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Beacon Hill Builders: The Next Generation


Blondie

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I spent three hours last night reading the Beacon Hill Builders thread. It was so helpful!! However, many people have finished their houses because the thread was started many years ago. I thought maybe we should start a new one because I have noticed there are a lot of us BH-ers right now. Please join me in discussing this amazing and challenging house! So...

Welcome to the 2nd generation! I bought my house in 2007ish. It was in storage for years and I just now have it back. I am FAR from finished. I just got done with the porch. I was glad to read in the other thread that I am not the only person who has had some arguments with this house! The staircase almost killed me, but the roof pieces weren't so bad because I cheated and cut off a few slices. :)

Please share any BH questions, thoughts, or babble. We can do this!! Whooooot!

Why did you choose the house? I did because it was purty and I wanted a loooong project. I got it. :)

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I wrote a reply to this but was A. on my phone and B. hadn't had enough coffee yet...and accidently sent what I wrote as a "report"...oops. Anyway, I think these types of threads are a great way to give moral support (much needed) and a sense of comraderie. The last thread we did like this got so big, was a lot of fun to read about other builders experiences. It does seem that there area lot of BH builders here right now.

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Jip, jip, I am one of the new BH builder around here. But I have to tell you the more I read and check out this forum, the more I feel like people are going to kick me off it eventially because I don't stay true to doing everything exact dollhouse style mainly because I cannot buy dollhouse stuff here. I am improvising but that also means my dollhouse will not be very traditional. Also I do not have enough money for the fancy lights (a shame), so I bought normal strips of lighting that I am going to install mainly to make the "light" better, but it wont do anything for the authentic atmosphere. I am glad you started this new topic blondie and will definately follow it.

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Elize, be careful with using "normal strips of lighting". Check for heat. I took apart a room box that used small "regular" bulbs for lighting and found the heat from them had scorched the wood, even though a strip of aluminum foil had been placed between the bulb and the wood. It may have helped with reflecting the light but sure didn't insulate. This was an unfinished room box, so the lights had not been burning for any great length of time. Scary.

See a photo here. Scroll down, it's near the bottom of the entry.

You can always add lighting after the house is finished. It's a bit trickier, but can be done. If and when you get to that stage, several folks here can give you hints to make it work.

@Blondie: Thanks for starting this thread. My BH has been sitting on the sidelines for more than a year. I've decided to jump into the group of BH builders and hit it hard for a week to see how much progress I can make. Of course, it means I have to clean up the work area first. I'd best jump to it!

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I'm so glad people are liking the thread. I didn't want to take away from the old thread, but it was kind of hard to look through because it was so long! And awesome, of course. :D

Elize, you will never be kicked off this forum because you don't make a dollhouse like someone else does. We all use our own kits, materials, ideas, etc. My BH is NOT going to be a classic Victorian, either. I'm currently working on the staircase rooms with yellow brick road and Emerald City walls. Does that sound "normal"? :roflmao: Also, I will be building a serial killer room and a space room and and and... none of this will match. We are loving your unique ideas and creativity since you live in a place that doesn't have traditional dollhouse materials. We can all learn new skills from YOU! Oh, and I don't do lighting because I'm too impatient with electronics and don't have much skill in that area, so all of my lights will be non-working!!

WyckedWood, we will be relying heavily on you because the Sea Hag rules.

I almost died thinking about that 1:144 staircase... :hide:

Kathie, I'm so glad you are going to join us! Dust off the old beast and roll up your sleeves!

One thing I learned from reading that entire old thread was that we should all reminds ourselves this is NOT a contest. We all get to work at our own pace, and that is JUST FINE. I know for sure I will be very slow and turtle-y compared to others, but that's OK. :D

My progress for today was going to buy yellow paint and matte sealer to try to paint the yellow brick road flooring. I have made templates for the floors around that crazy staircase (which I hate but secretly love like a little boy on the playground), so now I just have to test my process to see if it will work. Ooooof.

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...One thing I learned from reading that entire old thread was that we should all reminds ourselves this is NOT a contest. We all get to work at our own pace, and that is JUST FINE. I know for sure I will be very slow and turtle-y...but that's OK. :D...

If no one gets any other thing from any of my posts here, you have summarized my main message nicely!

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It can be challenging to see other people working faster than us, but it also helps to get us going sometimes! I just have to remind myself to not feel bad or beat myself up if I am slower or not as talented. When I see the jaw-dropping houses, I have to remind myself that I'm doing this for ME and because it's FUN. :bounce: There is a place in this world for every kind of Beacon Hill, or any other house.

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I think that is what makes this hobby fun. I love to see everyone's ideas and styles. How boring would this be if we all did the same thing? I don't think this hobby can be rushed. It is like any other creative endeavor - you just go with it when the creative juices are flowing. Sometimes you get stuck for awhile, but then it seems to come back again.

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Hi Kathie, heat should not be a problem, I bought a five meter strip of ledlight and a transformer, it should cover the whole house and does not get hot. But I have started building last night and I teached my mother who is visiting a whole lotta extra afrikaans swearwords!!!! The fricken lellies are to big for the slots and nothing but NOTHING slides and glides in like in my perfect dreams. Ive only built a few walls which dried during the night but will this morning first cut off and make the slots larger with my carpet knive. May I have some fingers left at the end of the day! Hehehe

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I hear ya! I have had to shave many of the tabs. I have also cut them into triangles with regular scissors. And then I finally invested in one of those mallet hammers to give things a good but gentle(ish) tap if needed. Glad to hear your lighting will work out! I will probably get some battery powered lights eventually.

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Blondie thank you for the much needed encouragement. You guys are SO good that when I go through your pictures I cant help but think: WOW when will I ever...... but lets be positive - I'll get there, thats why I am on this forum - to learn. And without this forum and Tracy's good heart and instructions I

would have just bought a lot of wood at a terrible price..... lol

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