Sharon-UK

I took a lot of photos when I was bashing my Fairfield. Try some of of the earlier posts on my blog here http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.co.uk/ There might be some helpful views for you. I remember I had to trim some of my tabs because no matter what I did, they didn't quite line up with the slots.

Hi there, I did quite a lot of alterations when I bashed the Fairfield into a house for Miss Lydia Pickett. Go for it! You can see my whole build on my blog, http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/ Best wishes,Sharon

With regard to the plywood quality, I think as long as you view the plywood as a base to which you will apply further decoration, then the quality isn't so much of an issue. With my Fairfield kit-bash, I did need the external walls to be fairly smooth but I found that doing a few steps gave me a pretty smooth surface. 1) Sprayed both sides of each piece with a spray-on sealer. 2) Painted both sides with gesso, applied with a sponge brush 3) Sanded down the dry gesso with a palm sander. It didn't take too long once I got into a routine, I would do multiple pieces at once and just lean them against a wall on the patio while they dried. http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/ best wishes, Sharon

I used the Grandtline gothic windows as I needed a particular type of window for the look I needed. They were also too thick for the thin plywood FF walls. Luckily the majority of my window openings were in my bashed wall which was of slightly thicker MDF wood. For the bathroom window in the attic, I was able to pack out the wall with a false wall of foamcore, as it was hidden under the roof. I am going to have a bit of a problem with the daughter's bedroom where there is no concealing the protrusion. The other issue with the Grandtline windows is that they don't come with interior windowframes. I received a great tip which is to buy extra windows, cut out the middles and use them as interior frames. Unfortunately they are too expensive here in the UK so I had to make my own out of cardboard. Good luck with the build, this is a versatile little house. Sharon http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/

Hi there - it's my website you have been looking at and I am blushing pink now. Also find it hilarious that anyone feels overawed and wants to hide their own efforts - I frequently recoil in horror at the imperfections revealed on screen when I upload the high res photos from my camera. I think I was happier with my creations before the days of high res photography, when it was just down to what you could see with your own eyeballs (increasingly less with age, in my case...). Thank you so much for your nice comments. I loved the 1/48th Lydia Pickett house and was gutted when they decided not to go ahead with the 1/24th version to match the furniture kits I had been building. Full credit to Suzanne and Robin Betterley for their design inspiration, if mine looks nice at all, it's because I am trying to make my Fairfield look like the Lydia Pickett house. I've really enjoyed the build and am trying to keep up the momentum now that I am furnishing the insides - which is the part I find really hard. best wishes, Sharon http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/

I'm afraid I'm pretty low tech, I use my fingers a lot. I have tried syringes but they always get plugged up and if you leave a half-filled syringe, it just sets hard even if you try to cap it tightly. A few dabs of glue along the edge of a wall or board, then use your finger to smooth it out into a thin layer, or 'wipe' your finger across the edge of the wall to put a controlled amount of glue onto it. I wear an old cheap apron when I'm working, and just wipe my finger clean on the apron as I work. When the apron gets too glued up, I get a new one (about once a year). I also snip wooden coffee stirrers with my cutting shears to create a tool for spreading glue (straight for flat surfaces, at an angle for smaller areas).

I know, I was a bit gutted when I found out that LP weren't going to do 1/24th scale for all the kits. However, Judith of In Some Small Way here in the UK has stepped into the breach and produced some substitute kits. There is a kitchen substitute kit on her website, which I have bought but haven't built yet. Can't get the link to work, but the website is at http://www.insomesmallway.co.uk/ The kit is under the LP 1/4 and 1/2 scale kits link. kind regards, Sharon

Similar to Fov's reply above, when I did my Willowcrest I ran most of the wiring up the outside of the walls as copper tape, soldering on the lighting wires which I brought through drilled holes from the interior lights. I then hid it all behind the clapboard siding. I ran the ground floor lighting around mainly underneath the foundation, just bringing it up where I needed it. The Third floor lighting I hid in the attic space (as I inserted a false ceiling). For the second floor I had to hide some wires behind furniture but I'm not planning on rearranging the furniture so that's ok. best wishes, Sharon http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/ (hibernating)

I am literally blushing pink - thank you! It's so nice that people are interested in what I'm doing, and so supportive. I haven't been on here for a little while so I've only just seen this thread. I've made my husband read it so that he can see that it is worthwhile doing without the dining table for a few months weeks.

Huh. You've got me. I just went back and looked at my construction blog at http://www.mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/ In the posts for October 2007, you can clearly see that slot shining through the wallpaper on the stair wall during construction, but I suppose I just ignored it and covered it up. I've just gone and looked at my house now and I don't know what it was for unless it was something to do with the fireplaces (which I didn't use).

I ordered my Fairfield direct from Greenleaf back in February. The wood is the normal 'die crunch' but despite that was in fairly good condition. This is in big contrast to the Willowcrest I ordered from a third party American supplier about six years ago, in which some plywood sheets had basically disintegrated and were more like two layers of veneer holding together chocolate-cookie-crumbles. I agree though that you are trading off your time (needed to rectify the less than perfect wood) against the low price, but the style of the houses is just so unique compared to so many boxy-boring houses on the market that it is well worth it (IMHO).

I think you are right, in that it isn't a realistic ducting system to all rooms. If it helps, you can see a picture of the chimney assembly on my step-by-step Willowcrest construction blog here. But I wasn't using the fireplaces at all, so I cut off the chimney at the roofline - you can still see a chimney from outside but there is no chimney nor fireplaces inside. I suppose you could add an extra chimney (a round dowel?) running up the right side of the house next to the kitchen bay window.

It looks fabulous, well done. I am planning a window seat for my Fairfield kitbash but am going to incorporate the seat into a Houseworks bay window... somehow. I'm still waiting for the window to arrive as it has been held up by the Icelandic volcano disruption. I am thinking I am going to break out the bottom of the window and build downwards, but need to get my hands on it first.

Thanks for all the messages of support, they are really encouraging. I have started my new job now and feel frustrated that I can't give this house more of my attention. But I did a bunch of wallpapering yesterday so at least I feel that things are moving along. I aim to blog at least once a week so I can keep you posted on how things are going.

Wow! thanks for all the messages of support, it is very inspirational. Isn't the internet wonderful - I can be working away in my kitchen here in the UK and still feel like I can do 'show and tell' with people who are interested in what I am doing. It's great.

In case anyone is interested, I am blogging my progress on kitbashing the Fairfield to be a home for my 1:24 scale Miss Lydia Pickett furniture. You can watch how I am doing at: http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/

I have been waiting for literally years for the Victorianna to be re-issued. I finally gave up and have started kitbashing a Fairfield just a couple of days ago, to be a 1:24 home for my Miss Lydia Pickett furniture kits. So I bet it is the Victorianna. Either that or a Fairfield in laser-cut beautiful birch plywood (sob...). You can see my kitbash progress (at least, I hope there is progress) on my blog at: http://fairfield-pickett-kitbash.blogspot.com/

I kept a detailed picture blog as I built my Willowcrest, you might find something helpful if you look back to the earlier posts. Its at http://www.mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/ The French Doors are the front door, as I recall. I didn't use them as I kitbashed my porch into a shopfront and used a commercial set of French doors. It's a great house! A long build, but really worthwhile.

If the free postage had applied to the UK, I might have been tempted to indulge in a second one. I'm still working on furnishing my first one. I don't update the blog too often, but all the construction details are still there from last year if these might be useful to anyone: http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/

I hung a piece of plexiglass on the back of one of my houses by drilling small holes in the four corners (after cutting the piece to size), then screwing round headed screws into the side walls of my house, leaving the heads protruding so that I can just 'hang' the plexiglass onto the screws. This works really well and is easy to put on/take off, but my side walls were of thicker plywood than on a Greenleaf kit. You might still be able to work out how to insert a screw - maybe glue an unobtrusive block to the wall at the appropriate points, and camouflage with wallpaper or siding as appropriate?

The siding takes quite a while but it really makes the house. Decide how you are going to treat the bay window early in the process, it can be tricky. If you want to see my Willowcrest siding experience, check out my old blog posts at: http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/2008...-clapboard.html best wishes, Sharon (also in the UK)

I took a workshop with Rik Pierce last April and he showed us how to make paperclay shingles using his method. He cuts strips of clay and lays them across the roof, mashing down the top of the strip with a finger so it is thinner and sticks to the roof (spread thin film of wood glue to roof to help clay adhere), then cuts into the clay using a bit of plastic card to make the individual shingles (don't cut all the way to the top of the strip). Lay the next strip, overlapping the previous strip, and repeat. Once the roof is finished (or when you are ready to quit for the day), go back and flip up random corners here and there, or even entire tiles, with a plastic clay tool, to add realism. I've just finished my house and it looks great (Ratty's house). Sharon Visit my (neglected) Willowcrest blog at: http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/

I can't wait - I need a home for my 1/24th Miss Lydia Pickett furniture that I've been building. And in birch would be even better! Sharon

I just have to crow - we went to a boot sale [flea market] at Ascot here in the UK, and to my complete astonishment I found a Storybook Cottage kit, still in its box, at someone's table. She wanted five pounds ($10) for it, but when I offered them three pounds ($6) they accepted eagerly. I probably could have got it for less! How on earth an American kit ended up at a British boot sale, I have no idea. Sharon Visit my Willowcrest blog at: http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/

I completely agree, I have loved the Willowcrest since I saw it in Greenleaf ads as a child, and when I heard they were discontinuing it, I paid megabucks to buy one and get it shipped to the UK. I'm waiting patiently for them to reissue the Victorianna (half-scale McKinley). Sharon Visit my Willowcrest blog at: http://mywillowcrestblog.blogspot.com/