Search the Community

I am about to start assembling my Glencroft kit. I was wondering if I could remove the downstairs interior wall (cut it off from the upstairs interior wall), to create an open plan downstairs. I’d really like more room for the kitchen and eating area. If I did this, would the second floor still be structurally stable?

So, I want my beams to look substantial. Also, I am going to open my staircase in my Glencroft so will be using a 3/4 " floor to ceiling beam to hold everything up. I also want this pole to look like a "meaty" piece of wood. I've stained one ceiling beam with Golden oak minwax stain and then painted over with acrylic "melted chocolate " by Apple barrel. I painted one with a tan color wood filler and will go back and put wood grain in with my exacto knife. Not sure which I like best. Any ideas? Jeri

So, I am on day two of my Glencroft build. The second floor went in with much finagling, but now I am dealing with the left side of my house. I've read about some of the problems other people have had with this side. I decided to walk away and start fresh tomorrow. So far it's been fun♡ Jeri

Hello everyone! My name is Bill Brown and I hail from Arnold, Mo. (just south of St. Louis). I am new to the dollhouse experience but not ownership. Please let me explain. Back around 1984 I was looking for a cool present for my younger sister. One night I was out with some friends and someone asked to stop at Michael's craft store. While said member was looking for their item, I started wandering aimlessly around the store. I happened to stumble across the dollhouse aisle . "Wow these are cool!" I thought to myself! As I was walking along admiring the box art of the various kits, I came across the Glencroft. "How cool is that!" I thought to myself. I quickly decided that this kit would be the coolest gift I could bestow upon my sis. I quickly grabbed it (dang it's not exactly light!") and headed for the register. As I made it to the front of the store I came across the rest of my party at the checkout lane. "What are you doing with that?" one exclaimed. I told them that this house kit was going to be the perfect present! I also told them that I would assemble it for her after her birthday and she could enjoy decorating it. "Good luck with that" they said. As I had hoped my sister LOVED her Glencroft! I told her I would build it for her and she could decorate it to her hearts' content. You may have guessed what happened next. With the promise of getting started "any day now", days became weeks, months, years. This kit came with me when I moved out of my parents home to my own place. Then when I got married and purchased our first home it moved with us. Some years later after my unfortunate divorce it was still with me. Up until the present, coming along on my second journey into marriage and home ownership. All these years I've looked at that box and said to myself "I really need to get this going". A few months ago I was diagnosed with a health issue involving my heart. Last week I underwent a successful procedure to remedy the issue. Your really start looking at things differently when you have a medical scare like this. One of those thoughts included that birthday present and promise I made to my sister those many years ago. So that, in a nutshell, is why I'm here. I was an avid model builder in my younger days and always loved to assembly things. This has carried over into my career as a mechanic and my current job of rebuilding transmissions for urban transit buses. I have, however never assembled a dollhouse before. Google directed me here to the forums and while looking around I saw a lot of folks sharing their passion and expertise in transforming a box of wood into a thing of beauty! I see many have built the Glencroft so I felt this community would be a good one to join and learn from! My plans for my build are to try to build it "period correct" for when the Tudor's became common place. I want to stucco interior as well as exterior, wood flooring correct for the period, and installing illumination that would not look out of place. If anyone has any suggestions to guide me on my journey I would appreciate it! As for now I will cease my ramblings and just say "hello"! Bill Brown

Good morning everyone, I'm so glad to have found this site to try and figure out what I'm doing! I recently purchased a 1983 Glencroft dollhouse from kijiji as I instantly fell in love with the idea of this build. I've had a penchant for miniature things since I was a small girl, anything small I tend to fall in love with, I'm not sure why! I was lucky enough to have my mothers old dollhouse given to me as a child and I remember well the struggles of wallpapering to this day! I still have it and may revisit it one day, but for now I'll be working on the Glencroft. The kit looks to be whole from what I can tell.... but only came with the warm up instructions.... yikes! I do not think I can tackle this without so I have contacted Greenleaf to see if they can help. I am eagerly awaiting their response so I can try and get this project moving! Let's hope it doesn't take too long so I can start posting progress and asking questions ! Thanks to all in advance!

Hi, everyone. I saw many Glencroft bash where they add a room (usually what it looks like the primrose or a 'greenhouse'). My question is how about a basement? Anyone ever try that? May I see some picures?pleeeease!?!?!?!

I purchased an almost completely built Glencroft dollhouse at an estate sale. The only things left to do are the windows and doors. No directions came with the house. I have looked at a lot of pictures online but I simply can't figure out how to do the windows. Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance.

Please ignore the rough finishings in the picture, I'm not done yet. I put some of the furniture in my nearly finished Glencroft, to get a look at the big picture. And the first thing that jumped out at me is that the toilet looks TINY compared to the bedroom furniture. (I've learned that all 1:12 scale is not created equal). My cottage is of the present time, but was inherited and thus the fittings are a mixture of new, old, and in-between as the previous owners did updates throughout the years. I really, really want to keep this style bathroom. But, it looks terrible. My questions are: 1. Can I make the toilet look bigger somehow? 2. Should I just buy a different one? (last choice as my budget has already been wrecked) 3. Is there some kind of modification that will give the appearance of the toilet looking bigger, maybe dividing the room with a pony wall? I don't want to go full room divider. Advice and suggestions warmly welcomed. Novice-ly, Liz

Progress on my Glencroft has come to a halt! The windows and doors need an exceptional amount of trimming to fit properly. I'm wondering if there's a faster/more effective way than sanding them by hand? I also tried a Dremel but it can't get the corners properly. Any suggestions appreciated before it becomes a pile of toothpicks!

Hello! I am building the Glencroft (my first build), and the backstory is as follows: The cottage was part of a larger estate in Yorkshire which was inherited by a Canadian freelance writer; the main house house is in a state of disrepair and much too large and draughty for her, so she's decided to live in the cottage and work on her romance novels. (Perhaps the great house will be my next build). There's been a bit of updating done to the cottage as far as plumbing etc, but not too much (it was the caretaker's cottage and he was an elderly gent who passed some time ago). The question is in regards to the bathroom. I'm stuck as to what style of fittings to use. Although the cottage is Tudor style, it's occupied in the present day. I don't want a modern style tub/toilet/sink. I am leaning towards Victorian style, with the elevated toilet tank and clawfoot tub. Advice/suggestions would be most welcome!

Intro of my project HERE EXTERIOR As I mentioned in my intro, I plan on totally customizing the exterior. I will start by adding a portico style porch over the front door to give the house more depth. Then the whole bottom half of the house will have a stone finish. Photo 1: I love this house! This house was the initial inspiration behind the stone porch so I plan on replicating it on my Glencroft exactly! I can't wait to see how it will turn out. I also plan on finishing the chimney the same way. Plaster and Stone. Photo 2: I researched for days until I came across this stone stencil by Bromley Craft. I thought it looked extremely realistic and seems like it would work well with the tudor details around the rest of the house. Photo 3: Not sure where I saved this from, But this is going to be my reference when painting the stones to look real. Photo 4: This house is located just a few blocks from me and I love the details of the wood and the plaster. The textures seem like they will be a lot of fun (or a nightmare) to create in mini. My plan for this will be to attach all the wood detailing first and then fill in the spaces between the wood with spackle for the plaster. Ive experimented a few times with this over the weekend using popsicle sticks and so far it seems like it works pretty well. (See below photos) Photo 5: For the main living room window, I decided to make one completely from scratch to compliment the stone facade. I liked these medieval/gothic style window casements and decided this heavy stone look with the diamond leaded glass will look great on that specific window. Photo 6 & 7: For my wood & plaster exterior experiment/test, I cut and glued down the wood, then when dry....I sanded till smooth and went over it with a awl to scratch in the wood beam grain. For the plaster I painted the space with wood glue first and before it dried completely, I spread and smoothed the spackle as much as possible into the space. When completely dry, I used a moist rag instead of sandpaper and smoothed the spackle even more while simultaneously cleaning out the spackle from the tiny cracks in the wood. For my actual build, I plan on pre-finishing the wood trim before adding in the spackle so it doesn't stick AS MUCH to the wood and will be easier to clean off. The overall finished look seemed a bit more "Rustic" than what I want so we'll see how I refine this process. My Kit arrives tomorrow so I cant wait to start my Gallery/Blog! Thanks for reading guys! xx

Hello! After a lifetime of fascination with miniatures, I finally decided on my first true kit. I'd built a dollhouse in childhood, but nothing as complex as this. I chose the Glencroft based on size and style, and look forward to the challenge of getting it together, then the pleasure of choosing the finishings, furniture, etc. My plan is to make from scratch as much of the interior as I can (another reason for choosing a cottage instead of a more formal Victorian style). I am excited to have this forum, as I can see from a quick look that there is tons of information and experience here! Cheers

Hello Everyone, I'm new to these forums but not new to the love of minis. I'm from Southern California and I live in Rancho Cucamonga - that's on the way to Palm Springs in one direction and Las Vegas in another. My first build was a Dura-Craft Farmhouse. ...not sure what I was thinking, or not thinking. But now I have time to revise this first love and I have a Dura craft San Franciscan 555 to build, a Greenleaf Glencroft and a Willowcrest kit waiting for me to assemble. I am however on the hunt for a 1:12 Hacienda Style plans. I'm looking forward to seeing everyones homes and learning from all of you.