Anna G

Thanks for all the advice. I think a smaller, better brush, thinner paint and more sanding and coats of paint will do the trick. Something I suspected but was hoping for a shorter solution. Still, perfection has its price.

I find that my painted small trims and details always looks a but lumpy or streaky and not quite smooth enough. Are there any tips and tricks to painting perfect trims especially window mullions and stair rails and that sort of fiddly stuff, especially if quite detailed like its been carved?

I posted this on the Greenleaf section of the forum but was curious whether the 'problem' extended to other mini houses. The window sashes of the beacon hill are made up of 2 parts with the window 'glass' sandwiched between. This makes the sashes twice as thick as the walls they are to go into. Consequently they stick out past the wall on the inside, if you follow the installation instructions. So when the inside window trim is applied it does not sit flat against the wall, but leaves a gap all the way around. It seems to me that either the walls should have been thicker plywood, or the sash pieces be half-thickness plywood. Any one else encountered this?

I thought about it after the sashes were in that siding first would take up the slack. But since this is my first house and I was following the instructions in strict order, as recommended, I took it all on trust. I can pack out the interior trim with another thickness of scape plywood but I was very curious about the situation. It's like the wall pieces should have been thicker. I clamped the sashes together very tightly but the sash parts are exactly the same thicknes as the walls so two layers are obviously going to be twice as thick (not even counting the 'glass').

The window sashes are made up of 2 parts with the window 'glass' sandwiched between. This makes the sashes twice as thick as the walls they are to go into. Consequently they stick out past the wall on the inside, if you follow the installation instructions. So when the inside window trim is applied it does not sit flat against the wall, but leaves a gap all the way around. How annoying is that! It seems to me that either the walls should have been thicker plywood, or the sash pieces be half-thickness plywood. How have other solved this problem? I guess more filler - again.

I watch every period drama I can, old and new and especially the English-made ones, to get ideas for my mini house. It's good to know that I'm not the only one that uses movies for inspiration. And what's so great is that a digital camera takes a fabulous picture off a plasma screen so I can save anything that takes my fancy.

I have been thinking just that but I think I have gone too far with it to make any major changes. I must say that the tower is pretty tempting though. Still, food for thought, and I can always get another BH to bash.

Your colors sound great. I am nearing the time to begin painting my BH am am wondering about colors as well. How many different colors do you think it needs? I was thinking sage green for the sidings and maybe a purpley/plumy shade somewhere but then I got stuck. So some ideas would be great.

Thank you everyone for posting all this cool stuff about castles. I was just green with envy looking at some of the pictures, but they will be so helpful - I am definitely going to make a castle my next project once I have finished my Beacon Hill.

I have been looking at Wolfies wonderful castle box room and was wondering if any one has made a whole mini castle. I'm thinking like a mini house, with lots of floors and rooms, not just a model of the outside. Castles are huge so I guess a scale 1" to 1ft would be too big a scale. Would love to hear from any one that has done this and see pictures.

I do both - like Sherry. I get the component fresh out of the box, sand and seal, then 'try fit' to see what needs adjusting. Then I make the adjustments and 'dry fit' to check if its right, then glue it.

I sand the pieces first then apply a generous coat of white undercoat/sealer to BOTH sides (I guess this is called primer in the US). Then I sand lightly once dry. This makes a stable smooth surface that takes glue well. Use wood-workers glue for the best grip.

I have the kit basically together, yet to trim and decorate, and splashed out to buy a really cute wood-burning stove for the kitchen. My BH will be pre-electric. There is no provision, nor any room that I can see, for a chimney and was wondering if any really clever person has an ingenious idea of how to make the stove and chimney pipe look somewhat realistic. I want to place the stove against the front wall to maximise the view of it and will close in the window. But there are windows on the second and third floors above so a chimney is out of the question - or is it? Any bright ideas truely appreciated.

I have taken these pix as I went along. I hope they are helpful.

The sandpaper technique works well but to avoid the sandpaper bubbling up or falling apart under water-cleanup glue or paints, you should use the wet&dry or the waterproof sandpaper. This is the black one. If you use solvent-based glue and paint then any type will do.