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Hi from Napa CA!


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I am new. I am working on a random house kit I picked up a long time ago and never finished. I stripped the wall paper off and windows, and I am starting over. I have been finding real joy in learning how to wire it, make my own windows, and searching for furniture. All this is in preparation to build my daughter's dollhouse with her, a Dura-Craft Inc., FH 500 Farm House. It is from 1978, ironically the year I was born. Anyway, we got the dollhouse for her awhile back off Craiglist for $30. We are planning to work on it this summer when she comes home from her first year at college.  I have read on this forum that several people have been looking for the directions for this rare kit. I have them in PDF format. I would be happy to share them via email. thanks and I look forward to being part of this hobby with you all! :-)

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Hi Amelia! :wave:  Welcome to our little family! :chat: 

 

The farmhouse is a great kit, with lots of potential - and what a great find at $30!!  Wishing you lots of fun as you and your daughter build it together. 

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Holly,

Sorry for the delay. Below is the random house. I received it as a gift over 15 years ago and never finished it. Demo day took out old wallpaper, stairs (originally in kitchen), moved wall back, and stripped carpet and flooring. Currently, it needs windows, finish the wallpaper in the bathroom and put the tile down that I purchased. This last pic is just a bunch of stuff I threw in there for a four year old I was babysitting the other night. She had fun. I am also working on a custom light for the kitchen. Progress has been slow but cathartic.

old dollhouse pre-demo.jpg

old dollhouse pre-demo2.jpg

old dollhouse custom dresser.jpg

old dollhouse furniture play.jpg

old dollhouse living rm progress.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Hi there Amylynn,  So have you started on your big Duracraft FH500 yet?  That kit is probably REALLY like 'starting from scratch'.  Lots of Duracraft (if not ALL of them) have you even glue together the slats for walls.  Its so nice to hear that you seem to be really enjoying getting into the hobby and so far the work you did on the smaller dollhouse looks wonderful.  And I agree with Mid-life Madness - those built-in cabinets was a super idea.  They turned out so nice!  I have a Real Good Toys 'Bellingham' (two of them actually - I kinda fell in love with that model) that looks very similar to your Duracraft farmhouse. Please post photos as you move along with construction.  I remember when I was busy building (in my formal dining room which turned into my 'construction zone') there would be big strips of blue painter's tape stuck to the blinds where I could grab them quickly.  And all sorts of bottles and jugs within arm's length to use as wedges.  Funny you mentioned the challenge of learning how to 'wire' your fixer-upper.  Wiring is the first challenge I faced with my first dollhouse too and that's how I wound up finding this wonderful group on Greenleaf.  I would highly recommend that you find one of those head-mounted flashlights and invest in one of those 'Brad Insertion Tools'.  I didn't even know about that tool on my first go-around with wiring.  I don't know how many tiny brass brads wound up on my carpet that time!  I found that I could not only hold those tiny brads in place but I could actually use my hammer to pound them down into the wood far enough so they'd take hold.  Then slide that tool out to give the brad another good rap or two.  Greenleaf shows you what that tool looks like on their wiring instruction page.  I also found that a bulletin board push-pin is handy to keep on hand for those places where the punch is a bit too long.  Are you planning on using the tape wire or round wire?  I haven't used the round wire method and I wonder if its easier?  

   Well its good to hear you're enjoying your journey.  Best wishes to you, Pat from Carson City.

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Hi amylynn!  Welcome!  I can identify your random house. It is a part of an Arrow kit that can be four rooms (yours) or added onto to be a larger house with 10 rooms.  It’s called the Arrow 10 room Dream House.  I have rehabbed it too!  Good luck building the new house for your daughter.  I found it was easier building than rehabbing.

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