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Advice for First time Builders Do's & Dont's


Whitnb

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Hello! I recently purchased my very first dollhouse! I'm looking for advice and the do's and dont's when building. I want to make sure I'm successful at this. I purchased the Fairfield style dollhouse, and I'm super excited to start, but also nervous.  Any feedback is much appreciated, pictures would be helpful also! Thanks!

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Don't use a glue gun for support glue. Use Quick Grab or E3000.

Do use plenty of blue painters tape for holding the house together as you dry fit all of the parts.

Do read Wormwoodz's Gallery on her recently completed Fairfield.

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What Sable said... and prime everything that is going to be painted, shingled or floored. Under the shingles & floors make the primer paint a complimentary colour to what the shingles or flooring are going to be so you don't have white paint glaring through any gaps. 

During dry fit, identify areas that will be impossible to decorate once the house is built and do those as you build. You may actually want to do most of your decorating while still in dry fit. It's hard to get your hands in those tiny places or to decorate while standing on your head. :D
 

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What was said above, + use a light color to prime the surfaces that will have wallpapper. Can only think of a few other important 'don'ts':

- Don't decorate any walls/floors before 'dry fitting' the house and understanding how everything fits together.

- Don't apply glue over tapewire, be careful with any moisture coming into contact with electrical components if you are using lights. Use templates and double side adhesive tape for those surfaces. 

- Don't use Cyanoacrylate adhesive ("instant glue"), or any adhesive of this kind, ever. If you use plastic, metal, resin, porcelain, etc... find the right type of adhesive/cement for that material and wait for the time it takes for it to dry. When in doubt read the labels and instructions, or check the info at the manufacturer's website. 

And the most important rule that you'll find in every instruction manual: "Don't panic!" :peace: Have fun, relax, every problem has a solution and no mistake is too big to fix.

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What everyone else said above, plus:

I use glue dots at the corners and edges to attach templates on walls with tapewire.  They hold well, but they can also be pried off fairly easily in an emergency.  (Not that that ever happened to me.  :rolleyes:)

In addition to Ashely's beautiful build, Gina's blogs are also helpful on the Fairfield, if you haven't read them yet.

http://moreminis.blogspot.com/2007/03/fairfield-day-1.html

http://moreminis.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-second-half-scale-fairfield.html

Make sure you have plenty of sandpaper, a utility knife and wood putty or spackle on hand.  

Take it slowly.  Make sure each part of the construction fits and is level before continuing on.

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3 hours ago, Debsrand56 said:

In addition to Ashely's beautiful build, Gina's blogs are also helpful on the Fairfield, if you haven't read them yet.

Debs is forgetting to mention she also has a really fabulous nearly finished Fairfield in her gallery, as well as other really amazing 1:24 scale creations that are trully inspiring! :ohyeah:

If you go to member's gallery and type "Fairfield" in the search you will find several pictures of this house, really interesting works as well, it helped me a lot when I was getting started (this was also my first build). And do check construction blogs like moreminis', those are really helpful and have lots of useful tips as well as detailed pictures of the whole building process.

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I usually spend hours after hours looking for similar projects for inspiration, but most important for tips and first hand advice about little details than can help you go on if you find them on time, or can help some people to give up when found too late, not everybody is willing to fix big mistakes, so look, look, look and have fun!

Here is a link to our Emily's Fairfield album, awesome as the others here!! Love them all!:bigwink:

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Do save everything you have leftover. Because those pieces can be used for testing out anything.  Plus if you mess up any pieces of the house, you may be able to salvage from your scraps. 

Do research. The internet and here have loads of helpful information.

Do have a good workspace. Make a checklist of supplies needed for a build. 

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  • Try different techniques - it gives you confidence, and its ok to fail and try again or try a different way of doing something. 
  • Do what you like, don't try to be like someone else...on the other hand, its OK to try to repeat other's successes if want to try because you love the effect (for your own benefit, not to steal their ideas to sell for profit)
  • have fun!
  • the end
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On 3/9/2017, 10:54:28, Samusa said:

 

During dry fit, identify areas that will be impossible to decorate once the house is built and do those as you build. You may actually want to do most of your decorating while still in dry fit. It's hard to get your hands in those tiny places or to decorate while standing on your head. :D
 

I've read it all throughout this feed: what does dry fit mean ? #newbie

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3 hours ago, H-Ann said:

I've read it all throughout this feed: what does dry fit mean ? #newbie

Dry fit menas that you put the main build together with Non-permanent hold, ie prefferably maskning tape or painters tape. That way you get a good grip on how it Will look, where it Will be heard to reach to paint/Wall paper and what ever. You Will also see and be able to make out where you might want to stain pieces or what you might want to change/bash prior to the actually build where you Will glue things in place. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, H-Ann said:

I've read it all throughout this feed: what does dry fit mean ? #newbie

Dry fit is putting the house together with masking tape or painter's tape rather than glue. Yes, it means taking it apart again when you're ready to glue, but it's worth the extra effort.  

 

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23 minutes ago, KathieB said:

LOL ... it's wonderful to know that half way around the world, someone is sharing our thoughts. :D 

It is indeed! 

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I sometimes put the whole house shell into dry fit and adjust the tab & slots for  more perfect fit.  I got started makin most of everything I put into my builds because after the house I in dry fit I check some of the items I want to put in it and if they aren't going to fit I go head and make versions that will.  I have a sharpened pencil handy and do a lot of tracing where I want to glue kit parts together, and as I take the house apart again I cut trips of masking painter's tape into 1/4" strip to cover the parts I will need to glue so I don't get primer or paint on them.

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Ditto to all the above. I would add a caution about not working when you're tired. That's when I make more mistakes, become more easily frustrated with my work and I don't want an accident with the utility knife. You have to know when to stop and take a break (and that's hard when I get very obsessed, uh, I mean "focused").

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