cloudbound Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 I'd like to build a 1:48-scale dollhouse (from a kit preferably) and I see that most of them online look like they've got slots and tabs all over the place. I'd like it to wind up looking like a regular dollhouse with paint and wallpaper. Oh - and it would be really nice if it wasn't so pricey. Even those slot & tab ones seem to cost a LOT. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 My village is 48 scale. Mire minis kept her backs open. It's a Greenleaf kit. You can see in on their page a and ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Thank you for your suggestion Lawanda. I actually have the Greenleaf Village and although the 5-building kit wasn't meant to be 'dollhouses' (they aren't open in back) I've been trying to turn the 'Victorian' house in that kit into a 1:48-scale dollhouse. But the wood pieces splinter and break really easily. I want nice detailing like in the larger dollhouse kits. But I will say that working with this Greenleaf kit is good practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 When I eventually build my village kits I hope to make at least some of the little houses into dollhouses by adding floors and hinging walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Well I omitted the back wall, am adding the second-story floor, and I eliminated the windows on the sides of the house, only to give more wall space for decorating. But then I've been using the Greenleaf pieces as 'patterns' and cutting new from basswood so I could not only eliminate those side windows but because so many pieces of the wood in the kit broke as I was trying to remove them from the boards. I never even thought of making the back wall 'hinged' though. Great idea. And the trims that came with the kit are thin plastic and I want nice wooden ones. So I'm cutting those out too. Thank goodness basswood is so nice and soft. Do you think these are true 1:48-scale size? I've never seen one in person. Thanks for sharing Havanholly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 I like the houses at Suzanne and Andrew's minis. Hart's Desire minis has nice houses, but my only hesitation there is that I like stairways and internal doors. But her kits are very nice looking. I love Sue Herber's kits (no tabs, nice birch wood), but she is retiring and there won't be much available in the future. Robin Betterley's kits are lovely but very expensive. Petworth minis is worth a look. Cynthia Howe, too. And Young at Heart (Deb Young). PetiteProperties has a lovely french chateau style dollhouse (front opening) with internal doors and stairs available. They have great prices. though I wish they had a larger house style - they have a lot of cottages. I am actually building my own in 1:48 to get the size of house I want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Several years ago one of the US miniatures magazines ran a series of articles making 1:48 houses and businesses using those Michael's hutches. 9 hours ago, cloudbound said: ...Do you think these are true 1:48-scale size?... I believe they are HO scale, which is close enough for horseshoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 37 minutes ago, havanaholly said: Several years ago one of the US miniatures magazines ran a series of articles making 1:48 houses and businesses using those Michael's hutches. I believe they are HO scale, which is close enough for horseshoes. HO would be 1:86 scale...Half of O scale (HO). But the Greenleaf village kits always looked 1:48-ish to me. I have 2 HO houses and they are really tiny! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 O scale, then. Where is Ed_Cal when we need him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenannediva Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 I have Suzanne & Andrew's Pickett Hill and Pickett Pond kits (both of which are being retired this year) and the Betterley's trailer kit which is retired. I love the quality of their kits (no tab & slot) and that they include everything needed (except paint & glue) including the landscaping. Then there are also the wonderful furniture kits. I highly recommend them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Thank you for so many fine suggestions! Elsbeth, will you post photos of your 1:48-scale when you get the chance? I'd love to see what a 'custom-made' smaller scale house looks like. Mine is coming along fine but trying to customize always means I make a few mistakes. Trying to hide the wiring for the 4-light set of chip LED's was .... interesting. They had to be added before the wallpaper (to disguise the wiring) but I was up late last night trying to figure out how to hide the on/off switch and battery. So now the house is going to have to be permanently attached to the base I threaded all the wires down into. Lots of fun though. And I think its going to be nice having a truly 'portable' dollhouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 "Michaels hutches"? What are those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 4 minutes ago, cloudbound said: "Michaels hutches"? What are those? Up until a few years ago Michael's used to sell wooden hutches in various styles for $1USD. I snapped up a few every time I went. the plainest ones, which could be bashed with floors, walls & roofs, made houses & buildings; I used my plain ones for things like a mini outhouse I made for a school custodian when I was a school nurse (no photos), a closet for a coworker (no photo), and a couple of Murphy beds: (closed) (open) I have taken apart the ones with open tops and closed bottoms to use for various cabinetry: I used the bases of two for kitchen cabinets; the tops I hung respectively on the bathroom & bedroom walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 On 7/9/2017, 6:17:00, cloudbound said: Thank you for your suggestion Lawanda. I actually have the Greenleaf Village and although the 5-building kit wasn't meant to be 'dollhouses' (they aren't open in back) I've been trying to turn the 'Victorian' house in that kit into a 1:48-scale dollhouse. But the wood pieces splinter and break really easily. I want nice detailing like in the larger dollhouse kits. But I will say that working with this Greenleaf kit is good practice. Isn't this one of the village pieces? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miniature-Dollhouse-Room-Box-Quarter-Scale-/112477069219 It actually looks larger than 1:48 with the furniture in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minilover62 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Patricia, I have two kits that I bought from a seller that goes by the name ANI. You can see this kits already finished here http://www.normanscountrycreek.com/cedarcreekplantation.html and here http://www.normanscountrycreek.com/redwoodfarmhouse.html I remember that the lady at Norman's gave me the contact info so I could buy the kits. The lady who cuts them was very nice and even cut me an extra wall for my kits, I payed less than $50 for each one. Very nice wood and very detailed instructions included. There is a person on Ebay that from time to time has some of this kits posted for ANI, right now she has none, but she might be able to get it for you. http://www.ebay.com/usr/patty822015 Also, I bought at Ron's in Orlando a kit that I love! I already finished the house, and you can see it finished at Norman's http://www.normanscountrycreek.com/victoria.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 . I'll be sure to check these out. Thanks Carmen. I'm still hard at work on my Greenleaf Village 'Victorian'. Its not looking the least bit Victorian though - more like a cottage. But that's fine with me since I usually have to consider my first attempt at anything new as my 'tester'. I see little mistakes I made - fixed some, will live with others. I can't seem to figure out photo posting here or I'd show you where I'm at. I reduced the size of my photos and once again the little box comes up telling me the file size is too big. Yet the file size is smaller than what they tell me is the limit. Sheesh...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I can't wait to see your victorian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I wish they made a 1:48 scale Beacon Hill. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Now you have put an ideas in my head....might have to get another set of the village and do some bashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Would you like one of the other 4 buildings I have left here? Here's what my 'Victorian' looks like as of last night. It doesn't look too Victorian to me - its turning out to look more like a cottage. But that's fine too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Cute. It's a little Arthur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloudbound Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Boy - I wish it had more rooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Take the little butter cup and adjust it to add rooms. Bottom or side, since your roof is attached already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L Swearengin Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Or the carriage house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsbeth Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 1 hour ago, cloudbound said: Boy - I wish it had more rooms. I've been having that issue with 1:48 - the houses don't have enough rooms for me! So I am building one myself, but another solution is the 23 room Hungerford Manor at Petworth miniatures. All the trim and flooring and wallpaper is provided - just paint and glue. And money. Each roombox fits together to make a 23 room georgian estate. Holy cow. That is the sort of big 1:48 house I am thinking of! I also would go nuts for a 1:48 version of the 26 room Smithsonian dollhouse. Simple but roomy. I too thought about joining various houses into a mish-mash of additions. It could be very cute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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