussed below.
The dollhouse was simply designed to not be sided. Applying the siding and other exterior details, to the dollhouse, caused for some of the assembly steps to become excruciating difficult.
You really have to plan this build very carefully and always keep in mind that the instructions do not take finishes into consideration. Any extra details, that you apply to the dollhouse, from dowels, to trim, to siding, will ultimately affect the assembly process. This particular dollhouse was an extreme example of that fact. You will most likely have to deviate from the instructions and even modify some of the dollhouse parts, in order for them to fit properly; like the roof panel I had to split in half in order to install it, as two parts, around the tower. There was just no other way for it to fit, because of the added layers the siding and dowels caused to the tower.
The drawers were very difficult and labor extensive, as far as finishing them properly was concerned.
But, the big whammy was caused from the extensive modification I had to do to make the acrylic panels work. You can see some reflection on the panels in the photos below.
The extensive trim, and dollhouse parts, I had to customize, for these panels to hold in place, was quite elaborate. This is especially true for the third floor gables, but it was success. I was not thinking that it would turn out this well, even while customizing it. It was all basically a guess until it could be tried. But, the panels slid right in, behind the gingerbread, and they rest perfectly on the "ledge" I created along the third floor edge. The trim behind them, does not allow for them to fall backwards. I can easily lift one corner, and slide them downwards for removal.
The large bottom panel is being held with magnets, while the bottom edge rests on top of the drawers. Each white knob, is a magnet. The knobs allow for easy separation of the magnets hold and removal of the panel.
The gable panels had to be made from poster acrylic, because the hardware store will not cut triangles. I had to cut these myself with a sharp craft knife. They are delicate, easily scratched and splintered, so you will need a lot of patience and a large work area with a mat underneath so the acrylic is not scratched and doesn't slide. It takes several passes, with the knife, until the acrylic is scored enough that it can be easily snapped. The bottom acrylic was cut at the hardware store. There is a small acrylic piece covering the side tower opening and I held this one down with repostonal glue, since it does not have to be removed frequently.
This dollhouse does not have much interior space, so plan out your miniatures carefully. Since it was meant to hang on the wall, it does not have much depth. Chrysnbon furniture pieces work well because they are truer to scale, but be careful how many you get. As you can see my kitchen is pretty full. Chrysnbon pieces are also lightweight for wall hanging.
You can visit this dollhouse gallery here
