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Fairfield Builders...Come On In!!! :)


minifan

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I'm sorry to hear that! Have you looked at the greenleaf site for their half scale laser cut houses? They have some really gorgeous ones with reasonable prices. LASER CUT HALF SCALE HOUSES I can't really suggest what to do with the Fairfield though. Just remembered seeing this though, It's very similar to the Fairfield, much more expensive though and only a shell, no windows or doors included, but I don't think it is die cut either so it'll be less prep time. Sea Side Villa

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Is holding onto it for later when you have more experience an option? If yes, I'd pick that one. :lol: This house has a great layout and as much as I love the wood in the laser cut kits, design-wise I don't think any of them hold a candle to the Fairfield. Whether you send it back to HBS or sell it on eBay, you're not going to recoup all of your money, so if there's any chance you might want to try it in the future then you'll actually be saving money in the long run by holding onto it...

The Fairfield is only the second kit I ever assembled. I learned a lot about dollhouse construction as I built it, but probably the most important thing I learned is that practically any mistake can be fixed or covered up. :) I got around a lot of the wood prep by upgrading parts (for example, covered up the outside of the house with siding, replaced the windows and porch trim). I know it seems overwhelming at first but it's totally doable!

As for the laser cut kits, the Rosedale is a cute little house and pretty easy to assemble. (I'm bashing the heck out of mine but if I'd followed the directions it would have been finished a long time ago!) I also like the Tennyson, especially those double porches. I'm going to be building a Buttercup soon to turn into a toy shop, but for a proper house it seems too small to me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Holly - I already packed it all up and sold it to a fella that seems very happy with it. Awaiting my half scale Chantilly that will arrive next Wednesday. Am hoping the third time is the charm as the first two dollhouses/kits that I have had did not work for me.... It is so hard to judge these things when all you can do is look at stuff online rather than in person. C'est la vie!

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  • 2 months later...

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

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Sharon, I love your Fairfield. I've been following your blog for awhile now and am amazed at how natural all of your changes look. Great work! I hope you'll keep posting the little things you add as you get them even though the house is completed I love seeing the accessories you find.

I pulled my Fairfield out the other night. I brought it back to bare walls and sanded off as much as possible of ressitant wallpaper. It is now sitting in dry fit, marked for some changes, not as many as yours Sharon but a few. I also found a website I'm wanting to order my lights from. http://www.minimumworld.com/scale-lighting-fires-c-226_364.html They have some lights I've never seen before in half scale and they look great! I've already made a list of the lights I need to complete the first floor. Just have to decide if I'm going to place my order now with the lights I know I like or wait till after the 22nd when hopefully I go to the Annual Tucson Miniature Show and Sale and see if anyone is offering half scale there. :unsure: With this house I'm going to attempt some cost saving exterior solutions. If they work I'll post pictures and tell you what I used. They've probably been tried before but not by me :D. I did have success in trimming down a Houseworks set of stairs with my Mitre Rite saw. The wood was really easy to saw through. I didn't have any problems with it, just needs to be sanded smooth and evenly where I had a slight slip of the saw. :doh: At least where it is it won't be seen after it's installe.

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  • 1 year later...

I cut off the railings and balusters at the stair level, drilled little holes into the wood and glued the nicer balusters into the edge of the angled wall piece on one side and into the stairs on the other. A bottom rail wasn't needed. I also cut off the small section of the living room wall that stuck out into the wall opening. Then I placed purchased stair railings ($1) onto the balusters. The stairs themselves looked fine as is. I'm thinking of making a metal Victorian spiral staricase for the attice stairs. I can post more about that after i've posted my five entries and can put pictures in.

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