Yipper. I promised the youngest she could have one too, so it's on my bench.

If you recall my first one it was farm house that we constructed from to scale stick lumber with 2x4s 2x10s 2x6s etc didn't buy this one all the parts I designed and milled up including the tiny moulding,  the clapboards, windows etc.

This one is a kit.  A friend of mine bought it in 1995 for his baby girls - who are now grown and gone He paid a king's ransom for the thing, these things ar bodaciously expensive.  Very early on (right away) he found that the gozillion tiny unmarked unlabeled pieces was just too much  so he packed it all away  and there it sat the last 20 years.  Recently gave the whole shooting match to me.

I've been assembling it.  It's one of those expend-O-licious over the top  ridiculously over done dollhouses that come in a kit.   Real Good Toys is the brand. Milled Hawthorne is the model.

The assembly instructions are the very worst thing imaginable.  There's thousands of parts and not one of them is labeled in any way,  The PDF instructions identify the parts by stating the dimensions in fractions.  Fractions which the cutting house did not adhere to closely enough to in order for the assembler to distinguish a 16th from 32nd from a 64th and yes they use very small fractions.  Picture me picking up any one of a bozillion small  pieces and - not knowing what it is - measuring it and consulting the PDF to try to find the dimensions.

It's like trying to decipher some code for a treatise that the WWII Germans coded using their enigma machine.

There are no grand scale photographs showing how things go together. Instead there are these little close up sketches that show you small bits of some assembly or other  and they are so poorly drawn that it is often impossible to tell which part overlaps which.  That's assuming that one could figure out which parts the sketches show.

Glossy large photographs would have been good - a video better.

They claim you can assemble it with  a ridiculously tiny compliment of tools: tape, hammer, little nails,  that sport of thing.  Honestly people, if I didn't have a full shop and compressor and pin nailers I would not be able to put it together.

I've had to make jigs and parts to hold things together, parts that replace some of  the poorly designed parts.

The stairs have been giving me conniptions.  The engineers failed to make it so that  one could dry fit anything.  You are supposed to assemble the rail and spindles and newel posts and treads inside the house with your big fat fingers and there is nothing to support anything whilst the glue dries.   The instructions claim that you can use tape.  Fat chance of that. Here is my workaround for that.

It's a jig

 

 

 

 

I couldn't do this any other way. Not even CA glue would have worked. Too many parts to bring together in harmony.

Edited December 5, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston
tags added

Looks like you solved the problem, deliciously!

I'm not going to do electrical on this build & I may not do the porches either. I don't want this to overshadow the other and already is much larger with more complicated features.

 

I thought your electrical hook ups in the other one really added to the "neato" factor.

 

Nice going, Cliff. There always needs to be a little "kit bashing" when working with pre made parts. At least in train layouts, anyway. But it sounds like yours has been a nightmare.

 

Glad you got it worked out.....so far.

 

 

 

Cliff, I know what you mean with the fat fingers, that can drive you crazy,

Do they give you an IQ rating for the length of time it takes to assemble the doll house?

---

John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker

No they con you into buying another

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more

My madness is purposfull

 

 

 

 

coming together

 

 

 

 

Wow, Wow Wow!

My Granddaughter wanted me to make a bicycle for her American Girl Doll. Trying to be funny with her I said, "But I am a woodworker how would I build it?"

 

Her Reply, "Just make it out of wood, duh!

 

I said, "How would I make the wheels?"

 

Her Reply, "Just buy one at the auction, un-rust it and paint it black, simple"

 

To that I decided I was loosing so I stopped!

Her Reply, "Just make it out of wood, duh!

I said, "How would I make the wheels?"

Her Reply, "Just buy one at the auction, un-rust it and paint it black, simple"

To that I decided I was loosing so I stopped!

smart girl~!!! 

Make sure there is a college fund for that one.

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Hey~!! It's a hobby~!! It's not supposed to make sense.

Thanks Cliff, she is a pretty shape one.

 

DONE DONE DONE IT IS FINALLY DONE~!!!!

 

The elder grand daughter wants a porch for her house. I think I can manage that but I never want to build another doll house.

 

 

Gotta say the roof was BOORING~!!

 

 

Here it is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I gotta get the bleedin' stinkin' thing OUTTA MY SHOP Oh the little girl loves it.

 

 

Looks Good!

Cliff, that's one grand house. I'll bet the delight in her eyes make it all worth while.

A classic by @Cliff brought back to the top for all to see. Absolutely beautiful work!

WHEW!!!

I really like the detail that you put into that - way more patience than I have

2 hours ago, Chips N Dust said:

I really like the detail that you put into that - way more patience than I have

Way more than i have, too.   So, no electric in there, huh?   Gonna plumb it for gas? 

Great job on the Doll House!!

 

Milli grazi.  I'm just glad I only have TWO granddaughters.  Doll houses are terribly boring fiffly things to make and  you know that the kid will outgrow it all the while you are making it.  I only hope the things survive to be inherited by a great grand daughter.