KellyFG Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 (edited) I was lucky enough to get an unopened Willowcrest kit for FREE on freecycle.org. Its actually not my first house because I still have my Harrison that my Dad bought for me already assembled about 25 years ago. It is in bad shape & might be missing some parts. I plan to repair it, but I'm thinking I'd like to try to build the Willowcrest first. I've searched the gallery & blogs & have found some AMAZING inspiration for this house but before I get started I figured I'd ask here if there is anything tricky I need to know about the Willowcrest. I'm sure I'll have specific questions soon. Thanks! Edited June 23, 2008 by KellyFG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alamom Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Go to moreminis.blogspot.com. Gina, one of the members here, runs this blog. She has a construction blog on the Willowcrest as well as lots of other houses. She covers the building from start to finish. :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissWhite924 Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 ... im still new to the scene myself. but welcome and good luck! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Minis Dollhouses Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 Tricky part of the Willowcrest is the stairwells on the first and second floors. Especially the second floor because it has two of them. The one for the winding staircase and the one for the straight staircase. Make sure you wallpaper and decorate them as you build because you wont be able to access them later. Thats the most difficult part of the build, at least for me it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 <nodding in agreement with Gina> The first and second floor foyers are impossible to reach once you put on the outside wall, so you'll want to paint or wallpaper them and finish the interior window frames and the interior front door frame before you glue that section of wall into place. I bashed my Willowcrest a bit and left out the stairs that came in the kit. I put a spiral staircase in the first floor foyer by the front door instead and even that had to go in before putting on the exterior wall. One other tip about the Willowcrest. It's an older kit and was discontinued quite some time ago, so unless it's previous owner stored the kit really, really well in a climate controlled environment, you'll probably find the wood to be a little bit dry. If so, you can moisturize it by giving all the sheets a coat of light colored stain before you punch out the pieces. Be sure to stain both sides at the same time so the wood won't warp. The stain won't hurt if you're going to paint or wallpaper over it, and if you're going to have stained wood floors or windows, you'll just be a step ahead. The other thing you'll want to have on hand is some spackling compound to smooth the edges. A little dab between your thumb and finger rubbed into the edges of the wood will fill in any pinholes or rough spots. Spackle is easily sanded and paints up beautifully smooth. You may find that easier to do than sanding all the edges of the tiny bits of trim and the corbels. Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyFG Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 thanks everyone, this info was just type of stuff I was looking for! I'm sure the kit is dried out so knowing how to treat it before I get started is terrific! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 wow you are lucky lucky lucky to get a willowcrest. theres lots of us here who REALLY want one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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