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Greetings and Salutations!


WBrownIV

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 Hello everyone!

    My name is Bill Brown and I hail from Arnold, Mo. (just south of St. Louis). I am new to the dollhouse experience but not ownership. Please let me explain.

   Back around 1984 I was looking for a cool present for my younger sister. One night I was out with some friends and someone asked to stop at Michael's craft store.

While said member was looking for their item, I started wandering aimlessly around the store. I happened to stumble across the dollhouse aisle . "Wow these are cool!" I thought to myself!

As I was walking along admiring the box art of the various kits, I came across the Glencroft. "How cool is that!" I thought to myself. I quickly decided that this kit would be the coolest gift I could bestow upon my sis. I quickly grabbed it (dang it's not exactly light!") and headed for the register. As I made it to the front of the store I came across the rest of my party at the checkout lane. "What are you doing with that?" one exclaimed. I told them that this house kit was going to be the perfect present! I also told them that I would assemble it for her after her birthday and she could enjoy decorating it. "Good luck with that" they said.

    As I had hoped my sister LOVED her Glencroft! I told her I would build it for her and she could decorate it to her hearts' content.

   You may have guessed what happened next. With the promise of getting started "any day now", days became weeks, months, years. This kit came with me when I moved out of my parents home to my own place. Then when I got married and purchased our first home it moved with us. Some years later after my unfortunate divorce it was still with me. Up until the present, coming along on my second journey into marriage and home ownership. All these years I've looked at that box and said to myself "I really need to get this going".

   A few months ago I was diagnosed with a health issue involving my heart. Last week I underwent a successful procedure to remedy the issue. Your really start looking at things differently when you have a medical scare like this. One of those thoughts included that birthday present and promise I made to my sister those many years ago. 

   So that, in a nutshell, is why I'm here. I was an avid model builder in my younger days and always loved to assembly things. This has carried over into my career as a mechanic and my current job of rebuilding transmissions for urban transit buses. I have, however  never assembled a dollhouse before. Google directed me here to the forums and while looking around I saw a lot of folks sharing their passion and expertise in transforming a box of wood into a thing of beauty! I see many have built the Glencroft so I felt this community would be a good one to join and learn from!

    My plans for my build are to try to build it "period correct" for when the Tudor's became common place. I want to stucco interior as well as exterior, wood flooring correct for the period, and installing illumination that would not look out of place. If anyone has any suggestions to guide me on my journey I would appreciate it! :)

   As for now I will cease my ramblings and just say "hello"!

Bill Brown 

 

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Welcome to the little family, Bill.  I could warn you that these kits have their own ideas about what they want to become, as my Glencroft wanted to become a pub, NOT a cottage for Miss Marple; but you will discover that for yourself.

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Welcome, Bill!  If you love assembling things, you will love doll houses. :)  There is a wealth of information on these forums, and a lot of good tips on how to achieve certain results (such as stuccoing).  Good luck!  Looking forward to seeing pictures.

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Hi, Bill, and welcome to the forum! I acquired an already built Glencroft not so long ago that needs to be electrified and decorated. It may be the Miss Marple house that eluded Holly. I've bought some items for furnishing it in an English cottage theme, but to tell the truth, the house hasn't really said anything to me yet. 

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Thank you all for the warm welcome! 

  I have heard that the dollhouse hobby can get a little "out of hand" so to speak! That's what I was told when I purchased my first Chevy Corvair :) after I joined a local club. They were right! Now I have two. One thing that may keep me in check is the amount of room available for my "hobbies". I seem to have many that require some space to enjoy. My lovely wife has graciously put up with my varied interests and so I do try to keep things in check. A little bit!

    I'm getting a few projects finished up and then let the games begin!

 Thanks again!

Bill 

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Hi Bill, welcome. It is a really cool house. The first thing I always suggest is go visit the website for Hobby Builders Supply (known as HBS) it's at www.miniatures.com and sign up for their free catalog. That way you can get acquainted with what's available out in mini world as far as lighting, etc. The catalog has coupons on the back and coming up April 1st they do a 40% off one item so that's a good time to pick up something special, like a nice light fixture or wiring system. Any specific questions don't hesitate to ask! 

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Thank you for the suggestions WyckedWood and havanaholly! 

    I have ordered a catalog from miniatures.com. Boy do they sell a ton of stuff! 

  Just glancing at Maple Street Miniatures I already see some items I want!

NellBell....Yes moving on or cussing when things go wrong seems a universal idea. I have had to do that while I've been restoring my Corvair. Stop and step away before I do something stupid that ends up costing me ! 

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14 hours ago, NellBell said:

...try cussing a bit it seems to help me.

I find that carefully used *magic* words provide a side benefit; as the cloud of invective rises through the roof, little birds that get caught flying through it are stunned and fall to the ground to give the feral cats in your neighborhood an unexpected feast.

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Welcome Bill.  Are you aware of the museum up there?  If you are in Arnold, it's not too far from you.  It's worth the visit to get inspiration for your build.     If I rememberit called dollhouse museum of St Louis 

I used the paint additive from Lowe's for my stucco walls in one if my houses.  I have also used it for the exterior on my Mexican restaurant.  

Most if my pictures (including the Glencroft) are on Pinterest. 

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Hi Bill! What an interesting story, sound like this is a great time to get started on it! It took me over 10 years since the time I decided I'd like to build a dollhouse until I finally got started. Now I can't stop hehe, it takes time but it's a very relaxing activity :) Have fun!

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Thank you all!

havanaholly I like the idea of "magic" words! I so need to try that :)

L Swearengin I had no idea there was a miniature museum in St. Louis! I looked it up and its official title is "Miniature Museum of Greater St. Louis". This is the website :http://miniaturemuseum.org/  I will definitely check this out!

Thank you WestPaces and wormwoodz!  Looking forward to starting this project and getting some "me" time to just chill. I like the idea of trying to make as much as I can!

  

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Bill, with the exception of a very few accessories I made everything in my Glencroft pub either from kits or from scratch.  Lawanda, back in 2005 DH & I spent a week camped across the river from St Louis.  The day we went to the miniature museum one of the docents was making itty dolls for dollhouse children from beads, toothpicks and scraps of fabric and floss, and as the other one was bagging my purchases one of those itty dollies was popped into my bag by its maker.  They were a very nice & friendly bunch.  Ann Kimball Pipe, who authored one of my furniture DIY books, was featured in the museum's collection:  http://miniaturemuseum.org/AnnKimballPipeCollection.html

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I went to their website and did the "virtual tour". HOLY COW! I will definitely be stopping by! It looks like they are having a garage sale in April so I need to put that on my calendar. 

Thank you for the tip on the furniture DIY book havanaholly. I will ad that to my list of things to get!

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Hi Bill.........This is a great site. I have only been a member since Friday.  Lots of good advise and good cheer.

I started my house in 1972 and finished it about three years ago.  I am working on my lights now.

The only advise i can give at this time is not to get too tired when you are working on your house.

Good luck

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So my sister was in town this weekend to belatedly celebrate my mother's birthday. We were trying to come up with something to do with her today so I threw out the "Miniature Museum of St. Louis" :)  Everyone liked the idea so off we went. 

   All I can say is my jaw hurts from dropping further and further as we looked at the displays. I can not adequately express with words what I saw! Talk about sensory overload! 

The volunteer greeted us and told of the history of the museum and of the exhibits they have. I ended up joining as I knew I would be back. While my sister was busy looking around I explained what I was trying to do and she was thrilled! She talked about their research library and the fellow members who would not hesitate to help.  Lawanda the garage sale you mentioned them having is actually happening next Saturday! Talk about coincidence! I plan to attend. I ended up getting a few books as well. Their gift shop is huge! And prices were very reasonable! 

I can't wait to get started :)

 

 

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